MECHURA'S TWO GOALS POWER MARINERS COMEBACK

TROIS-RIVIERES, QC – November 17, 2023 – Adam Mechura netted the first two goals of his professional career, including the game-winner as the Maine Mariners came from behind to defeat the Trois-Rivieres Lions 4-2 on Friday night at Colisee Videotron. It was the first of a three-game weekend road trip for the Mariners, who picked up their third victory of the season.

The Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of first period goals from Nolan Yaremko and Eric Hjorth. Yaremko capitalized on a Mariners power play snafu at 8:19, and backhanded one around the pad of Shane Starrett to open the scoring with a shorthanded goal. Later in the period, moments after the Mariners killed a penalty, Hjorth’s shot from the right point snuck past Starrett to double the Lions lead at 13:15. Despite winning the shot battle 12-8, the Mariners trailed by two after 20 minutes.

Early in the 2^nd period, the Mariners struck twice to tie the game. Shortly after a 5-on-3 power play had ended, Ethan Ritchie’s left point shot was tipped by Adam Mechura between the pads of Joe Vrbetic just two minutes into the frame. The goal marked the first professional points for both Mechura and Ritchie. A little over three minutes later, Ethan Keppen got the game even, when he followed up at the goal mouth after some good penalty work from Tyler Drevitch and Andrew Peski. The goal, while effectively shorthanded, came at even strength. The score was all knotted up at two after 40 minutes.

Exactly midway through the third, Mechura struck again to give Maine its first lead of the night. Austin Albrecht drove down the left wing, circled the net, and found Mechura on the far side for his second of the game and a 3-2 Mariners advantage. Albrecht would then provide an insurance goal, capitalizing on the power play at 16:56, which snapped a Mariners 0-for-29 power play drought. Starrett came up big in the third period, stopping all 16 Lions shots, as Trois-Rivieres outshot Maine 16-5 in the frame.

Starrett turned aside 25 shots in the game to earn his third win while Vrbetic suffered the loss with 26 stops for the Lions. The Mariners handed Trois-Rivieres its first home loss of the season, also ended the Lions’ five-game win streak.

The Mariners (3-6-0) and Lions play again on Saturday afternoon in Trois-Rivieres with a 3 PM puck drop. The game can be seen and heard on the Mariners Broadcast Network via FloHockey and Mixlr, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:45 PM. The Mariners are back home after Thanksgiving, hosting the Reading Royals on November 24^th and 25^th. Friday, November 24^th is Jersey Friday, and features a youth replica jersey giveaway to the first 500 fans ages 12 and under, courtesy of Taro Health. The Mariners are also raising funds for the Lewiston community through a special warmup jersey auction. Game time is 7:15 PM. 

Single game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Ware-Butler Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. More information on ticket packages and group discounts can be found by calling 833-GO-MAINE or visiting the Mariners front office at 94 Free St. in Portland. The 2023-2024 season is presented by Hannaford to Go.