PORTLAND, ME – The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, fell to the Maine Mariners, 2-1 on Saturday, January 29th at Cross Insurance Arena. Royals goaltender Kirill Ustimenko saved 23 of 25 shots, while Mariners goalie Jeremy Brodeur saved 31 of 32. 
Reading got on the board first late in the opening period to take their one and only lead of the game. Jacob Pritchard tapped in a loose puck in Brodeur‘s crease after a scrum around the Mariners’ net. Brayden Low and Kenny Hausinger earned assists on Pritchard’s 10th goal of the season, extending Hausiner’s assist streak to six games.
Halfway into the second period, the Mariners tied the game with a sequence of crisp passing and a home-favoring bounce around the Royals’ net. Mathew Santos and Nick Master connected in the Reading zone and with a bank pass off the boards directly behind Ustimenko’s net delivered the puck to Cam Askew who buried the puck in the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1.
The Mariners took the lead with a short-handed goal late in the third period. While the Royals skated off for a line change, Master chased down the puck in the Reading zone before Ustimenko could play it. While Ustimenko dropped back into his crease, Master scooped up the puck off the end boards and beat Ustimenko to the right post, scoring on a wrap-around. Master’s second point of the game and ninth goal of the season put Maine in front for good at 2-1.
The Royals take on the Newfoundland Growlers Wednesday, February 2nd, at 5:30 p.m. at Mary Browns Centre in St. John’s.
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