WORCESTER, MA – Connor LaCouvee stopped all 21 shots that came his way, while the Mariners had just enough offense on Saturday night at the DCU Center in Worcester to defeat the Railers on the road, 2-0. LaCouvee, who won his sixth straight start, picked up his first professional shutout.
In a first period statistically identical to Fridaday night’s game against Reading, the Mariners outshot Worcester 10-6, but the teams skated to a scoreless tie.
It remained 0-0 until the final seconds of the middle frame. At 19:48, the Mariners got the first goal of the game when Ted Hart’s net drive left a puck right behind Railers goaltender Evan Buitenhuis for a tap in by Terrence Wallin – Wallin’s team-leading 13th goal. Alex Kile picked up a secondary assist, giving he and Wallin each an eight game road point streak.
The Mariners played strong defensively in front of LaCouvee all night, holding the Railers to single digit shot totals in all three periods. The 21 shots allowed was a season low. Morgan Adams-Moisan was called for high sticking with just over two and a half minutes left in the game, eventually leading to a 6-on-4 Railers advantage when they pulled Buitenhuis. Shortly after Adams-Moisan’s penalty expired, he gained possession of the puck and fired a shot wide of the empty net from the right wing, but the puck caromed off the end boards to Kile who finished it off.
Buitenhuis made 25 saves in the losing effort, as the Railers failed to win their third straight for what would have been the first time this season. The Mariners have now won five of six on the road in addition to eight of ten overall in the month of December. With Reading’s loss to Adirondack, the Mariners pulled back within three points of the Royals for third place in the North, as well as four behind idle Brampton.
The Mariners spend New Year’s Eve in Reading, taking on the Royals at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. They return to play five of their first six games of 2020 at the Cross Insurance Arena starting on Friday, January 3rd against the Jacksonville Ice Men at 7:15 p.m.
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