Melanson’s three-point night fuels second straight win
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
PORTLAND, ME – October 24, 2018 – Dwyer Tschantz broke a 1-1 tie at 5:23 of the third period and it looked for a while like it would be the game winner, but a chaotic final 3:23 saw teams trade goals multiple times before the Mariners eventually held on for a 4-3 win on Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Arena.
The only goal of the first period came off the stick of Spencer Watson at 5:57 of the frame, when his wrist shot from the left circle on the power play beat Connor LaCouvee’s glove for a 1-0 Manchester lead. The Mariners thought they had tied the game with about five minutes remaining in the period when Drew Melanson scooped up a puck behind goaltender Cole Kehler and put it into an empty net. The referee, however, blew his whistle stopping play, and the goal was waived off.
Melanson got his redemption at 16:58 of the 2nd period. John Furgele moved the puck across the blue line for a point shot by his D-partner Zach Tolkinen, which Kehler stopped, but Melanson pounced on and lifted under the crossbar to tie the game. It was the second professional goal for Melanson in as many games.
Tschantz’s tie-breaker was a product of another Furgele play, as the defenseman was set up by Jason Salvaggio and another loose rebound was converted by the Mariners. Tschantz glided in front and tucked a backhand past Kehler. The score remained 2-1 until 16:47 when Brycen Martin joined a rush and took a Melanson drop pass to add an insurance goal. The Monarchs then pulled their goaltender and immediately scored when Stepan Falkovsky’s blue line shot deflected past LaCouvee. Just over a minute later, Antoine Waked scored an empty net goal from the Monarchs blue line, with Melanson picking up his third point of the game on the only assist. Despite leaving Kehler in the net, Manchester answered again at 19:21 when Tony Cameranesi ripped a shot off the post and behind LaCouvee. The Monarchs nearly tied the game but the Mariners got multiple key shot blocks in the final 39 seconds to hold on.
LaCouvee made 36 saves to win his second consecutive start while Kehler took the loss in his professional debut, stopping 28 of 31.
The Mariners spend the weekend on the road in Glens Falls (Adirondack) on Friday for a 7:00 faceoff and Manchester on Saturday night for a 6:00 rematch with the Monarchs. They return home on Friday, November 2nd to take on the Reading Royals at 7:30 PM. Individual tickets can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com.
