PORTLAND, ME – March 31, 2023 – Mariners captain Connor Doherty scored the game-winning goal at 2:02 of overtime to give his team a 4-3 victory over the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. The Mariners battled back from an early deficit and snapped a four-game home losing streak.
The Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead, kicked off when Dante Sheriff deflected a point shot from Cameron Supryka at 9:06 of the opening period. Tulsa then capitalized on the power plat at 16:19, Tag Bertuzzi walking down the slot and wristing one past Francois Brassard to double the Oiler advantage.
Entering the second down 2-0, the Mariner scored three unanswered goals to flip the game. Just 1:30 into the period, Austin Albrecht spun a backhander into the net after Alex-Olivier Voyer was held up carrying the puck down the slot, drawing a delayed penalty. Voyer then used the power play to find the equalizer when he one-timed a blast home at 11:10, taking an impressive pass from Grant Gabriele. With less than 90 seconds remaining in the period, Carter Johnson put the Mariners on top, following Andrew Peski’s net drive and tipping a loose puck home at the near post. The Mariners carried a 3-2 lead into the third.
Bertuzzi’s second of the game tied things up at 7:09 of the third, as Tulsa swung momentum back into their favor. The game proceeded into overtime knotted at three. At the 2:02 mark of the extra session, Connor Doherty drove wide and stuffed one into the goal crease that trickled through Riley Morris for the game-winner.
Brassard stopped 30 of 33 to earn the win, while Morris turned aside 28 of 32. With their 37th win of the season, the Mariners matched their franchise best mark, set in 2018-19. The magic number for clinching a playoff spot decreased to three with the victory. The Mariners can clinch tomorrow with a win combined with any regulation result in the Adirondack/Worcester game.
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