RAILERS STALL MARINERS COMEBACK ATTEMPTS

PORTLAND, ME – January 28, 2022 – In a game full of momentum swings, the Maine Mariners fell 6-3 to the Worcester Railers on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. The Mariners used their league-best power play to climb back in the game twice, but the Railers constantly had an answer, not allowing Maine to complete their comeback bids.

Worcester’s Cole Coskey opened the scoring early, capitalizing on a Mariners turnover in front of their net at the 2:42 mark of the opening period. Coskey’s goal turned out to be the only goal of an eventful period, which also included a fight between Maine’s Mathew Santos and Worcester’s Ross Olsson. Each goaltender was busy in the first, with the Railers pelting Jeremy Brodeur with 15 shots and the Mariners putting 13 on Ken Appleby.

The Railers opened up the game with a pair of goals early in the 2nd period. Brent Beaudoin jumped on a rebound off Brodeur’s pad from a Anthony Repaci shot at 1:57 to double the Railers lead. Then, at 4:16, Reece Newkirk beat Brodeur with a wrister from the left circle to make it 3-0 and force Ben Guite to call timeout. Working on their third power play of the game, the Mariners got on the board midway through the 2nd. Pascal Laberge picked up where he left off before a two-game injury hiatus, as he ripped a shot through Appleby from the top of the left circle at 9:14 of the middle frame. Cam Askew and Nick Master drew assists. It was Laberge’s fourth straight game with a power play goal and his team-leading 15th goal of the season. As the Mariners turned up the pressure to try and bring the deficit back to one, their rally was stalled when Worcester’s Nolan Vesey flew down the right side and beat Brodeur’s glove to restore the Railers three-goal advantage.

The Mariners made a game of it with a pair of early goals in the third. Just 49 seconds in, Nick Jermain got his first Mariners goal, capitalizing on a nifty faceoff play by Conner Bleackley. Mathew Santos then ripped a slapshot under the crossbar at 2:27 for the Mariners second power play goal of the game and suddenly it was a 4-3 game. Laberge and Askew added their second points of the night each with assists. Anthony Repaci pulled momentum back to the Railers side with a goal at 4:53, and the Mariners couldn’t recover. A late power play goal by Olsson brought the game to its 6-3 final.

The Mariners outshot the Railers 37-32 in the game, as Appleby turned aside 34. Brodeur made 26 stops, seeing his personal five game win streak come to an end. The Railers win marked the first victory for the visiting team in the 10th game of the 2021-22 head-to-head series.