Brassard shines again as Wallin breaks tie in third
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
ST. JOHN’S, NL – February 18, 2020 – Entering their four-game series with the Mariners on Friday, the Newfoundland Growlers had won 18 straight home games. They hadn’t lost at Mile One Centre since October 19th and hadn’t lost back-to-back home contests all season. On Tuesday night, the Mariners handed the Growlers their second loss in a row with a 2-1 victory thanks to Terrence Wallin’s tiebreaking goal midway through the third and a second consecutive fantastic performance in net by Francois Brassard.
Newfoundland got on the board in the game first after putting 15 shots on Brassard in the opening frame. With 29 seconds to go, Aaron Luchuk lifted one over the Maine netminder to make it 1-0 Growlers. Mariners forward Ted Hart couldn’t break the zone after stealing the puck away at the blue line and Luchuk eventually ended up alone down to the left of Brassard. The Growlers carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
At 7:57 of the 2nd, the Mariners got even when defenseman Sean Day carried the puck below the goal line and centered to Greg Chase, who beat the glove of Parker Gahagen to tie the game. Terrence Wallin picked up the secondary assist for his first point of the series. Each team had quality scoring chances in the 2nd period, with Brassard and Gahagen each making impressive saves on shorthanded opportunities for either team. Maine outshot Newfoundland 15-11 in the middle frame and for the second game in a row, it was tied at one entering the third.
Wallin rang the goal post early in the third but got his revenge with the go-ahead goal at 9:58. Getting his body in front of a puck inside the left point, Wallin moved slowly across the slot to the right circle and wristed a shot past Gahagen’s blocker for his 20th goal of the season. Day picked up his second helper of the game on the play. From there, the Mariners rallied around Brassard to hold the one-goal lead.
Brassard ended up stopping 34 and being named the game’s first star with his sixth win of the season and second in a row. Gahagen made 26 saves in the loss. The back-to-back home losses for Newfoundland were their first since March 9th and 10th, 2019 against Orlando.
With the win, he Mariners jump back into a third-place tie in the North Division playoff race with the Brampton Beast, two points behind the second-place Reading Royals.
The Mariners have one more game in Newfoundland, tomorrow night at 5:30 PM ET. After the road trips wraps up at Adirondack on Saturday, the Mariners will be back home on Sunday, February 23rd for “Miracle Night,” celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. The Mariners will be wearing Team USA inspired jerseys, which will go up for auction starting January 12th on the Handbid App. There will also be a postgame screening of the Disney movie on the video board. Groups of 10 or more can get discounted tickets to all games by calling 833-GO-MAINE. Individual tickets can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com, at the Trusted Choice Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena, or by calling 207-775-3458. All Saturday and Sunday home games feature the Family Four Pack – four tickets, four food and drink vouchers, and four Mariners beverage koozies, starting at $80, and must be purchased in advance.
