PORTLAND, ME– The Adirondack Thunder had their first game since the Christmas break on Friday afternoon as the faced the Maine Mariners, and it showed as the Mariners hopped on the board just 37 seconds after the opening faceoff as Austin Albrecht would be the only one who found a loose puck and put it into an empty net to get the party started. Maine would add another goal in the first as Alex Kile found Reid Stefanson in front for a tip-in on the PP as the Mariners would hold a 2-0 lead and would outshoot Adirondack 17-5 in the opening frame. Adirondack would come out hot in the second, hounding Kyler Keyser with shots and keeping the Mariners without a shot on net for the first seven minutes of the period. Adirondack would get a golden chance to cut into the Mariners lead as Gabe Guertler would get five and a game for a kneeing penalty on Erik Middendorf at the 14:40 mark of the second, but Maine would continue to keep the Thunder off the board, “Ya, it was huge cause we couldn’t get the dagger on our four minute PP to go up 3-0, so I felt like that four-minute PP was a huge momentum shift in the game, I felt like that five minute PK was a momentum shift in the game and led us into the third with really good vibes in the locker room” said Mariners head coach Terrence Wallin.
Maine would add two more goals in the third as Gabriel Chicoine would put home a rebound at the 2:38 mark, and then Alex Kile would extend his goal streak to five straight games as the Mariners would win just their third game on home ice this season, “Ya, especially at home, we’ve had a lot of good crowds this year, but we just can’t find a way to win and tonight was it” said Alex Kile on the Mariners victory in front of a sold-out crowd. Kyle Keyser, in his first ECHL game since January 6th, 2023 would get his first career ECHL shutout, stopping all 44 shots that he saw, “Ya it felt good, obviously the guys played well in front of me, anytime you have a shutout it’s not just the goaltender it’s the whole team” said Keyser.
The Mariners, who have gotten three of their last four points after the Holiday break, seemed to be refreshed and will host Trois-Rivieres tomorrow night, “It’s always nice to go home and visit family and kinda get your mind away from hockey it’s always a good reset, and we have a lot of hockey left for sure, and we gotta figure out how to start winning some games” said Kile. Adirondack will host Newfoundland tomorrow at 7pm and Sunday at 3 pm.
