PORTLAND, ME – January 28, 2024 – Chase Zieky capped a monster weekend with two goals and an assist to help the Maine Mariners defeat the Newfoundland Growlers 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Arena. The game was highlighted by a third period penalty parade, but the Mariners scored twice in the final frame to earn the victory.
Newfoundland got on the board first, capitalizing on the first power play opportunity of the game. Zach O’Brien fed Jackson Berezowski at the top of the crease at 9:01 of the opening period to make it 1-0 Growlers. In the final minute of the period, Zieky got the game tied, when he took an Alex Kile feed out of the right corner and tipped it under the cross bar.
Zieky struck again at 10:23 of the second period to give the Mariners their first lead. Like his first goal, linemates Kile and Adam Mechura helped set it up, with Zieky finishing on a tip-in. The Mariners put 16 shots on Luke Cavallin in the second period, but the Growlers found the equalizer late, as Matt Brassard beat Brad Arvanitis at 17:55 and the game headed to the third tied at two.
The Mariners broke the tie early in the third, when Austin Albrecht drilled home a feed from Brooklyn Kalmikov making it 3-2 Maine just 1:15 into the final stanza. Defenseman Ethan Ritchie added an insurance marker at 7:38, scoring for the second game in a row, set up on Mechura’s third assist of the day. At 13:05 of the third, the game hit a boiling point, and a pair of fights broke out between Maine’s Nathan Noel and Newfoundland’s Joe Gatenby, followed by Alex Sheehy and Todd Skirving dropping the gloves. Penalties continued to fly through the end of the game, with 95 combined minutes handed out between the two teams.
Arvanitis earned his 11th win and fifth in a row with 31 stops, while Cavallin stopped 35 of 39 in the losing effort. Zieky totaled seven points (three goals, four assists) over three games on the weekend.
The Mariners (17-17-5-0) continue their homestand next weekend with a $3 Deweys “Threekend,” against the Rapid City Rush. It begins on Friday, February 2nd with “Dinosaur Night” at 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.
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