KALAMAZOO, MI – February 21, 2024 – Collin Adams scored with just 15.5 seconds left in sudden death overtime to give the Kalamazoo Wings a 3-2 victory over the Maine Mariners on Wednesday night at Wings Event Center. It was the first of a three-game Central Division road trip for the Mariners, and their first ever meetings with the Wings.
The Wings outshot the Mariners 17-8 in the first, but it was Maine which struck first. On the power play at 14:03 of the opening period, Chase Zieky scooped up a rebound from a Jimmy Lambert point shot, and gave the Mariners a 1-0 edge with his 10th goal of the season. For Lambert, it was his first game since January 5th, returning from an upper body injury.
The Wings answered with their own power play goal early in the 2nd period to tie the game. At 3:21, Ayden MacDonald got loose behind Brad Arvanitis and tapped home a Jeff Passolt pass in the goal mouth to even things up. Michigan native Ryan Mast would put Maine back ahead about four minutes later. A rush into the zone led by Tyler Drevitch was fed across to Gabriel Chicoine and eventually Mast, who drove down the slot and ripped a high blocked shot past Hunter Vorva. The Mariners carried a 2-1 lead into the third.
At 6:35 of the third, the Wings tied the game on a 2-on-1 rush, when Passolt fed one down to Collin Saccoman for a tap-in behind Arvanitis. The game advanced to overtime, tied at two. The Mariners registered six shots on Vorva in overtime, but Adams pounced on a rebound at the end of OT to give the Wings the win.
Arvanitis made 40 stops in the losing effort while Vorva turned aside 29 to win his fourth start in a row.
The Mariners (20-22-6-0) continue on their Central Division trip this weekend, visiting the Toledo Walleye for the next two games – Friday and Saturday night at 7:15 PM. The games can be seen and heard on the Maine Mariners Broadcast Network, powered by Mixlr and FloHockey, with pregame coverage beginning at 7 PM. The Mariners return home for a 10:30 AM “School Day” game on Tuesday, March 5th vs. Worcester. 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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