PENALTY KILL SHINES AS MARINERS RECLAIM SERIES LEAD

PORTLAND, ME – April 26, 2024 – On the back of a 6/6 penalty kill effort, the Maine Mariners topped the Adirondack Thunder 4-1 on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven North Division Semifinals. Brad Arvanitis played another stellar game, making 28 saves for his second win of the series.

In stark contrast to the low-scoring games in Glens Falls, the opening period of Game 3 saw three combined goals. Mariners forward Tyler Drevitch opened the scoring at 7:48, deflecting a Ty Cheveldayoff shot off his skate at the side of the net. Fedor Gordeev wrapped the puck through the slot from below the goal line to Cheveldayoff on the back door, before putting it off of Drevitch. As play went to 4-on-4 at the 11:20 mark of the period, Andrew Peski joined a rush and wristed home a feed from Alex Kile just 17 seconds later to double the Maine lead. An unassisted goal by Adirondack’s Andre Ghantous got the Thunder on the board at 14:34 of the first.

A scoreless second period preserved the 2-1 score at the end of 40 minutes. Holding their one-goal lead through two more penalty kills in the third, a pair of late empty net goals by Maine’s Owen Pederson and Brooklyn Kalmikov would put the game away.

The North Division Semifinals continues on Saturday night with Game 4 between the Mariners and Thunder at the Cross Insurance Arena, a 6 PM puck drop. Game 5 follows on Sunday afternoon at 3 PM. If necessary, Games 6 and 7 would be back in Glens Falls, NY on Tuesday, April 30^th and Wednesday, May 1^st. Tickets for all first-round home playoff games are on sale now at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Hammond Lumber Company Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. The Maine Mariners 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs are presented by Evergreen Credit Union.