By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
The Maine Mariners have played the first two games of their North Division Semifinals series against the Adirondack Thunder. After the first two games of the series were played at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, the scene now shifts West to Glens Falls, New York. Game 3 of the Mariners-Thunder series will be played tonight at Harding Mazzotti Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Including tonight, the next three games of the series between the Mariners and Thunder will be played in Glens Falls.
The Mariners won dramatically in Game 1 to begin the series this past Friday. The Mariners’ offense outshot the Thunder 51-16 to win the game 2-1 in overtime, thanks to forward Max Andreev scoring the game-winning goal. The Mariners recorded all five of the shots on goal in the entire overtime period, which lasted 5:57. Mariners goaltender Luke Cavallin made 15 saves in the win. Even in defeat, Thunder goaltender Jeremy Brodeur was outstanding, making 49 saves.
In Game 2 this past Saturday, the Thunder rebounded, winning 3-2 to even the series at one and force at least five games. The Thunder got two goals from Justin Taylor in the first period and led 2-1 heading into the second intermission. Matt Salhany scored an empty-net goal to extend the Thunder’s lead to 3-1 with 1:32 remaining in regulation, and Taylor recorded an assist on the goal to finish with a three-point game. Then, Antonio Venuto scored for the Mariners with under 40 seconds remaining to make it a 3-2 game, but it would be too little too late for a Mariners comeback.
Game 2 saw the Thunder’s offense get more shots on goal against Cavallin after a disappointing offensive showing in Game 1. The Thunder finished Game 2 with 35 shots on goal, 19 more shots on goal than they finished with in Game 1. Cavallin made 32 saves in the loss, including 19 saves in the second period alone. Brodeur made 26 saves in Game 2 to earn the win. Both Cavallin and Brodeur have been solid through two games to begin the series for their respective teams.
The series shifting to Glens Falls puts the question of how the Mariners fared on the road against the Thunder this season. Like having home struggles, the Mariners struggled on the road against the Thunder, losing six of the eight meetings played this season in Glens Falls.
The last game played in Glens Falls is similar to the last regular-season game between the two teams in Portland on April 8, before the playoffs arrived, when the Mariners fell 6-5 in a shootout after scoring five unanswered goals to tie the game in the third period in a valiant effort. The Mariners lost 2-1 in overtime to the Thunder in their last road game against them on March 18. The Mariners forced overtime on a game-tying goal by forward Ty Cheveldayoff with under 7.5 minutes remaining in regulation, and then the Thunder won when Salhanny scored 15 seconds into overtime.
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