PORTLAND, ME – October 23, 2022 – Brandon Bussi made 38 saves while Nick Jermain scored a pair of goals in a 5-2 Maine Mariners victory over the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Sunday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Arena. The Mariners bookended the opening weekend of the season with victories over the Lions, taking two out of three.
After a sluggish start, the Mariners were able to get the game’s first goal midway through the opening period. At 10:01, Fedor Gordeev’s shot from the left circle was tipped home by Cam Askew, giving the Mariners the first goal for the first time this season. Brandon Bussi came up big between the pipes, stopping all 15 Lions shots in the first.
Askew was involved again on the second Mariners goal, sending Nick Jermain in on a breakaway at 7:33 of the middle frame. Jermain made a nifty backhand move, and put it off the cross bar and behind netminder Philippe Desrosiers to double the Maine lead. Bussi remained strong, stopping the first 30 Trois-Rivieres shots. With under one second left in the period, Cam Hillis finally broke through, wristing a shot through Bussi to pull the Lions back within one.
As the third period moved along, the score remained 2-1 until late in the frame. With the Mariners on the power play, a nice tic-tac-toe play from Mathew Santos to Nick Master to Patrick Shea gave Maine insurance at 17:30. Jermain would hit an empty net to make it 4-1 just 27 seconds later. After the Lions responded with a goal from Anthony Beauregard at 18:51, Gordeev joined the empty net club with his first goal of the season at 19:35, bringing an end to the scoring. Askew, Jermain, Gordeev, and Andrew Peski all registered multi-point games.
After stopping 37 shots on Friday, Bussi turned aside 38 this afternoon to improve his record to 2-0-0. Desrosiers made 26 stops in the loss as the Lions fell to 1-1-1-0.
The Mariners are on the road next weekend, with three games in Norfolk, Virginia against the Admirals starting Friday, October 28th. A four game homestand begins on Friday, November 4th against the Newfoundland Growlers. Game time is 7:15 PM and it’s “Jersey Friday,” featuring a youth jersey giveaway to the first 500 kids. It’s also the first 1-2-3 Friday of the season: $1 candy, $2 popcorn, and $3 Bud Light Drafts through the start of the second period.
Individual game tickets can be purchased online, at the Ware-Butler Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena, or by calling 207-775-3458. Ticket plans are also still available. More information on ticketing options is available by calling 833-GO-MAINE, emailing mariners-sales@comcastspectacor.com, or by visiting MarinersOfMaine.com.
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