The Maine Mariners (4-7) came into their weekend series after an impressive comeback and OT win versus the Reading Royals on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, they would not be able to use their home ice advantage to get a win on either night and were swept roughly by the South Carolina Stingrays (8-2).
Saturday Night (11/16)
Saturday’s game was a sold-out Military appreciation night at Cross Insurance Arena, and thousands of fans stood in the stands flashing towels and celebrating veterans and current service members.
The Stingrays would be first on the board at 8:45 of the first, with Alexander Suzdalev scoring on a rebound off the post. Despite a collision with Mariners’ goalie Brad Arvanitis, the goal was upheld after review. South Carolina kept the Mariners goalless into the second period, scoring twice in the first five minutes with goals from Micah Miller at 1:41 and Jeremy Englebert three minutes later.
Maine finally made it past Stingray’s wall—a goal by Deveaux with an assist by Jimmy Lambert. Unfortunately, the score gap would continue when Englebert added another goal on the power play at 14:29 to push the lead to 4-1 by the end of the second.
In the third period, Josh Wilkins increased the lead to 5-1 just 26 seconds in, and Ben Hawerchuk added another goal at 6:10 to make the Stingrays 6-1, which would be the final score. The Mariners would get more aggressive, including getting into fights, notably one between Jacob Hudson and Ben Hawerchuk.
At the final buzzer, both teams finished with 33 shots on goal. South Carolina’s Mitchell Gibson tallied in 32 saves for the win, while Maine’s Arvanitis stopped 27 shots.
Sunday Night (11/17)
In the first period, South Carolina took control quickly with a goal by Engelbert at 16:29. The shots on goal were close, 11 for South Carolina and 9 for Maine, but the Mariner’s offense was struggling to find any rhythm. Maine was repeatedly outplayed by South Carolina, who dominated possession and kept the puck in Maine’s zone for most of the period. The Mariners had trouble regaining control, often missing opportunities to intercept passes and resorting to errant “oh shit” passes that went nowhere. Both teams had to kill off penalties, with Sarlo and Nachbaur each called for tripping. The period got even more intense when a fight broke out near the Mariners’ goal, sending Guay down the tunnel. As tensions escalated, both teams had to be separated, and play shifted to a more physical tone.
Ryan Bischel was the standout for Maine, making key saves to keep his team in the game, but it was clear the Mariner’s offense would need to step up to avoid being overwhelmed. Although Berger showed strong plays and even snagged a few fly pucks.
In the second period, Maine came out strong with an early goal by Sarlo at 1:18, briefly tying the game. However, South Carolina quickly regained the lead with a power-play goal by Combs at 6:56, followed by another goal from Weiss at 8:23, putting the Stingrays up 3-1. Despite Maine evening up the shots on goal, 18 to 20, they continued to struggle with defense, unable to contain South Carolina’s offense. While Maine was able to get more passes to the other end, their plays lacked the speed and fluidity of the Stingrays, who dominated possession and continued to generate breakaways.
The Mariners committed several penalties throughout the period—Underwood for holding at 5:42, Deveaux for high sticking at 11:41, and Lamppa for holding at 16:20—which only gave South Carolina more chances to control the game. The Mariners’ offense failed to push back with the same intensity, allowing the Stingrays to maintain control for much of the period.
In the third period, Maine’s struggles continued as they failed to clean up their passing, repeatedly handing the puck to South Carolina. The Stingrays were outpassing the Mariners, and though both teams grew more aggressive as the period wore on, Maine could not overcome the deficits created earlier in the game.
Middendorf scored for South Carolina at 8:22, and Cruickshank added another at 19:15, further sealing the win for the Stingrays. While Maine had a few opportunities to capitalize on close chances in front of the net, they were too slow to react, allowing those moments to slip away. Despite the increased physicality and effort, the Mariners simply didn’t have the strength to overpower South Carolina after being dominated in the first two periods. The combination of poor passing and missed opportunities ultimately led to their downfall, as the Stingrays maintained control and secured a 5-1 victory.
The three stars of the game were Sarlo, Combs, and Weiss. The mariners have one more home game this week on Wednesday 11/20 before going on a two week long road trip and will be back at Cross Insurance Arena on December 8th for their annual Teddy Bear Toss game.
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