BRASSARD STOPS 41 TO SHUT OUT LIONS

TROIS-RIVIERES, QC – February 11, 2023 – Francois Brassard, Mathew Santos, and Reid Stefanson all had stand out performances to lead the Mariners 4-0 shutout victory over the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Saturday night at Colisee Videotron. Brassard made 41 saves to register his second professional shutout while Santos and Stefanson each recorded four points as the Mariners swept the home-and-home series

The line of Stefanson, Santos, and Cam Askew struck twice before the game was eight minutes old. At 4:16, Askew drove wide and took the puck to the net, giving Stefanson two backhand pokes, with the second one sliding through Francis Marotte for a 1-0 Mariners lead. Just under three minutes later, Stefanson cashed a pass in the slot from Santos off the rush to quickly make it 2-0. Santos and Askew each drew assists on both goals, giving Santos his 100th career point as a Mariner. It looked like Maine was going to go up 3-0 on a power play goal when Conner Bleackley got behind the Lions defense and Chase Zieky put home a rebound, but after a lengthy video review it was deemed goaltender interference and the score remained 2-0 at the end of 20 minutes.

There was less action in the 2nd period, but the Mariners were able to extend their lead with a goal in the closing minutes. At 17:59, the duo of Santos and Stefanson struck again, setting up Conner Bleackley on the doorstep for his first goal of the season, and a 3-0 Mariners advantage. Francois Brassard was a key factor in the frame, making 14 saves, and 22 through two periods.

Brassard made 16 more stops in the third to deny the Lions a goal, and the Mariners capped their scoring with a power play goal at 12:14. Santos made his way into the Lions zone and got all the way to the net, where as he was falling, slid the puck to Askew for a tap-in.

The Mariners swept the road portion of the season series (3-0) against the Lions and improved to 7-2-0 overall against them with two games remaining.