WORCESTER, MA – October 10, 2025 – The Maine Mariners, proud affiliates of the NHL's Boston Bruins and AHL's Providence Bruins, defeated the Worcester Railers 4-2 on Friday night in their preseason opener at Worcester Ice Center. Brothers Zack and Cooper Jones each found the net to lead the Mariners offense.

It was a strong start for Maine, outshooting Worcester 17-9 in the opening frame, and the Mariners would find the net first. After a holding penalty to Worcester defenseman Ryan Dickinson, Ty Cheveldayoff deflected a Cooper Jones one-timer past the glove of Henrik Tikkanen at 11:40 of the period to make it 1-0 Maine. Cheveldayoff, who made his professional debut with the Mariners at the end of 2023-24 season, returned to Maine this week after signing with Providence in the offseason.

Worcester tied things up at 9:23 of the 2^nd period, as the Callin brothers connected - Drew Callin feeding Anthony Callin just moments after a Maine penalty expired. Off the ensuing faceoff, Maine's Dilan Savenkov and Worcester's Nick Pennucci dropped the gloves in a spirited fight at center ice. The Mariners regained the lead at 15:32 of the middle frame when Jacob Hudson sprung Zack Jones in on a breakaway, giving Maine the 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes. 

Maine added an insurance goal at 5:47 of the third when Linus Hemstrom slid a backhander past Tikkanen in tight. The Railers answered with a power play goal, again from Callin less than three minutes later, ripping a one-timer from the left circle. Cooper Jones restored the two-goal Mariners lead at 13:39, finishing a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play. The Jones brothers combined for three points in the game.

In between the pipes, Maine's Ethan Pearson made 22 saves on 24 shots to earn the win. Tikkanen turned aside 27 of 31 for Worcester.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night in Biddeford, ME at The Harold Alfond Forum (University of New England) to wrap up the preseason. Admission is free on a first come, first served basis and the puck drops at 6 PM.

The regular season presented by Hannaford, begins on Saturday, October 18th at Worcester with the Home Opener against the Reading Royals on Sunday, October 19th at 3 PM. Single game tickets for all 36 regular season home games are now on sale at MarinersOfMaine.com or at the Hammond Lumber Company Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena. Ticket packages including the 207 Club, half-season and 12-game plans, 12-ticket flex plans, and group discounts are also available by calling 833-GO-MAINE, filling out an inquiry form at MarinersOfMaine.com, or visiting the Mariners front office at 94 Free Street in Portland.