MARINERS FALL TO ROYALS AT HOME

PORTLAND, ME – January 20, 2024 – The Maine Mariners fell to the Reading Royals by a 5-1 final score on Saturday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. Cam Askew netted a second period power play goal for the only offense the Mariners could muster, despite 32 shots on goal.

Just 33 seconds into the game, the Royals took a 1-0 lead when Tag Bertuzzi led a 2-on-1 and trickled a shot through Mariners goaltender Shane Starrett. The Mariners picked up their offense as the period moved along, but the Royals doubled their lead at 15:31 when Yvan Mongo skated away on a breakaway and beat Starrett with a wrister. Despite a 12-8 shot advantage, the Mariners trailed by two after 20 minutes.

The teams traded power play goals early in the 2^nd period. Devon Paliani continued to torture the Mariners with his fourth goal of the series at 1:38 to make it a 3-0 Reading lead, but Cam Askew answered at 3:29 to get Maine on the board. The Mariners came hard toward the end of the period, including a crossbar as the buzzer from Adam Mechura, but Reading maintained their two-goal lead into the final frame.

Ryan Chyzowski made it a 4-1 Royals lead when he finished off a Joseph Nardi pass at the 4:00 mark of the third. The goal seemed to deflate the Mariners, who couldn’t muster anything else. Reading’s Shane Seller tossed in a shorthanded empty net goal at 17:17.

Parker Gahagen turned aside 31 of 32 Mariners shots to earn the victory. Starrett stopped 19 of 23 in his first action since December 30^th.

The $3 Deweys “Threekend” concludes on Sunday afternoon as the Mariners (14-16-5-0) take on Reading again at 3 PM. It’s “Comedy Day,” featuring intermission performances by local comedians. A postgame full team autograph session also follows the game. Single game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Ware-Butler Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. More information on ticket packages and group discounts can be found by calling 833-GO-MAINE or visiting the Mariners front office at 94 Free St. in Portland. The 2023-2024 season is presented by Hannaford to Go.