By: Benjamin Kennedy | Follow me on Twitter / X @marinershockey1
The Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine, welcomed hockey back with open arms on Friday evening as the Maine Mariners opened their 2024-25 regular season vs. the visiting ECHL Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. The sellout crowd did not wait long for the action to start, as an early fight broke out between Wheeling forward Matthew Quercia and Mariners defenseman Justin Bean at the 2:38 mark.
Not long after that, Wheeling forward Jordan Martel got a partial breakaway and drew a penalty on Mariners defenseman Jake Willets. This would lead to a Nailers power-play goal by forward Gabe Klassen. This was one of two power-play goals given up by the Mariners on the night.
Mariners forward Evan Vierling, gaining a step on the defense, would tie the game at one apiece with a rip between the dots. He was assisted on the play by forward Owen Pederson and forward Xander Lamppa. It would be the only goal on the night for the Mariners.
Wheeling’s Martel added a power-play score in the second period, which proved to be the game-winner. While the Mariners appeared to tilt the ice in their favor for much of the second period with a handful of near misses on Wheeling’s netminder, they entered the third period down one. Goals by Wheeling defenseman Phip Waugh and forward Kyle Jackson (empty net goal) sealed an impressive 4 to 1 victory for the visitors. Shots on goal favored Maine 26 to 24.
Saturday evening, the Mariners turned the tides and answered with a 4 to 1 win of their own. Like the night before, Wheeling’s Matthew Querica found himself in a brawl, this time with Mariners forward Wyllum Deveaux. Deveaux took exception to a brutal hit on teammate Turner Ripplinger moments before the gloves came off.
Maine’s first line got the scoring going late in the first period with a goal from forward Jacob Hudson, assisted by Vierling and Pederson. After a short referee review, the goal stood. The top line for Maine was noticeable for much of the night, as they generated numerous chances throughout the game and kept Nailers goalie Jaxon Castor’s head on a swivel.
While Wheeling tied the contest early in the second period on a Sam Houde goal, the Mariners continued to hunt pucks and play a physical style of hockey as the night progressed. They were rewarded for their efforts with goals from Wyllum Deveaux at 9:48 in the period and defenseman Mason Millman at 13:22. Maine ended the 2nd in control of play, with 16 shots of goal for the period.
Physical play and active sticks from the Mariners, especially in the neutral zone, did not allow Wheeling to generate many high danger looks in the 3rd period. Maine held the Nailers to only four shots on goal for the period. This made life easy for Mariner’s goalie Ryan Bischel. Bischel, making his professional debut, stopped 25 of 26 shots on the evening. Maine’s Vierling would add an empty net goal towards the end of the 3rd period to close the scoring.
The Mariners will be back in action next Friday evening, October 25th, when they take on the Norfolk Admirals, the Winnipeg Jets’ ECHL affiliate. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. in Portland.
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