Mariners to face Worcester & Manchester in Exeter, N.H.
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
PORTLAND, ME – August 31, 2018 – The Maine Mariners will play a pair of preseason games on October 6th and 7th against North Division rivals the Worcester Railers and Manchester Monarchs, they announced on Friday. Both games will be open to the public, free of charge at The Rinks at Exeter in Exeter, New Hampshire.
The Mariners will be the “home team” on Saturday, October 6th in their first preseason game against the Worcester Railers, beginning at 7:00 PM. Worcester is in just its second season in the ECHL, but the city has hosted pro hockey for over 20 years. Mariners head coach Riley Armstrong spent three seasons playing for the Worcester Sharks, the AHL team which preceded the Railers, calling Worcester home from 2006-2015.
On Sunday, October 7th, the Mariners will be the “away team” in a 4:35 PM puck drop against Manchester. The Monarchs have competed in the ECHL since 2015-16, replacing an AHL franchise of the same name that played in Manchester from 2001-15. The Monarchs finished second in the North Division last season, just a point behind first-place Adirondack. After sweeping Reading in the first round of the playoffs, they’d fall to the Thunder in the division finals.
“The two games will be a good opportunity for us to see where we stand a week before the regular season begins,” Armstrong said. “Both teams were in the playoffs last year and will hopefully give us a good idea of how we stack up.”
The Railers and Monarchs, in addition to being the Mariners’ closest geographical rivals, are the most frequent opponents in the 2018-19 regular seasons. Meetings with the two teams account for nearly half of the schedule at 14 head-to-head matchups each.
The Mariners, proud affiliate of the New York Rangers, will begin the regular season at Cross Insurance Arena on October 13th against the Adirondack Thunder. The Mariners are members of the ECHL: the premier AA hockey league in the United States. Season tickets, flex plans, and 5-game packs for the Mariners inaugural season are on sale now by visiting MarinersOfMaine.com or calling toll free: 833-GO-MAINE. Single game tickets go on sale September 10th.
