PORTLAND, ME – December 29, 2023 – Kyle Keyser turned aside all 44 Adirondack Thunder shots that came his way as the Maine Mariners cruised to a 4-0 victory on Friday morning at the Cross Insurance Arena. A sellout crowd of 5,398 witnessed the Mariners collect their first shutout victory of the season.
It took just 37 seconds for the Mariners to open the scoring, with Austin Albrecht coming up with a loose puck in the low slot and spinning one into an open net. The puck had briefly been lost in a player’s equipment in front of the goal, disorienting Thunder goaltender Jeremy Brodeur. Later in the period, the Mariners capitalized on a power play opportunity, as Reid Stefanson redirected Alex Kile’s pass into the top of the net, doubling the Maine lead.
Adirondack pelted 20 shots at Keyser in the 2nd period, but he turned aside of all the them to preserve the two-goal lead. A key penalty kill transpired late in the period after a five minute major penalty was assessed to Mariners forward Gabe Guertler, and Maine continued to lead 2-0 through 40 minutes.
Maine stretched the lead to 3-0 at 2:38 of the third when Gabriel Chicoine followed Adam Mechura’s power move to the net, scoring his 7th goal of the season to lead all ECHL defensemen. At 5:15, Alex Kile made it 4-0 with a turnaround top-shelf shot, finished after a broken 2-on-1. Kile has scored in five consecutive games, as he and Mechura each collected three points on the day.
Keyser was locked in from start to finish and registered his third professional shutout, his first in the ECHL. The netminder, who is on an NHL contract with Boston was reassigned to Maine from Providence on Thursday.
The Mariners (10-12-3-0) are right back home Saturday night hosting the Trois-Rivieres Lions at 6 PM. It’s a “Carnival on the Concourse,” featuring face painters, magicians, balloon artists, and more. 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.
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