MAINE MARINERS CAPTURE FIRST WIN OF SEASON IN OVERTIME

GLENS FALLS, NY – October 28, 2023 – Rookie forward Owen Pederson scored his first professional goal at 6:39 of overtime to give the Maine Mariners a 4-3 victory over the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday night at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, NY. Gabriel Chicoine also scored a pair of goals in Maine’s first win of the season.

Just 3:33 into his return to the Mariners, Boston Bruins prospect Curtis Hall opened the scoring in the game early in the first period. Reid Stefanson stole a puck away in the neutral zone and created a 2-on-1, feeding Hall for a backdoor tap-in. The story for the remainder of the period was Mariners netminder Shane Starrett, who turned aside all 16 Adirondack shots that came his way.

Less than a minute into the 2^nd, the Mariners doubled their lead when defenseman Gabriel Chicoine was set up by Stefanson and Alex Kile, and beat Thunder goalie Vinnie Purpura with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle. The Thunder finally got on the board at the 9:00 mark of the middle frame, when T.J. Friedmann got behind the Maine defense and beat Starrett’s blocker with a wrister. Later in the period, the Mariners allowed the tying goal just moments after killing their first penalty of the night, Ryan Smith finding space between Starrett’s pads from the right circle. Heading into the third, the game was tied at two.

Chicoine’s second goal of the game put the Mariners back ahead at the 4:00 mark of the third period, when Tim Doherty zipped a pass to the defenseman in the high slot, and Chicoine buried another. The Thunder had the answer again, when Yushiroh Hirano snuck a quick shot-side shot inside the post at 12:01, off a nice rush by defenseman Tristan Thompson. Tied at three, the game headed into extra time.

A sloppy overtime period saw Starrett make several crucial stops to keep the Mariners alive. With just over 20 seconds to go, Tim Doherty rushed down the right wing and spotted Owen Pederson in front of the net. Pederson one-timed the game-winner past Purpura for the first goal of his professional career.

Starrett made 37 stops of 40 Adirondack shots, including six in overtime, to earn his first win of the season. Purpura turned aside 28 of 32 Mariners offerings.

The Mariners (1-2-0) visit Norfolk, VA for three games against the Norfolk Admirals next weekend, beginning Friday at 7:05 PM. They return home on Friday, November 10^th for “Lobster Night” presented by Anthem, a 7:15 PM faceoff against the Trois-Rivieres Lions. 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.