WORCESTER, MA – January 21, 2023 – With one goal in each period, and a solid third period performance from Michael DiPietro, the Maine Mariners defeated the Worcester Railers 3-1 on Saturday night at the DCU Center. It was their seventh win in a row, setting a new franchise best streak.
Alex Kile got the scoring started late in the opening period, when he picked up a puck that had hit him in a back of the leg, and beat Railer netminder Ken Appleby. Pat Shea had fed Marc-Oliver Duquette for the shot that glanced off Kile, and both players collected assists on what was the only goal of the opening frame.
The Railers got into penalty trouble in the early stages of the 2nd, resulting in a lengthy Mariners 5-on-3. Worcester got through the penalty kill, but moments after the final Railer stepped out of the box, defenseman Nate Kallen followed shots by Nick Master and Mathew Santos and doubled the Maine lead. The Mariners peppered Appleby with 23 second period shots, a season-high for shots in a period.
The Mariners stretched the lead to 3-0 when defenseman Grant Gabriele wired home a wrister from the left circle at 3:20 of the third. A power play goal from Reece Newkirk got the Railers on the board at 10:06, but they would get no closer and the Mariners held on for the 3-1 win. Worcester matched Maine’s second period shot barrage with 23 of their own in the third.
Michael DiPietro made 34 stops to earn his 8th win and seventh in a row. Appleby stopped 42 of 45. The Mariners have points in 11 straight games (10-0-1) and points in all eight in 2023 (7-0-1). They pulled five points ahead of Worcester for third place in the North, remaining three behind the Reading Royals.
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