On Friday night, the Maine Mariners faced the Norfolk Admirals in Portland for the first of a three game weekend. The Mariners gave it a valiant effort but still came up short. Going into the game, Maine sat at #5 in the North Division, while Norfolk was #2. In net for the Mariners was #35 Kyle Keyser, and for the Admirals, #1 Yaniv Perets. Maine got on the board first at 9:19 in the first with a goal from #42 Tyler Drevitch. Nine seconds later, Alex Kile would make it a 2-0 lead. However, the Admirals responded at 14:24 with a goal by their #12 Danny Katic. This wrapped up the first period, and there were notably no penalties for either team. Norfolk started out the second with a goal only 23 seconds in, scored by #22 Stepan Timofeyev. The only other goal of the period was also by Timofeyev at the tail end of the period at 19:57. This period is also when the teams began to get a bit physical, as many of the Mariners recent games have been. At 9:11 in the second, Mariners’ Zach Malatesta and Norfolk’s Mark Liwiski received matching 2 minute penalties for roughing. The third period held the most action of the game. Each team scored two goals in the third, Norfolk scoring first at 4:17 in the third by #94 Brady Fleurent. The Mariners responded at 9:57 with a goal from #16 Nathan Noel. This still left Maine trailing 4-3. Norfolk scored their 5th and final goal of the game at 16:40 by #24 Carson Golder. Maine’s Alex Kile was able to get another past Perets at 18:04 in the third, but it wasn’t enough to get the win. After Norfolk’s last goal, Maine’s Ryan Mast and Norfolk’s Mark Liwiski received matching 2 minute penalties for roughing, Liwiski’s second of the night. At 20 minutes in the third, the end of the game, Maine’s Alex Kile received a 10 minute misconduct along with a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct minor. These resulted from Kile saying some unchoice words to the referees and returning to them to say these things rather than exit the ice after the buzzer.
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Saturday night, the Mariners played in front of a sold-out crowd, as they played as the “Maine Wild Blueberries.” Unfortunately, the exciting promo and plenty of fans cheering them on still didn’t get them a win on the ice. The Mariners fell to the Admirals 4-2. Both teams had different goalies in net for this game. Maine’s #1 Brad Arvanitis made his return after being out briefly with an upper-body injury. In for the Admirals was #30 Oskari Salminen. The Mariners once again had a 2-0 lead over the Admirals in the beginning of the game. The only goal scored in the first was at 9:30 by Mariners’ #8 Curtis Hall. At 6:46 in the second, they scored another from #27 Zach Malatesta. This would be the last goal of the night for the Mariners, as the Admirals responded in the second at 10:42 with a goal from #12 Danny Katic. In the third, they scored at 3:32 from #24 Carson Golder, at 15:49 by #22 Stephan Timofeyev, and an unassisted goal at 19:49, again from Carson Golder. This game, like the previous one, was a bit physical between the two teams. At 19:41 in the first, Mariners’ Alex Sheehy and Admirals’ Mark Liwiski were called for matching 2 minute penalties for roughing. At 5:28 in the second, Mariner’s Austin Albrecht and again Liwiski from the Admirals were given matching 2 minute roughing penalties. At 7:28 in the third, Admirals’ Darick Louis-Jean was given a 2 minute penalty for roughing. There were also two bench minors called against the Mariners during the game. At 11:53 in the second, they were called for too many men, which was served by Nathan Noel. At 3:34 in the third, they were called for a face-off violation, which was served by Adam Mechura.
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The Mariners were finally able to get a victory against the Admirals Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 win. The Admirals’ Salminen was in the net for the second night in a row, and the Mariners played their third goalie of the weekend, #40 Shane Starrett. This was by far the most physical game of the weekend. In the first period alone, there were 18 penalties between the two teams, and a total of 32 penalties were given out by the end of the game. At 7:52 in the first, Tyler Drevitch received a 2 minute minor for roughing. Six penalties were called at 9:21 in the first. Mariners’ Zach Malatesta received a 5 minute major and a 2 minute minor for fighting, and Cameron Askew received a 2 minute minor for roughing. For the Admirals, Keegan Iverson and Stephan Timofeyev both received 2 minute minors for roughing, and Mark Liwski received a 5 minute major for fighting. At 14:21, there were seven penalties called. For the Mariners, Alex Sheehy was given a 10 minute game misconduct for secondary altercation along with a 5 minute major for fighting. Maine’s Wyllum Deveaux also received a 5 minute major for fighting. Admirals’ Keegan Iverson received 10 minutes for game misconduct – secondary altercation, 5 minutes for fighting, and 2 minutes for roughing. Admirals’ Darick Louis-Jean also received 5 minutes for fighting. Three penalties were called at 16:37, Mariner’s Ethan Ritchie receiving a 10 minute misconduct along with a 2 minute minor for roughing, and the Admirals’ Kamerin Nault receiving a 4 minute double minor for roughing. A recent addition and former player for Maine, Fedor Gordeev, received two simultaneous minors at the beginning of the second, one for cross-checking and the other for high-sticking. Two penalties were called against Admirals’ Mark Liwiski at 10:18, 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and 2 minutes for cross-checking. At 16:08, Liwkisi received another 2 minutes for interference, and teammate Brady Fleurent received 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. Five penalties were called at 3:56 in the third. Maine’s Adam Mehura was given 2 minutes for roughing. Admirals’ Mark Liwiski received 10 minutes for misconduct – continuing altercation, 2 minutes for roughing, and 2 minutes for cross-checking. Admirals’ Simon Kubicek also received 2 minutes for roughing. At 8:54, Maine’s goalie Shane Starrett received a 2 minute minor for slashing. Finally, at 18:49 in the third, Admirals’ Keaton Jameson was given a 4 minute double minor for high-sticking, which left Mariners’ Alex Sheehy heading off the ice after leaving a trail of blood behind him from the hit. In the midst of the altercations, gear strewn about the ice, and the blood clean-up, Maine was able to take the lead and win the game. Maine’s #4 Wyllum Deveaux opened up the game early with a goal at 3:21 in the first. Not even two minutes later, at 5:05, Mariners’ #21 Ethan Ritchie also got one past Salminen. This gave the Mariners their third 2-0 lead in a row. The Admirals scored at 7:20 in the first with a goal from #11 Kamerin Nault. During the second period, neither team was able to score. Norfolk’s #93 Dmitry Kuzmin tied things up at 10:08 in the third. Wyllum Deveaux scored the first goal of the afternoon, as well as the last, with the game-winner at 14:40 in the third. After a long, physical weekend against the Admirals, Maine was finally able to get a win.
The Mariner’s next six games will be on the road. This Wednesday, the 21st, they travel to Michigan to play Central Division opponents, the Kalamazoo Wings. Both teams sit at #5 in their respective division. They’ll then be traveling to Ohio for games from the 23rd through the 25th. For the first two, they’ll face the Toledo Walleye, who are currently #1 in the Central Division. Sunday, they’ll head to Cincinnati to face the Cyclones, currently #6 in their division. Finally, before returning to home ice, they’ll make a stop in Virginia to face the Norfolk Admirals twice more. The Mariners return to Portland for a 10:30 am game on Tuesday, March 5th.
