MARINERS HANG EIGHT ON LIONS AGAIN

TROIS-RIVIERES, QC – January 26, 2024 – For the second consecutive time in the season series, the Maine Mariners put up eight goals against Trois-Rivieres, routing the Lions 8-1 on Friday night at Colisee Videotron. The Mariners scored five goals in the third period, as Chase Zieky’s four points paced the offense.

The opening period was highlighted by defense, as each team mustered only three shots on goal. It was Maine’s Brooklyn Kalmikov who first got one behind a goaltender, as his wrister from the top of the left circle beat Lions netminder Zach Bouthillier with less than a minute to go. Assists to Chase Zieky and Ethan Ritchie on the Kalmikov goal at 19:16 had Maine up 1-0 after 20 minutes.

Zieky would get a goal of his own at 7:13 of the 2^nd period as he poked a puck through the defense and broke in alone on Bouthillier, beating his glove to make it a 2-0 game. The Mariners got through back-to-back penalty kills and then added to their lead late in the frame. Alex Sheehy drove wide and left a rebound for Curtis Hall, who finished it off at 18:38 to give Maine a 3-0 lead through two periods.

Just 22 seconds into the third, Alex Kile caused a turnover and fed Adam Mechura to stretch the lead to 4-0. The Lions would then finally get on the board with a power play goal from Alex-Olivier Voyer at 1:46. The Maine power play instantly responded with a goal from Gabe Guertler at 2:53, before Gabriel Chicoine’s deflection less than a minute later made it 6-1 Mariners. Chicoine became the first ECHL defenseman to reach double figure goals, and added another later in the period for his 11^th of the season. Alex Kile scored Maine’s seventh goal in between – his league-leading 23^rd.

Zieky led a group of five Mariners with multi-point games, joined by Chicoine, Kile, Mechura, and Austin Albrecht. Brad Arvanitis earned his 10^th win with 34 stops on 35 Lions shots. The Mariners have scored 22 goals in their last three meetings with the Lions, outscoring them 22-7.

The Mariners (16-16-5-0) will spend the rest of the weekend on home ice, hosting the Newfoundland Growlers on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is “Throwback Night”, with a 6 PM puck drop. All tickets are $8 and there will be appearances by both AHL and ECHL Mariners alumni, including a book signing by Dale Arnold. Sunday is Women in Sports Day, presented by Nissan. A program panel discussion and a postgame open skate are included in the price of admission. 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.