MARINERS STORM BACK TO STUN THUNDER

GLENS FALLS, NY – December 22, 2023 – After trailing 3-0 and 4-1, the Maine Mariners rattled off four unanswered goals through the second and third periods and rallied to defeat the Adirondack Thunder 5-4 on Friday night at the Cool Insuring Arena. The Mariners power play struck three times in the comeback against the league’s top penalty kill.

The opening period saw five goals scored – four by the home team. Adirondack’s Ryan Smith opened the scoring just 1:11 into the game when he drove the net from the left boards and pushed one a few inches over the goal line to make it 1-0 Thunder. A pair of Erik Middendorf goals at 7:05 and 10:01 chased Brad Arvanitis early as the Thunder grew their lead to 3-0. The Mariners finally got on the board with an Alex Kile power play goal with just over two minutes left in the frame, but the Thunder answered quickly when TJ Friedmann took a cross ice pass from Grant Jozefek and beat Shane Starrett at 19:01.

The Mariners stormed back with three second period goals to tie the game at four. It began with Mackenzie Dwyer netting his first goal as a Mariner at 8:35 as he followed an Austin Albrecht one-timer and finished off a loose puck at the top of the crease. Under a minute later, Albrecht found the net for himself with a wrister from the right wing that beat the blocker of Jeremy Brodeur, bringing Maine within one. The Mariners got even at 15:22, using their power play again. After Jimmy Lambert’s left circle one-timer was stopped by Brodeur, Brooklyn Kalmikov jumped on the rebound quickly and made it 4-4.

The Maine power play connected for a third time at 9:18 of the third when Lambert’s wrister beat Brodeur short side, putting the Mariners ahead for the first time in the game. Shane Starrett played a key role in relief of Arvanitis, stopping 35 of 36 shots, including all 32 over the final 40 minutes. It was Starrett’s fourth win of the season and his first since November 17^th.

The Mariners (9-11-2) head to Worcester to take on the Railers Saturday night at 5:05 PM, the final game before the holiday break. After another stop in Worcester on December 27^th, they return home for a “Kids Day” matinee on Friday, December 29^th at 1 PM against Adirondack. An open skate with the players will follow the game. The Mariners are also home on Saturday, December 30^th for a “Carnival on the Concourse” – a 6 PM face off against the Trois-Rivieres Lions. 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.