Game One
The Mariners went on a three game road series versus the Reading Royals starting Wednesday night at Santander Arena. The Mariners won 4-3 in overtime.
After a scoreless opening period, the teams exchanged goals in the second. Reading’s Lou-Felix Denis opened the scoring, finding space in the slot to finish a pass from Shane Sellar, who had fed him from below the goal line. Maine responded at 8:50 when Ayden MacDonald slipped behind the Royals defense, allowing Sarlo and Lamppa to break in on a 2-on-1 and Lamppa tipped in his sixth goal of the season.
With the game tied at 1-1 going into the third, Sarlo gave Maine its first lead at 1:57, with assists from Lamppa and Lynden McCallum. Reading answered at 4:57 when Gianfranco Cassaro fired a wrist shot past Nolan Maier to make it 2-2.
The Mariners regained the lead at 9:52 when McCallum was credited with a goal after a shot from Royals defenseman Emile Chouinard deflected off his skate and into the net. Reading tied it with 6-on-5 at 18:31 when Matt Miller scored off a rebound from a Jake Smith shot.
As the game moved into overtime, Maine had outshot Reading 31-16 in the final 40 minutes of regulation. At 3:08 of the extra frame, Vidmar broke through the middle and lifted the puck over Purpura’s glove to end the game. For Vidmar, it was his fifth goal in the last five games.
Nolan Maier made 25 saves to defeat his former team for the third time this season, keeping the Mariners a perfect 5-0 against Reading in their season series.
Game Two
The Tide would turn on Friday when the Mariners suffered a 4-2 loss. The Royals took the lead under a minute into the game when Jake Smith buried a rebound from a Gianfranco Cassaro past Ryan Bischel. The Mariners tied it at 4:30 when McCallum capitalized on an odd bounce off the boards that went straight to an unprepared Vinnie Purpura. Before the period ended, Reading regained the lead at 17:28 when Shane Sellar deflected Robbie Stucker’s shot past Bischel.
Smith scored again at 10:22 of the second period. Despite dominating the second period, the Mariners found themselves trailing 3-1 heading into the third.
McCallum scored again at 12:29 of the third. But a late hooking penalty to Jacob Hudson stalled the Mariners’ comeback, and Primeau sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
The Mariners outshot the Royals 31-24 in the game. Purpura made 29 saves for the win, while Bischel stopped 20.
Game Three
The Mariners were defeated 5-3 on Saturday night. After a scoreless first period, the second saw a flurry of offense with five goals. Reading’s Matt Brown opened the scoring just 30 seconds in, firing a wrist shot past Nolan Maier.
The Mariners responded at 5:35 when Sebastian Vidmar extended his hot streak, converting a loose puck into an open net. Following an intense fight between Jackson Stewart of Maine and Sawyer Boulton of Reading, the Mariners took their first lead at 7:28. Lynden McCallum sent a backhanded pass through the low slot, where Sarlo buried his third goal of the series. Less than 30 seconds later, Reading’s Shane Sellar tied the game. However, Sarlo struck again on the power play at 16:52 to give Maine a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
The Royals flourished in the final period with back-to-back goals from Ryan Leibold at 11:39 to give Reading a 4-3 lead. An empty-netter by Shane Sellar sealed the 5-3 victory for the Royals.
ITR 32: The Final Countdown – Inside The Rink
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