( Photo Credit: Mike Hopey / ECHL Maine Mariners )

By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter / X @BlackAndGold277

Last night, the Maine Mariners returned home to the Cross Insurance Arena to face the visiting Adirondack Thunder. The Mariners have been on the road for the last two weeks and broke a team record for fans in attendance, with 6,076 faithful in the building. Unfortunately, the home Mariners suffered a 2-1 loss to the Thunder in a hard-fought game in front of a record-breaking crowd.

While on the road, the Mariners put together a decent four-game stretch, going 3-1, making stops in Glens Falls, New York, and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Mariners have had recent success against the Thunder this season, sweeping the home and home weekend not long ago at the Cool Insuring Arena in the Empire State.

The Thunder got on the board first in this game as Sean Gulke scored his first goal of the season at the 12:23 mark of the opening frame. In the second period, the Mariners got off to a quick start, tying the game at one apiece just 53 seconds into the middle frame courtesy of Wyllum Deveaux, who scored his fifth of the season. Midway through the third period, the visiting Thunder would put the dagger in the hearts of all those in attendance at the Cross when Greg Smith scored his first of the season at the 9:23 mark, giving Adirondack a 2-1 lead.

The Mariners fought hard to tie up the game to force overtime, but Thunder starting goaltender Jeremy Brodeur stood on his head, shutting down any Mariner chances. Speaking of chances, the Mariners were on the man advantage five times in this game vs. the Thunder, but Brodeur and the Adirondack penalty kill were just too much for the home team. The game ended in the favor of the visiting Thunder by the score of 2-1.

Mariners goaltender Ryan Bichel got the start last night looking for his eighth victory of the season and certainly did his part in trying to keep the puck out of the Maine net. Bichel took the loss on this night, stopping 18 of 20 shots, and was far from the problem in this frustrating home loss.

The Mariners are on the road at the Colisee Videotron in Trios-Rivières, Quebec, to face the Trios-Rivières Lions this afternoon. After the Mariners one-game trip north of the border, the Boston Bruins “AA” affiliate will embark on a six-game home stand as the team gets closer to the midway point of the 2024-25 regular season.

Maine currently sits in the seventh position in the North Division (last) and last in the Eastern Conference with 22 points in 25 games played. The team has a 10-13-2 and a home record of 5-8-0 and 5-5-2 away from the Cross Arena.

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