Power play strikes three times to help Mariners end skid
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
PORTLAND, ME – January 14, 2020 – Back-to-back power play goal by Morgan Adams-Moisan and Terrence Wallin in the third period, led the Mariners to a 3-2 come from behind win over the Worcester Railers on Tuesday night at the Cross Insurance Arena. The Mariners snapped a five-game losing skid with the win, pulling back to within one point of fourth place in the North Division, and giving themselves a chance to jump back over Adirondack tomorrow night.
The first highlight of the game came at the 7:55 mark of the opening period when Morgan Adams-Moisan and Yanick Turcotte engaged in a long and spirited fight that started at center ice and transitioned all the way down into the Railers zone before the officials finally intervened. Worcester took a 1-0 lead two minutes later on an Arnaud Durandeau deflection of a Justin Murray shot from the left wall. Each team fired 17 first period shots, but Durandeau’s goal was the only one.
The Mariners continued to pepper Railers goaltender Evan Buitenhuis with quality shots through the second period and finally broke through to tie it up at 16:47 when Ted Hart followed up Michael McNicholas’ shot out of Buitenhuis’ glove with the rebound power play goal to make it 1-1. The Railers responded on the ensuing shift, as Drew Callin capitalized on a turnover in front of the Mariners net and beat Connor LaCouvee for an unassisted goal. At 18:55 of the period, Mariners forward Mikael Robidoux threw an explosive hit on Callin between the benches and was jumped by Kyle Thomas – who received a major penalty and game misconduct. Worcester led 2-1 at the end of two.
At 11:44 of the third, Worcester’s Ben Thomson was assessed a hooking penalty, and the Mariners power play converted again to tie the game. Morgan Adams-Moisan got a position in front of Buitenhuis and redirected Zach Tolkinen’s offering from the point for his third goal of the season. Upset for what he felt was a missed penalty call before the call, Railers head coach David Cunniff was called for an abusive language bench minor, putting the Mariners right back on the power play. Alex Kile and Ryan Culkin then set up Terrence Wallin alone to the right of Buitenhuis, to give Maine its first lead – the goals coming 55 seconds apart. The Mariners killed off a late Adams-Moisan roughing penalty on their way to holding on for the 3-2 win.
The 45 shots on goal tied a franchise high for the Mariners and represented their highest total in the game this season. LaCouvee made 36 saves to earn his 11th win. Buitenhuis was fantastic in the loss, turning aside 42 shots.
The Mariners will travel to Glens Falls, NY to take on the Adirondack Thunder tomorrow night at 7 PM, with the chance to leapfrog the Thunder for fourth place in the North Division. They’ll then play a 3-in-3 for the second weekend in a row, with games in Brampton, Ontario on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They’ll return home on Friday, January 24th for Star Wars night, against Worcester once again. It’s a “1-2-3 Friday,” featuring $1 Aquafina, $2 Pepsi products, and $3 Bud Light Drafts through the start of the 2nd period. Star Wars characters from local fan groups will be on hand, and the first 2,000 fans in attendance will get a Mariners t-shirt courtesy of Unifirst. 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.
Mariners Head Coach/Assistant General Manager Riley Armstrong
On the power play:
“I thought we generated a lot of chances. We got a lot of good looks in, a couple of posts. It came through and won us the game.”
On the intensity of Morgan Adams-Moisan and Mikael Robidoux:
“I thought [Robidoux] obviously gave us the power play opportunities. We had a lot of guys step up in a lot of different roles, it was good to see.”
On the most satisfying part of the win:
“Just ending that losing streak. It gets the room feeling a lot better and it kind of gets the monkey off our back so that we can get back on the right track.”
Mariners forward Morgan Adams-Moisan
On his game-tying goal in the third:
“It took a weight off my shoulders. It’s been a while, only two goals this season before that and when Tolks shot the puck and I tipped it in it was just a relief.”
On his fight with Yanick Turcotte
“We were on a five-game losing streak and we had to spice things up and I knew that Turcotte wanted to fight last game so I wanted to get the boys going early on.”
On ending the losing streak:
“After a five-game losing streak it felt really good. Just to now just keep the boat going and continue on our four games in five days coming up.”
