Racing up the ice to the left and just behind Sean Day, Justin Breton had an inkling the puck would be coming his way. He just wasn’t sure how it would arrive.
“He’s actually my roommate,” Breton said, “so we’ve got a little bit of chemistry there.”
Day, a defenseman, carried the puck into the offensive zone, moved as if to split two defenders, then twirled around and feathered a pass to Breton, whose quick shot from the left circle zipped between the legs of Worcester keeper Evan Buitenhuis.
It was the third goal of the afternoon for the Maine Mariners, who weathered a spirited Worcester comeback to hang on for a 4-2 ECHL victory Sunday before a crowd of 2,117 at Cross Insurance Arena.
The Mariners (12-9-0-1) have split the first six of 14 scheduled meetings against the Railers, a year-old expansion franchise that also took hold in a New England city formerly occupied by an American Hockey League club.
Worcester’s previous visit to Portland started with a fight involving Railers forward Yanick Turcotte and Maine’s Morgan Adams-Moisan 10 seconds after the opening puck drop. The Railers went on to win 4-2.
On Sunday, Turcotte waited 25 seconds before squaring off against Alex Adams of Maine. The Mariners went on to build a 3-0 lead through two periods. Ryan Ferrill scored from a scrum on a first-period power play. Ryan Gropp made it 2-0 in the second by shoveling in a backhand after the rebound of a Garrett Cecere straight-on slap shot from the point.
“The first 40 minutes I thought we were all over them,” Breton said. “We were moving the puck well, getting shots, playing in their zone. Then, you know, teams kind of have a tendency to let up when you have a lead like that.”
The Railers (10-11-3-0) came out flying in the third, outshooting Maine 18-4. Nick Sorkin scored twice in the first seven minutes and only a flashy toe save by Brandon Halverson kept Maine ahead.
Halverson finished with 40 saves, second only to his 47-save performance in Friday night’s 5-4 shootout win against Adirondack.
“Like every other game, if I’m not coming up with big saves, then we don’t win games,” Halverson said. “It’s part of my job.”
For more than a minute with an empty net in favor of an extra skater, the Railers threatened to tie. Finally, with 1:10 left, Adams-Moisan collected a rebound and sent a skittering 175-foot shot up the center of the ice into the open goal.
A cheer erupted from the Mariners locker room after the game when it was announced that Adams-Moisan had been called up to Laval of the AHL.
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