Maine Mariners hockey team inks affiliation with Boston Bruins
Courtesy / Maine Mariners
Maine Mariners President Danny Briere on Wednesday announces the pro hockey team's new affiliation with the Boston Bruins.
The Maine Mariners, the state’s only professional hockey team, announced on Wednesday it will become a minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Boston Bruins — creating a third connection between Maine and big-time Beantown sports.
Details of the agreement between the teams were not disclosed. The Mariners, part of the ECHL league, have been affiliated with the New York Rangers since first taking the ice at Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena in 2018.
In a press conference at the arena Wednesday morning, Mariners President Danny Briere said, “This transition is a no-brainer for our organization. The Bruins are among the NHL’s most historic and successful franchises, and geographically it makes perfect sense. Many if not most of our fans are Bruins fans too.”
The change of jerseys “completes the Portland-Boston sports trifecta,” Briere added. He noted that Maine’s largest city is also home to the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A baseball affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, and the recently renamed Maine Celtics, the G League basketball team acquired by the NBA’s Boston Celtics in 2019.
The connections don’t stop there, either. An earlier Maine Mariners pro hockey team, part of the AHL, was affiliated with the Bruins from 1987-1992. Those Mariners eventually moved to Rhode Island to become the Providence Bruins, who still provide players for Boston.
The AHL is the minor league that generally serves as the steppingstone for the NHL. The ECHL, formerly the East Coast Hockey League, is a rung below the AHL.
The Mariners finished the 2018-19 season sixth-last among the 27 ECHL teams, and drew an average of 3,000 fans per game. The 2019-20 season ended prematurely because of the pandemic.
The Rangers have announced they will change their ECHL affiliation to the Jacksonville Icemen, of Florida. On Wednesday, Briere thanked the New York team for its support in launching the Mariners.
“This is a great day for hockey fans in Maine and throughout New England,” he added.
The Mariners are scheduled to open their 2021-22 season on Oct. 22 in Portland against the Worcester Railers.
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