The Adirondack Thunder and Maine Mariners faced off on Friday Night for the Mariners final home game of the season. The Mariners honored the late Raymond “Switch” Dudley, who passed away earlier this year. Dudley was a longtime fan and loved by players on both sides of the ice. He was inducted into the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame in 2015. His presence will surely be missed by all around the Cross Insurance Arena. Switch was best known for his famous “Voodoo Finger”.
Both Adirondack and Maine had a lot on the line tonight. The Mariners were looking to keep pace with the Trois-Rivieres Lions and Worcester Railers, with two Kelly Cup Playoff Spots still up for grabs in the North Division. For Adirondack, they were looking to capture their third North Division Title in franchise history. Maine would get an early chance on the PP as Tristan Ashbrook would take a hooking penalty just 55 seconds after the opening faceoff, but Adirondack would end up killing that off. Maine would get the only goal of the period as Brooklyn Kalimikov scored from the slot at the 16:58 mark of the opening period as the Mariners took a 1-0 lead after the opening frame. Adirondack would quickly tie the game in the second as Yushiro Hirano would feed Ashbrook for his 31st of the season just 57 seconds after the opening draw in the second, the Mariners would tie it up less than five minutes later as former Thunder Sebastian Vidmar scored on a back-hander to tie the game up at two but that lead only lasted for 1:33 seconds until Ryan Wheeler found the back of the net scored in his second straight game to tie it for the Thunder on a play that began with a big hit from Zach Walker who would also end up picking up an assist on the goal. Before the second period would come to a close, Walker would go after Ethan Richie for a trip at the end of the second and would be assessed a major for fighting and a game misconduct for being the aggressor, putting Adirondack down a man to start the second period.
In the opening minute of the third, Brayden Crowder took a questionable slashing call, giving Maine a 5 on 3. Owen Peterson’s shot went off Darian Skeoch and in, and the Mariners took a 3-2 lead. Adirondack would get a PP of their own later in the period as Ashbrook won a faceoff and fed Hirano, who beat Brad Arvanitis to tie the game up at three. Maine would respond as Adam Mechura found the back of the net with 5:35 to go as it looked like the Mariners would pick up the two points, but less than a minute later, it would be the new kids on the block who tied it up for Adirondack as Alex Young and Ryan Conroy picked up the assist, and that would be enough to send it to OT. In the extra frame, it would be Mac Welsher, who just got one by Arvanitis at the 5:38 mark of OT as the Thunder clinched their third North Division Title in Franchise History and will have an opportunity to clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference tomorrow vs Maine Mariners. The win gives Adirondack the most points in a season (94) and most wins in a season (42).
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