The Maine Mariners (6-10-1) were swept by the Norfolk Admirals this past weekend in a three-game series at Scope Arena.
Game 1
On Wednesday night the Maine Mariners fell 4-3 to the Norfolk Admirals. However, they did make an impressive comeback by scoring twice in the final 6:25 of regulation. Jimmy Lambert, Brooklyn Kalmikov, and Xander Lamppa tallied goals for Maine in the losing effort.
Norfolk took an early lead under a minute into the game when Pavel Padakin shot past Ryan Bischel. Maine responded with a power-play goal at 16:22 when Lambert’s shot bounced off an Admiral’s skate. With 45 seconds remaining in the period, Denis Smirnov gave Norfolk a 2-1 lead, one-timing a pass from Carson Musser into the net.
After two periods, the Admirals still led 2-1. In the third, Norfolk extended its advantage to 3-1 when Ben Zloty scored a power-play goal at 7:14. Maine didn’t go away, though—Brooklyn Kalmikov broke free on a breakaway and netted his fifth goal of the season at 13:35 to pull the Mariners back within one.
However, a Brandon Osmundson empty-net goal at 18:28 gave Norfolk a two-goal cushion. Lamppa scored on a rebound with 33 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough, as the Mariners fell short.
Domenic DiVincentiis earned the win for Norfolk, improving to 3-0 as an Admiral with 17 saves. Ryan Bischel stopped 18 of 21 shots in the loss for Maine.
Game 2
The Mariners fought back from a 2-0 deficit and successfully killed off 10 penalties in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Norfolk Admirals on Friday night.
The Admirals jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with goals from Carson Golder at 0:14 and Marko Reifenberger at 2:09. After a time-out, the Mariners started to find their stride with Evan Vierling scoring a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 7:29. Vierling then assisted Christian Sarlo, who scored at 16:05 to tie the game at 2-2.
The score remained tied through regulation despite several missed power-play opportunities for both teams, with the Mariners successfully killing all 10 penalties they faced.
Maine controlled the pace of overtime, registering four shots and hitting a goal post through Wyllum Deveaux. However, Padakin capitalized on a wrist shot from the slot at 5:28 of overtime to secure the win for Norfolk, marking his second goal in as many games.
Game 3
The Maine Mariners suffered their third consecutive loss to the Norfolk Admirals on Saturday night at Scope Arena, falling 4-1.
Norfolk took an early lead at 7:10 when Brady Fleurent deflected a shot past Brad Arvanitis. Back from a five-game suspension for fighting after leaving the penalty box, Hudson tied the game at 13:23, scoring just as a Mariners power play expired. Sebastian Vidmar stole the puck behind the Norfolk net and fed Hudson for the finish. However, before the period ended, Norfolk’s Carson Golder put the Admirals back in front with a power-play goal.
The score remained 2-1 through most of the second period until Norfolk’s Connor Fedorek extended the lead to 3-1 with a one-timer from the high slot at 19:39. In the third, Pavel Padakin sealed the win for Norfolk with an empty-net goal, making it 4-1.
Kristian Stead earned the win for Norfolk in his first start since October 26th, stopping 25 of 26 shots. Arvanitis made 18 saves on 22 shots for Maine.
The Mariners finish off their two-week road trip this Friday and saturday with a two game series versus Worcester before hopping back home for a game versus Trois-Rivieres on Sunday, December 8 at 3PM at Cross Insurance Arena.
