PORTLAND, ME – April 24, 2026 – The Maine Mariners, proud affiliates of the NHL's Boston Bruins and AHL's Providence Bruins, took a 1-0 series lead over the Adirondack Thunder in the North Division Semifinals with a 2-1 overtime win on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. The game-winner was scored by Max Andreev shorthanded at 5:57 of sudden death.
Neither team found the net in the opening period, but it was a physical start to the game with 14 combined penalty minutes. The Mariners controlled play in the first stanza with a 13-4 shot advantage.
Adirondack netminder Jeremy Brodeur continued to be the story of the game in the second period, as he denied 20 more Mariners shots to keep the game scoreless. The Mariners were outshooting the Thunder 33-10 through 40 minutes.
The Mariners finally broke through about midway through the 3rd when Robert Cronin cashed in Antonio Venuto's 2-on-1 feed at 10:30. As time was winding down, the Thunder pulled Brodeur and found the equalizer with just 13 seconds remaining. Dylan Wendt's feed from the bottom of the left circle went into the feet of Jacob Hudson and right to defenseman Jackson van de Leest, who wired the tying goal past the glove of Luke Cavallin to force overtime.
A high-sticking penalty to Nick Anderson at 5:33 of OT set up Andreev's heroics. Hudson stripped the puck away from Patrick Grasso near the Thunder blue line and sprung Max Andreev across the ice. Andreev broke in solo and pulled the puck around Brodeur's outstretched pad to win the game. Maine finished the game with 51 shots to Adirondack's 16, including 5-0 in the sudden death session.
Game 2 of the series is tomorrow night at the Cross Insurance Arena, again at 6:00 PM. The series will shift to Glens Falls, NY next week with Games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary) at Harding Mazzotti Arena on Wednesday, April 29th, Friday, May 1st, and Saturday, May 2nd, all at 7:00 PM. Watch Parties will be held at minibar (Game 3), Three Dollar Deweys (Game 4) and Mast Landing - Westbrook (Game 5) for each road game of the series. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be played back in Portland on Tuesday, May 5th and Wednesday, May 6th at 7:00 PM. Tickets for all first-round home games are available at MarinersofMaine.com/playoffs.
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