Mackin’s Late Goal Surges Reading Past Norfolk

Norfolk, VA -  Corey Mackin scored a late power-play goal as the Reading Royals topped the Norfolk Admirals Wednesday Night at Scope, 2-1. Admirals goaltender, Brandon Halverson made 38 saves after getting Saturday night off against South Carolina. Johnny Coughlin scored the lone goal for Norfolk in the second period.

The first period ended in a scoreless tie with Brandon Halverson looking excellent for the Admirals, making 18 saves on 18 shots. Reading goaltender Kirill Ushimenko turned aside all seven shots he faced in the first frame.

Reading opened the scoring with a goal from forward Hayden Hodgson. Jeremy Beaudry rimmed the puck into the Norfolk defensive-zone, where it was deflected in-front of the net by Garrett Cockerill. Hodgson found the loose change and buried the puck past Halverson to give Reading a 1-0 lead. 

Norfolk tied the game with a power-play goal with less than a minute to play in the second period. The Admirals won the faceoff in the Reading zone and Josh Holmstrom played the puck to the center point where it was roofed into the net by Coughlin to tie the game at one goal a-piece.

Reading took the lead with a goal from Corey Mackin in the midle of the third period. Mackin skated in on a two-on-one for the Royals and fired a shot from the left circle over the glove of Halverson to give Reading a 2-1 lead.

Halverson was exceptional for Norfolk, making 38 saves on 40 shots in the loss. Ustimenko was solid for Reading making 21 saves on 22 shots.

The Admirals will be back in action on Saturday, November 2 for a rematch against Reading. This time, it’ll be in Reading with the Admirals looking to get their third win of the season. Puck drops at 7:30pm with the Pregame Show on the Admirals Radio Network starting at 7:10pm with Weston DeWitto on the call.