Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (25-28-5-2), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, fell to the Maine Mariners (25-26-7-0), 4-2, on Saturday, March 16th at Cross Insurance Arena. Anson Thornton (2-5-0-0) suffered the loss in net for Reading with 32 saves on 35 shots faced. Goaltender Kyle Keyser (5-6-2-0) earned the win in net for Maine with 30 saves on 32 shots faced. 
Thornton and Keyser each saved nine shots for a scoreless first period that included off-setting penalties to Ryan Devine and Connor Doherty for roughing. An explosion of four goals in the second period opened at 2:46 with Jimmy Lambert’s 11th goal of the season beating Thornton from the slot. Bennett Stockdale earned the lone assist for his first point of the season.
Reading responded 2:40 later, at 5:26, on a power play goal scored by Tag Bertuzzi with a wirst shot past Keyser blocker side. Yvan Mongo and Mason Millman earned the helpers on Bertuzzi’s 14th goal of the season that evened the score, 1-1.
At 11:22, Alex Kile restored Maine’s one-goal lead with the seventh shorthanded goal allowed by Reading this season. Lambert and Gabriel Chicoine earned the assists on Kile’s team-leading 31st goal of the season. Maine capped off the period with a third goal off the stick of Brooklyn Kalmikov who tucked a rebound off of Thornton’s pad into the back of the net at 15:27. Zach Malatesta and Fedor Gordeev earned the assists on Kalmikov’s 14th goal of the season.
Reading struck first in the final frame at 5:06 to cut the deficit down to one with a blast from Mongo from the middle of the face-off circles. Mongo was unassisted on his 15th goal of the season. Reading failed to convert on their final two power plays in the game and beat Keyser with their net empty and an extra attacker on the ice. With Thornton on the bench, Owen Pedersen scored on the empty net at 17:42 on a pass from Kalmikov to seal Maine’s fourth-straight game with a point (3-0-1).
The Royals round out their 5-game road trip with the final game against the Mariners at Cross Insurance Arena on Sunday, March 17th at 3:00 p.m.
The Royals return home for a three-game weekend series against the Railers opening on Friday, March 22nd at 7:00 p.m. at Santander Arena. The home game features the Royals Motorsports Night including a pre-game block party with racing vehicles and happy hour from 6-7:00 p.m., presented by Schaeffer’s Motorsports.
To order tickets, visit royalshockey.com/tickets
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