MARINERS COMEBACK EFFORT FALLS ONE GOAL SHORT

PORTLAND, ME – December 9, 2022 – Trailing by two entering the third period, the Mariners could only get within one as they suffered a 3-2 loss to the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. Tim Doherty and Pat Shea each had two points for the Mariners in the losing effort.

The Lions struck early to take a 1-0 lead. Brett Stapley got his first goal of the season, tapping home a cross-ice pass set up by Pierrick Dube and Jason Horvath at 3:39 of the opening period. That was the lone goal of the opening frame.

Maine’s Pat Shea scored his team-leading 9th goal of the season to even things up just 2:04 into the second period, cashing in off the rush on a feed from Tim Doherty. Dube scored on the power play to put the Lions back ahead at 12:44 and Anthony Beauregard followed when he banked a rebound off the end boards past Francois Brassard at 16:10, giving the Lions a 3-1 lead after two.

After a sluggish start to the third, Doherty created another goal when he slipped a backhand pass to defenseman Fedor Gordeev for a top-shelf finish at the 8:00 mark, bringing the deficit back to one. The Mariners got four consecutive minutes of power play time after Horvath took back-to-back penalties midway though the period, but came up empty. A last minute 6-on-5 effort was also in vain and the Lions held on for the 3-2 win.

The Mariners outshot the Lions 28-23 as Philippe Desrosiers was strong in a 26 save effort in the Lions net. Brassard turned aside 20 for the Mariners. The Lions win streak extended to four as the Mariners three game win streak came to an end.

The Mariners (9-10-1-0) host the Lions again tomorrow night at 6 PM. The team will wear Margaritaville specialty jerseys, which will be auctioned via Handbid. There will also be a full-team autograph session following the game. Individual game tickets can be purchased online, at the Ware-Butler Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena, or by calling 207-775-3458. Family Four Packs are available for all Saturday and Sunday games and can be purchased here. Season-long 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.