READING, Pa. – The Reading Royals scored just enough in the first 40-minutes of play to hold off a late charge from the visiting Maine Mariners in game one of the ECHL North Division Semi-final series on Wednesday night at Santander Arena in front of 2,028 fans.
Reading held a 3-0 lead heading into the final period before Maine scored twice in the final 2:40 while outshooting the Royals 12-8 in the third.
Reading’s Kenny Hausinger provided the opening goal at 13:06 of the first period, scoring on the man-advantage before Brayden Low added a pair of second period goals to increase the lead for the home team.
After claiming three must win games in the final week of the regular season to secure a playoff berth, it appeared that the Mariners might add a little more magic in the closing minutes.
Zach Malatesta broke Reading goaltender Logan Flodell’s shutout bid at 17:20 of the third, before Nick Master added another score to pull the Mariners within one with 45-seconds remaining. The Mariners saw a six-on-four opportunity for the final 37-seconds, following a late penalty to Reading’s Thomas Ebbing, but were unable to find the equalizer.
With the Royals holding a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, the two teams will face off again in game two on Friday night in Reading.
Thursday night will see the Atlanta Gladiators travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Icemen in game one of the South Division semi-final series.
Friday night will be the first busy night of the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs, with a full slate of nine games on the docket.
Contact the writer: John.Hall@ProHockeyNews.com
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