PORTLAND, ME – June 28, 2023 – The two-year captain of the Mariners has re-signed for a third season in Maine. On Wednesday in their first signing of the summer, the Mariners announced that defenseman Connor Doherty will return in 2023-24.
Doherty was named the second captain in Mariners history prior to the start of the 2021-22 season and has worn the “C” ever since. With the Mariners, he’s enjoyed the best two seasons of his professional career. In 2021-22, he posted a career-high 22 points in 62 games. This past season, he appeared in 64 games, and scored a personal best four goals, to go along with 12 assists. He also scored his first career playoff goal in Game 4 of the North Division Semifinals vs. Reading.
During the 2022-23 season, Doherty set the franchise record for penalty minutes, both for a single season (143) and in a career (236).
A native of Holden, MA, Doherty first joined the Mariners in the summer of 2021, when he was traded across the New England rivalry from the Worcester Railers to Maine. He spent the first three seasons of his professional career in Worcester, from 2017-2020, and won the ECHL’s “Community Service Award” for the 2019-20 season. He played the 2020-21 campaign with the Kansas City Mavericks, before returning to Worcester and being dealt to Maine. Prior to turning pro, Doherty spent three seasons with Sacred Heart University’s NCAA DI program.
“I’m very excited to come back for my third season here in Portland,” said Doherty. “It’s a place my family now calls home, making it even more special to see the support that the city gives to the Mariners. See you all in October!”
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