PORTLAND, ME - January 24, 2025 - In a scrappy edition of the VIP Rivalry Cup, the Maine Mariners defeated Worcester Railers 4-2 on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. With a combined 84 penalty minutes, it was Chase Zieky's three assists that facilitated the Mariners offense. Owen Pederson also added a goal and an assist in the victory.
The Mariners jumped to a 1-0 lead just 67 seconds into the action. Brooklyn Kalmikov streaking through the middle, tossed one off to Jacob Hudson for a one-timer off the left-wing. Kalmikov's assist was his 30th point of the season, to lead the team after being named an Eastern Conference All-Star this week. Midway through the period, the Railers appeared to tie things up, but upon review it was deemed that Griffin Loughran interfered with Mariners goaltender Ryan Bischel. Maine held the 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
A power play goal by Maine's Tristan Thompson doubled the Mariners lead at 8:59 of the 2nd period. Thompson came downhill and ripped a slap shot past a screened Michael Bullion to make it 2-0 Maine. Once again, the play went under review for goaltender interference and went the Mariners way as it was upheld for Thompson's first goal as a Mariner.
At 5:46 of the third, the Mariners extended the lead to 3-0 when Owen Pederson marched in on the right and ripped one glove side past Bullion. The Railers finally got on the board 21 seconds later when Griffin Luce beat Bischel with a shot from the blue line. The Mariners lead was stretched back to three at 10:36 when Nick Jermain scooped up a rebound and slid one past Bullion to make it a 4-1 game. Worcester's Jordan Kaplan tucked in a wraparound goal at 14:40 to get the Railers back within two but the Mariners impressively locked down the game's final moments.
Ryan Bischel turned aside 27 of Worcester's 29 shots to earn his 10th win of the season. Bullion stopped 28 of 32 for Worcester.
The Mariners (15-18-3-0) and Railers play again at the Cross Insurance Arena on Saturday night at 6 PM for "Hockey Fights Cancer. The team will wear specialty jerseys that are currently up for auction, along with other speciality items to benefit Maine Children's Cancer Program. The Mariners are also home on Sunday at 3 PM, hosting the Trois-Rivieres Lions for "Pucks N' Paws," presented by UNUM. 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.
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