The Reading Royals (41-16-7-2) took care of business Friday night at the Santander Arena for the first of three games against division rivals Maine Mariners (30-30-4-3).
Two minutes and thirty-five seconds into the first period, the Royals took a 1-0 lead by Trevor Gooch (31) with assists from Patrick Bajkov and Garrett Cecere.
Then, at 9:51, Trevor Gooch (32) scored his second goal of the game for a 2-0 lead. Brennan Saulnier assisted Gooch’s goal.
At 11:11, Brayden Low (17) scored to make it 3-0 with assists from Grant Cooper and Kenny Hausinger.
In the second period, former Phantom Pascal Laberge (17) scored to end the shutout that cut the Royals lead to 3-1. Andrew Peski and Connor Doherty assisted Laberge’s goal.
With less than a minute in the third period, Frank DiChiara (15) put the game away with an empty-net goal for a 4-1 win. Grant Cooper and Darion Hanson assisted the goal.
The Royals finished the game with 23 shots, no power-play opportunities, and Darion Hanson made 22 of 23 saves.
The Royals and Mariners played game two today at 7 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased courtesy of our friends at StubHub.
