With an unimpressive win percentage sitting at 38.50%, it’s hard not to wonder why the Mariners have found themselves in arguably their worst season yet. The team has found themselves in last place in the North Division and second to last place in the Eastern Conference, one spot above the Atlanta Gladiators. To put their 7th place standing in perspective, the Mariners haven’t ended a regular season below 4th place since their inaugural season in 2018-2019, where they ended in 6th.
An ever-changing roster could be an explanation for this year’s struggles. A roster that can change on the daily is nothing new, especially in the ECHL, but it could be contributing to Maine’s losses. Some players seem to have a hard time connecting with their teammates on the ice, and the disjointedness is apparent when watching gameplay. With a variety of skilled players at different places in their hockey careers, the Mariners seem to fall short when it comes to the true togetherness of a team.
Even though Maine’s captain, defenseman Connor Doherty, is known for participating in plenty of on-ice scuffles, the team’s issues can’t be blamed entirely on brawls or an exorbitant amount of penalties. Maine is currently only at 439 penalty minutes, while the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the division, the Norfolk Admirals and the Trois-Rivères Lions, have respective totals of 639 and 520 penalty minutes.
The Mariners have played the least amount of games thus far within the division, with a total of 26, while Trois-Rivières has played the most at 32. This leaves room for some optimism of moving up the ranks if the Mariners prove themselves in their upcoming three-game streak. They’ll kick off their first two of these games Friday night against the division’s 1st place team, the Adirondack Thunder, first away, then at home. Maine will conclude the streak with a snowy Sunday showing versus the Worcester Railers.
It can be difficult to pinpoint a certain reason for a tough season. In these types of situations, the answer can vary vastly depending on the source. Whatever the true reason, or amalgamation of reasons, for this tough beginning, Maine still has the upcoming second half of the season to prove themselves and turn things around.
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ECHL gets a real mix of players many of which need more experience at the Pro level and they all have a different hockey IQ. Many would and will move up with the increase of the speed of the game. Some are there to mature from the College game to the Pro Game and will find their way to the AHL on Providence or another club. I would enjoy if you took a look at the depth chart of The Boston Org. then it it easier to see where players are at each position. It is often that ECHL players fill gaps on other teams in AHL and are playing now for their future. Another piece of interest is to look back 3 years and see where those players are now. For the most part ECHL players may stay 3 years but you will find many move on to Euro Leagues for a few years. It’s a tough living because there are so many Hockey players in our world .
Nice article. I am sure if they knew a specific reason or reasons for problems the team faces Terry and Johnny would address them.
The talent is there it just has to come together.