Maine can’t recover from two early goals
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND – December 12, 2018 – The Mariners allowed a pair of goals eleven seconds apart early in the opening period and could never recover on Wednesday night at Mile One Center in St. John’s, Newfoundland as they fell for the second straight night to the Growlers by a score of 5-2. Riley Bourbonnais and Michael McNicholas found the back of the net in the losing effort.
For the first time in seven games, the Mariners allowed the first goal and it came from former NHL defenseman Adam Pardy at 3:50 of the opening period. On the ensuing shift, Marcus Power rushed in and beat Brandon Halverson to quickly double the Growlers lead. It remained 2-0 until 5:19 of the second when Riley Bourbonnais slid a backhand inside the post defended by Mario Culina to cut the deficit to one.
A penalty to Michael McNicholas carried over into the third and Zach O’Brien converted in the final seconds of the power play, getting the puck back from his blocked pass, and finishing from a sharp angle. At 8:37, McNicholas got it back, finishing a rebound off a Derek Pratt shot, but the Mariners would get no closer. Stefan LeBlanc added insurance at 16:10 and Scott Pooley buried an empty-netter 48 seconds after.
The Mariners outshot Newfoundland, 33-30 – the first time they’ve outshot their opponent since November 17th at Brampton. Halverson lost for just the third time in his last 11 starts. Culina improved to 4-0-0 in limited action, allowing exactly two goals in all four starts.
Maine returns home Friday to host Adirondack at 7:15 PM. It’s another 1-2-3 Friday: $1 hot dogs, $2 popcorn, and $3 Bud Light Drafts through the start of the second period. It’s also the final day for non-perishable food donations for Preble Street. Tickets can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com or by calling 207-775-3458.
