READING, PA – January 16, 2023 – Pat Shea registered his first professional hat trick as the Mariners defeated the Reading Royals 4-2 on Monday afternoon at Santander Arena. A late power play goal by Fedor Gordeev broke a 2-2 tie, getting the Mariners their sixth win in a row, and their tenth straight game with a point. They’re now just one point behind Reading for 2nd place in the North Division.
Shea struck twice in the opening period to give Maine a 2-0 advantage. At 14:05, he finished a zone-entry passing play set up by Alex Kile and Tyler Hinam, with a patient move in the slot to open the scoring. In the final minute of the period, with the Mariners on the power play, Shea circled the net and attempted to center a pass that banked off Royals defenseman Colin Felix and past an unsuspecting Nolan Maier.
The score remained 2-0 deep into the 2nd period. With just under five minutes to play, Alex Butcher cleaned up a shot from the point that bobbled off the glove of Michael DiPietro, making it a 2-1 Maine lead through 40 minutes.
Reading found the equalizer at 16:27 of the third as former Mariner Devon Paliani reached a loose puck from a point shot and poked it past DiPietro to make it 2-2. On the ensuing shift, the Mariners drew a penalty and capitalized on the power play when Fedor Gordeev camped at the top of the crease and finished a pass from Nick Master below the goal line to make it 3-2 Maine. With the Reading net empty, Shea took a feed from Alex Kile and completed his hat trick with 10 seconds to go. It was the first hat trick of his professional career.
In goal, Michael DiPietro won his sixth consecutive start, with 24 stops. Maier stopped 31 in the loss. The win was Maine’s first at Santander Arena since October 19th, 2019. The six-game win streak ties a franchise best, set twice in the 2018-19 season.
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