WORCESTER, MA – December 22, 2024 – Owen Pederson and Matthew Philip each registered two goals as the Maine Mariners collected an 8-5 victory over the Worcester Railers on Sunday afternoon at DCU Center. A total of nine Mariners registered multi-point games in the final game before the holiday break.

After a scoreless opening 14 minutes, the Mariners were able to break the scoreless tie just as their first power play of the day came to end. Chase Zieky, camped in front of Michael Bullion, deflected home Michael Underwood’s point shot at 14:08. For both Zieky and Underwood, it was their first point of the season. The Railers tied it up just over four minutes later when defenseman Matias Rajaniemi beat Brad Arvanitis through traffic from the left point. It was a 1-1 game after 20 minutes.

The second period was a wild one, with six combined goals – four by the Mariners. A slew of Worcester penalties set the Mariners up with consecutive 5-on-3 chances, and they cashed in on both. Owen Pederson, camped on the doorstep, tipped in a pass from Brooklyn Kalmikov at 4:57 to put Maine back in the lead. A little over a minute later, Kalmikov got a goal of his own, cranking home a rebound off Bullion’s pad to stretch the lead to 3-1. As the power play reverted to 5 on 4, Nick Jermain joined the party with his first goal of the season, deflecting Justin Bean’s shot to make it a 4-1 game at 6:53. Worcester’s Anthony Callin cut into the deficit at 7:24 with a backhander in tight, his first of two in the period. Evan Vierling answered for the Mariners on a nifty breakaway pass from Christian Sarlo at 10:16, before Callin’s power play goal a 11:57 made the score 5-3. 

Just :51 into the third period, Jordan Kaplan pulled the Railers within one when he spun a backhander past Brad Arvanitis near the right circle. The Mariners responded with the next two however, as Pederson scored his second of the day at 5:33 and Matthew Philip found the net at 7:22, set up with a nifty pass from Xander Lamppa. Worcester’s Riley Ginnell made it 7-5 when he scored at 17:03, but Philip’s empty netter at 19:19 finally ended the scoring parade.

Arvanitis made 32 saves to earn his first win of the season. Bullion stopped 34 of 41 for the Railers.

The Mariners (10-12-2) will have a six day holiday break before returning for a home game on Saturday, December 28^th against the Adirondack Thunder at 6 PM. It’s a “Pajama Party” and the first 1,000 fans will receive a Mariners pillowcase. The Mariners are also home for a 1 PM matinee on New Year’s Day, hosting the Trois-Rivieres Lions, with a carnival on the concourse. Single game tickets are available at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Hammond Lumber Company Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. For more information on ticket packages and group discounts, fans can call 833-GO-MAINE, go to MarinersOfMaine.com, or visit the Mariners front office at 94 Free Street in Portland.