By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
After winning their first playoff series in franchise history in the first round of the 2026 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs against the Adirondack Thunder, the Maine Mariners have stumbled to begin their series against the Wheeling Nailers. With the series now shifting to Portland, Maine, the pressure on the Mariners has grown immense.
The Mariners host the Nailers in Game 3 of the North Division Finals series at Cross Insurance Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The Nailers currently lead the Mariners 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
The first two games between the Mariners and Nailers were played at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia. In Game 1 this past Friday, the Mariners led three times but fell 4-3, as Nailers forward Ryan McAllister scored the game-winning goal at 3:10 of overtime. Even with the loss to begin the series, the Mariners showed tremendous fight against this year’s North Division champion. However, Game 2 was the complete opposite of Game 1 for the Mariners.
The Mariners fell 4-1 in Game 2 to trail 2-0 in the series to the Nailers this past Saturday. Forty-five seconds into the game, forward Matthew Quercia scored to give the Nailers a 1-0 lead. With 1:14 remaining in the first period, Mariners forward Zach Jordan scored to tie the game at one, but with under ten seconds remaining in the period, forward Brayden Edwards scored to put the Nailers up 2-1.
Giving up a goal with under ten seconds remaining in a period to trail heading into an intermission can be a momentum killer for a team, and it showed in the second period for the Mariners. The Nailers scored two goals in the period, thanks to forwards Zach Urdahl and Logan Pietila, to take a 4-1 lead heading into the second intermission. Then, the third period would be scoreless to give the Mariners the three-goal win.
After giving up three goals in Game 1, Nailers goaltender Taylor Gauthier continued his excellent 2026 playoffs by making 32 saves in Game 2. Mariners goaltender Luka Cavallin made 19 saves in the loss after Brad Avtanitis made 38 saves in Game 1.
It’s time to see how both teams fared against each other when playing in Portland this season. The Mariners won two of the three meetings against the Nailers that they played at home. Two games were played in October, early in the season. The first one was a 7-3 Mariners win on Oct. 25, and the second one was a 5-4 overtime win by the Nailers on Oct. 26. In the last meeting in Portland on Jan. 28, the Mariners won 3-2 in a shootout.
The pressure is on the Mariners for Game 3. If the Mariners win, they will force the series to go at least five games, with Game 5 being on Wednesday night. If the Nailers win, the Mariners will fall 0-3 in the series and will face a potential series sweep in Game 4 tomorrow night at home.
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