READING, PA – The Reading Royals tied their most-productive period in team history (6 goals) and their most-lopsided win ever with an 8-0 victory over the Maine Mariners Wednesday at Santander Arena. Tom McCollum (21 saves) registered his first Royals shutout and the 14th blanking of his pro career.
Max Willman and Hayden Hodgson each registered four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in the second period and six Royals scored in the middle frame; Garret Cockerill, Thomas Ebbing, Corey Mackin and Matthew Strome (1 goal, 1 assist) joined the middle-20 runaway.
Willman led the way with five points (1 goal) in his first game back from the AHL, the 16th time in team history a Reading player has had at least five points. The team record is six.
Second period explosion: The second frame was part of a greater season storyline; with the six-goal second, the Royals have scored at least one goal in 20 straight middle periods. The first five goals came in a span of 7:45. Strome whacked in the sixth goal at 12:00. The six-goal span lasted 10:55 starting with Hodgson’s high-slot snipe. The two Maine netminders allowed six goals and made eight saves in the second.
Connor LaCouvee (13 saves, loss) was yanked after giving up four goals in 26:54, the last of which came against Thomas Ebbing (assisted by Hodgson and David Drake). Francois Brassard made 12 stops in relief (4 goals against).
Where there’s a Will(man): The Lehigh Valley Phantoms loaned Max Willman to Reading on earlier Wednesday. He had been with the Phantoms since December 15, 2019 and scored seven points (3 goals) in 20 AHL games. Prior to his AHL stint, Willman had 15 points (5 goals) with the Royals in 16 games.
Willman added five points to his total Wednesday, starting with the Royals’ second goal. He registered three assists in the second period and four overall. It marks his best single-game total with the Royals. His last multi-point ECHL game was on December 13th, when he scored twice in a 5-2 win against Brampton.
Multiple Milestones: Four players recorded offensive milestones; Hodgson tallied his 10th goal of the season, the first time he’s reached double-digits in goals since the 2016-17 season when he was an alternate captain for Saginaw of the OHL and scored 38 times.
Mackin scored his 20th goal of the season, while Willman’s five points put him at 20 total for the campaign. Forward Brayden Low recorded his 20th assist this season. He last reached the 20-helper mark in 2017-18 with 22 for Quad City.
Deep Domination: Seven of the Royals’ eight goals came at even strength, and every skater recorded a plus-1 or better on the night. Eleven players contributed on the score sheet with five notching multi-point games. Mackin led all skaters with five shots.
During the six-goal second period, the Royals took 14 shots on net, a period high for the game. The Mariners’ goaltenders posted a combined .756 save percentage for the game.
The Royals visit Adirondack (February 28th-29th, 7 p.m. start times) and Worcester (March 1st, 3:05 p.m.) this weekend. Reading’s next home game is Sunday, March 8 vs. Brampton at 4p.m. for First Responders Night, pres. by Met-Ed.
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