ECHL North Division Finals Recap: Wheeling Nailers vs Maine Mariners | Game Three

The North Division Finals shifted to Portland on Monday Night for the first of a three-in-three after the Wheeling Nailers took the first two games of the series at home. Maine, who was down 0-2 in the series, would make a series of lineup changes as Ryan McGuire and Ben Allison made their Kelly Cup Debuts. Loke Johannson returned to the Mariners after his brief stint in Providence, and Jacob Perreault returned from an undisclosed injury.

Mariners Bounce Back On Home Ice

In the opening period, Maine would look to get the momentum, and that’s exactly what they did. Wheeling’s David Breazeale would be called for holding at 5:42, giving the Mariners the first PP of the game. It would be one of the new faces making an impact early, as Ben Allison fed Robert Cronin, who netted his second goal of the playoffs to give the Mariners an early lead. Less than five minutes later, a shot from Zachary Massicotte would take some weird bounces and beat Taylor Gautier, doubling the Mariners lead. Just over a minute after the Massicotte goal, the Nailers got their first chance of the game on the PP. The Nailers couldn’t score, and things went from bad to worse for them as Ben Allison got a breakaway coming out of the penalty and found the back of the net for his second point of the period.

The Mariners would take their momentum into the second period and build on it as it would be another PP goal for Maine, this time coming off the stick of Brooklyn Kalmikov. Anthony Venuto would join the party with a goal of his own at the 9:54 mark, making it 5-0 Mariners. During the next timeout, Gabriel D’Aigle would take over between the pipes for the Nailers. It would be the first time this season that Gautier was pulled, as he gave up five goals on 18 shots. Wheeling would take advantage of some open ice, as Logan Pietilla beat Luke Cavallin at 15:13 to get the Nailers on the board.

In the final frame, both teams would find success on the special teams. Max Andreev would score a PP goal at 7:05, giving the Mariners a 6-1 lead. Wheeling would get a short-handed chance, as David Breazeale fed Zach Urdahl for his fourth of the playoffs, making it 6-2. Just over three minutes later, the Nailers struck again as Ryan McAllister fed Blake Bennett to make it 6-3, but that’s as close as Wheeling would come. The Nailers finished the night one for eight on the PP. Luke Cavallin made 36 saves for the win. Gabriel D’Aigle stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief of Gautier.