Corey Mackin didn’t know where to go at first. He was staying at the team apartments, a few miles from the rink, when there suddenly weren’t any more hockey games.

The Reading Royals forward couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that his season was over.

Gradually, as the sports world stopped and weeks of quarantine began amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mackin needed to figure out what to do with himself.

The second-year pro stayed with his parents in Philadelphia. They played board games. He went on bike rides. He found a pair of roller skates and started moving around.

There was Mackin, who scored 20 goals in 58 games as an ECHL rookie, stickhandling a ball on the street like a high school kid. Anything to feel like he was playing hockey again.

“It was really different,” he said. “It was definitely a shock. It hurt a little bit last year, that’s for sure.”

Mackin re-signed with the Royals for their 20th anniversary season Tuesday. He’s part of a core of returning players that’s trying to recreate last season’s success.

The Royals were surging when everything ended in March. They had 80 points, fourth-most in the Eastern Conference, and were entertaining Kelly Cup dreams.

Mackin was an instrumental part of it. The 5-8, 167-pound winger played top six minutes and on the power play straight out of Ferris State. He scored 19 goals in his last 49 games.

“There’s definitely more improvement to be made,” Mackin said. “I’ve got to be more consistent. I’ve got to be ready right away. It can’t be too slow of a start. I have to worry about the details of what I picked up last year.”

Mackin has spent the summer in Providence, R.I., and works at New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Mass. His brother, Fran, is the hockey director there.

It was a great arrangement. Mackin coached, helped out with clinics and had all the ice time he needed. He’s ready for his sophomore year.

“I’m itching for the season to start,” Mackin said. “Hopefully it’s December. Hopefully we don’t run into any more road bumps.”

Ordinarily the Royals would be less than a month from training camp. The opener has been pushed back two months.

Head coach Kirk MacDonald believed Mackin could be a significant contributor to the Royals when he joined the team immediately after college. That confidence was rewarded with a great rookie season.

Mackin had no interest in signing elsewhere.

“I’ve loved my time in Reading, so it was really an easy decision,” he said. “I think this season we both have our expectations set pretty high. I’m just looking to try and meet them.”