The Maine Mariners have had an eventful weekend, with a sweep of the Adirondack Thunder and a few changes to their roster. Maine would end up winning both games against the Thunder in convincing fashion.
There are a few key takeaways from this series, but the most important would be finally switching up their roster.
The Maine Mariners finalized a trade with the Indy Fuel on Saturday, sending forward Bennett Stockdale and defenseman Jake Willets to the Indy Fuel. This move fulfills a future considerations trade that the Mariners made with the Savannah Ghost Pirates in October to acquire defenseman Michael Underwood.
Stockdale is a 25-year-old forward who played for the Mariners for two seasons and contributed 14 points (four goals, ten assists). Willets was added to the Mariners’ roster this offseason from Atlanta. In his 16 games played, he scored one goal and tallied two assists.
Although he was sent to Maine after the series, they added another defenseman to the roster on Monday, acquiring Cory Dennis from the Orlando Solar Bears. Dennis began his career with the Pensacola Ice Flyers before being loaned to the Orlando Solar Bears, where he concluded the 2023-24 season. Last season, he also played 46 games for the Newfoundland Growlers, contributing eight points (one goal, seven assists). The Mariners will be his third North Division team, as he previously suited up for the Adirondack Thunder in 2022-23. Adding Dennis will be a big help for Maine, which has been lacking in defense this season. The rework is looking to turn around the outlook of the Mariners season.
Another takeaway from the Thunder series was their goaltending. Bischel is inching closer to 10 wins this season. These games already showed that with a better defense, Bischel can shine. Maine has a good goaltending situation, but with a lack of defensemen assisting him, Bischel can only help so much. This weekend showed that Maine is finally working on their flaws.
Finally, what would be another help for the Mariners was Brooklyn Kalmikov. Kalmikov would have a great performance this weekend, having a goal and two assists in game one and another goal and an assist in game two. Kalmikov is now second in the team’s points, trailing just three behind Evan Vierling at 18. The forwards would be able to score more because they were not busy helping the defense as much. Some newcomers even got their first goals of the season, with Alex Sheehy and Trevor Thurston finding the back of the net.
The Mariners look to continue their winning streak this upcoming weekend on the road in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the DCU Center on Saturday and Sunday. The Railers are ahead of Maine in the rankings right now, but with more consistency in their plays, the Mariners may not have as much work cut out for them to put two more wins under their belt.
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