TROIS-RIVIERES, QC – March 29, 2024 – Christian Sarlo scored his first two professional goals, but the Maine Mariners couldn’t hold a third period lead, and fell 6-3 to the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Friday night in Quebec. The Mariners fell three points behind the fourth and final North Division playoff spot.
The Mariners jumped to a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game when Sarlo, playing in just his fourth professional game out of Penn State University, banked one in off the pad of Lions netminder Strauss Mann for the first goal of his career. Sarlo’s goal was the only one of the opening 20 minutes.
Trois-Rivieres netted a pair of goals to move into the lead in the middle frame. Justin Ducharme finished a 2-on-1 feed from Jakov Novak to tie the game at 3:27, then it was Novak scoring one of his own at 10:28 to give the Lions the lead. The Mariners had the answer during 4-on-4, with Owen Pederson netting his 9th goal in the last 10 games, alone in front of the net and set up by Brooklyn Kalmikov. A barrage of penalties at the 17:35 mark of the period set up the Lions with a power play to start the third.
Sarlo struck with his second of the game, shorthanded at 2:02 of the third, taking a feed from Andrew Peski after a Lions defender lost his footing. Just 47 seconds later, the Lions tied it back up, when a fortuitous deflection off Novak from a Nathan Noel pass surprised Arvanitis. The scored remained knotted at 3-3 until Nolan Yaremko cruised into the zone and wristed one past the stick side of Arvanitis at 16:54. A pair of Lions empty net goals sealed the 6-3 final.
With Worcester’s win over Newfoundland, the Railers and Lions are tied at 66 points for the third and fourth positions in the North Division playoff race. The Growlers sit at 64, and the Mariners at 63.
The Mariners (28-28-7-0) take on the Lions again on Saturday afternoon in Quebec with a 3 PM faceoff at Colisee Videtron. There are three home games remaining in the regular season, beginning Friday, April 5th with Solar Eclipse Night, presented by Venture Solar. The puck drops at 7:15 PM against the Worcester Railers. Single game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Hammond Lumber Company Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. More information on ticket packages and group discounts can be found by calling 833-GO-MAINE or by visiting the Mariners front office at 94 Free St. in Portland.
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