MARINERS TOP ROYALS, STRETCH POINT STREAK TO FOUR

PORTLAND, ME – March 16, 2024 – The Maine Mariners skated to their third consecutive win on home ice and extended their point streak to four games, defeating the Reading Royals 4-2 on Saturday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. The win pulled the Mariners into a four-way fourth place tie in the North Division playoff race.

As was the case Friday against Adirondack, the Mariners skated to a scoreless opening period. With shots even at nine and no power plays in either direction, it was an extremely evenly matched frame.

Jimmy Lambert opened the scoring for the second night in a row as he ripped home a wrister 2:46 into the middle frame, taking a feed from Bennett Stockdale – who registered his first professional point on the play. Reading went to the power play and evened up the score at 5:26 on a shot from Tag Bertuzzi at the right circle. The Mariners special teams pulled out a shorthanded goal at 11:22 to regain the lead when Lambert fed Alex Kile for a one-timer on a 2-on-1 his 31^st goal of the season. Maine jumped to a 3-1 lead at 15:27 of the second as Brooklyn Kalmikov netted a goal for the second night in a row, following a nice move to net by Zach Malatesta.

Trailing by two in the third, the Royals got a step closer when Yvan Mongo scored 4-on-4 at 5:06, stealing a puck just inside the Maine blue line and slapping one past Keyser’s glove. The Mariners failed to capitalize on several power plays through the third period with the chance to go back up by two. Reading pulled their goalie with just under three minutes to play, and Owen Pederson sealed the game with an empty net goal from the Reading blue line at 17:42.

Lambert, Kalmikov, and Malatesta all registered multi-point performances. Keyser earned his 5^th win of the season, turning aside 30 of 32 Royals shots. Anson Thornton suffered the loss, stopping 32 of 35. The Mariners, Royals, Trois-Rivieres Lions, and Worcester Railers are now all tied for fourth place in the North Division at 57 points each. Newfoundland sits in third, with 62.

The Mariners (25-26-7-0) meet the Royals again on Sunday afternoon at 3 PM to wrap up the season series and the Three Dollar Deweys Threekend. It’s St. Paddy’s Day and Beacon’s Birthday, presented by Oakhurst. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Mariners beer stein, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard, and following the game is the final postgame open skate of the season. Single game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Hammond Lumber Company Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. More information on ticket packages and group discounts can be found by calling 833-GO-MAINE or by visiting the Mariners front office at 94 Free St. in Portland.