KEELEY: (SAT) MARINERS CAN’T COMPLETE COMEBACK BID IN MANCHESTER
Win streak halted at six
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
MANCHESTER, NH – February 23, 2019 – Just as their six-game December winning streak ended at the SNHU Arena, so did the Mariners’ February run. After falling behind 3-0 to the Monarchs, Maine goals from Dwyer Tschantz and Charles-Eric Legare made things interesting, but Manchester got away with a 5-2 win on Saturday night.
The Monarchs struck twice in the first 5:05 of the game. Newcomer Kevin Dufour took advantage of a lucky bounce off a stanchion and beat Connor LaCouvee at 3:59 for the first goal of the game. At 5:05, Joe Masonius spring Drake Rymsha on a breakaway. Rymsha deked LaCouvee on a backhand and slid it between his pads to make it 2-0.
A key moment occurred about five minutes into the second period when the Monarchs took two penalties in short order – Alex Rauter for tripping and Joe Masonius for delay of game, giving Maine a 5-on-3. The Mariners used their timeout but failed to score, giving Manchester momentum and at 9:28, Chris Carlisle one-timed a shot from the blue line past LaCouvee to stretch the Manchester lead to 3-0. The Mariners got one back before the end of the second as Dwyer Tschantz wristed home his sixth goal of the season, and fourth in the last five games. Assists went to Josh Couturier and Terrence Wallin. Maine trailed 3-1 at the end of two periods.
Midway through the third, Wade Murphy set up Charles-Eric Legare for his first professional goal as Legare crashed the back post and tipped one past Kehler. The Mariners made a push but John Furgele took a late penalty allowing Nic Pierog to score an insurance goal on the power play and then Sam Kurker added an empty netter to bring it to a 5-2 final.
The Mariners are back home tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM against the Worcester Railers, for a brief stop between road trips. A full team autograph session will follow the game in the concourse. The Mariners are also home on Wednesday, March 6th against the Norfolk Admirals for Autism Awareness night, featuring a sensory reduced game presentation. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit MarinersofMaine.com or call the Trusted Choice Box Office at 207-775-3458.
