Written by Michael Keeley, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations
 

On a Sunday afternoon in late February, the Maine Mariners prepared for the third and final game of a weekend series in Bloomington, IL. It was the middle of grueling eight-game road trip that began in Florida and would eventually end in Worcester. They were scheduled to fly back to Portland the following day, for a quick stop home between road games, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

A Nor’easter in Maine cancelled their flight, and just about every flight into New England over the following 48 hours, quickly turning a five-day road trip into ten. After finishing a sweep of the Bison, they’d bus across the country from Bloomington to Indianapolis to Erie to Glens Falls – the site of their next game against the Adirondack Thunder (who by the way were on a 10-game win streak). Sufficiently tired of life on the road, the Mariners won anyway, 5-0. They were scheduled for a game in Worcester the following night, and another at home the day after that. From February 13^th to March 1^st, they played eight games in 17 days in five different cities. They won all eight.

It was all a part of a franchise-best 11-game win streak that highlighted the most successful season in Mariners history. With 93 points, 42 wins, and their first playoff series victory since the team was established in 2018, the Mariners made season seven one to remember, and the ensuing offseason, shorter than ever.

When the puck dropped on October 18 in Worcester, it was a glimpse of what was in store for the season to come. The Mariners dominated the Railers with a convincing 5-0 road victory to open the Rick Kowalsky era on a striking note. They came storming out of the gate, with a 7-1-2 record through the first 10 games, leading the North Division and scoring lots of goals in the process (over four per game, pacing the ECHL). The rest of 2025 wasn’t as kind to the Mariners, who dropped four in a row after their hot start, and tumbled into the holiday break at 11-8-4.

The holiday pause was longer than planned due to a labor dispute between the ECHL and the player’s union, but a short work stoppage was resolved in time for New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, the 11-day break didn’t stop the Mariners skid as they dropped the first three games coming out of it, prolonging their losing streak to six and dropping them to just one game above .500 in the first week of 2026.

Kowalsky went to work tinkering with the roster and picked up forwards Antonio Venuto and Zach Jordan in trades with Kalamazoo and Fort Wayne, respectively. It was just the spark the team needed, immediately producing a seven-game point streak from January 9-18. Included in the run was the second of two Portland Pirates theme nights at the Cross Insurance Arena, a nostalgic celebration of the Mariners’ beloved Portland pro hockey predecessor. Max Andreev scored in overtime, electrifying a sellout crowd – one of eight in 2025-26.

The team’s strong play continued through the end of January. A 3-2 shootout win over Wheeling on January 28 had them at 19-11-7, and in second place in the North. The month of February is where the Mariners would really hit their stride.

It was a tall task going into Florida on February 11 for the first of three against the powerhouse Everblades, but the Mariners’ 4-2 loss that night would turn out to be their last for over a month. The 11-game win streak between February 13 and March 10 was full of magical moments. Back-to-back extra time victories in Florida started it all when Brooklyn Kalmikov’s capped a 2-1 OT win on February 13, followed by a classic 1-0 shootout win the next night, with Xander Lamppa netting the game-winner and Brad Arvanitis anchoring a remarkable personal run, which would eventually earn him ECHL Goaltender of the Month honors.

As noted in the opening of this tale, the Mariners breezed their way through Bloomington, Adirondack, and Worcester on the weather-induced extended road trip and capped it with a 3-2 home win on March 1 against Trois-Rivieres, with Linus Hemstrom breaking a 2-2 tie in the final minute to ignite another sellout crowd.

The streak didn’t end there. The Mariners jumped right back on the bus to head North of the border where they beat the Lions again on March 6 to make it nine in a row. As they got set to meet Adirondack again, the shoe was now on the other foot, with the Mariners on the verge of their own double-digit win streak. Trailing 3-2 late in the third, it looked like the run might come to an end, but Sebastian Vidmar tied it up with the goalie pulled and Owen Gallatin played overtime hero to make it 10 in a row. Two days later, in front of thousands of school children from across Maine and beyond, the streak hit 11 when Nick Anderson had his turn in the spotlight, capping another OT victory, 2-1.

Gallatin and Anderson represented another pair of under-the-radar in-season pickups by Kowalsky. Cast aside by their former clubs (Fort Wayne and Orlando), the two rookie defensemen would prove to be two of the most reliable blue-liners on the roster. Along with Andrew Nielsen, they helped transform the Mariners back-end and withstand injuries and call-ups throughout the season.

Speaking of injuries, the story of the 2025-26 Mariners cannot be told without discussing the major adversity faced in the training room. It began in the very first period of the season when captain Wyllum Deveaux went down in Worcester with an injury that would sideline him for nearly the entire campaign, not returning until April 8. Deveaux would end up playing double the amount of games in the playoffs than he did in the regular year. Forward Ty Cheveldayoff and defenseman Zach Massicotte would also suffer long-term injuries in the early going, leaving the Mariners with massive holes in their bottom six and top four. Cheveldayoff’s return correlated with the Mariners 11-game win streak and Massicotte would return later in the season to play a key shutdown role on the postseason defense corps. Despite all three key pieces missing the majority of the season, all three turned out to be crucial components to the Mariners playoff run.

Before that playoff run began, there was work to do, as the Wheeling Nailers refused to cool down, keeping the Mariners locked in a battle with Adirondack and Reading for a top 2 position in the North. The end of the winning streak on March 13 turned out to be only a blip on the radar as Jacob Hudson’s overtime winner on Wild Blueberries Night just one day later started a new streak – points in seven in a row through the end of the month, officially clinching the Mariners a berth in the postseason following a 6-0 win over Greensboro on March 29.

The Mariners collected just four wins in 10 April contests, but it was enough to lock up the #2 seed and secure home-ice advantage in a playoff round for the first time in team history. The 93 points was also a franchise record, with 42 wins finishing tied with the 2022-23 team for the most in a Mariners regular season.

The Mariners met Adirondack in the North Division Semifinals, setting up a rematch of the last time they were in the postseason two years prior. The series got off to a dramatic start when Max Andreev scored on a shorthanded breakaway in overtime to win Game 1. After the Thunder tied the series the following night, the Mariners marched into Glens Falls and collected back-to-back victories in Games 3 and 4 to put themselves on the verge of their first ever playoff series clinch. It wouldn’t come easy however, as Adirondack won Games 5 and 6, both in overtime, to push the series to its limit.

Game 7 was held on May 6 at the Cross Insurance Arena and would go straight into Mariners lore. Trailing 1-0 late into the 2^nd period, Captain Wyllum Deveaux scored on a breakaway as a penalty kill was expiring to send things into the 3^rd all tied up. Seemingly destined for the fourth overtime game of the series, Nick Anderson had other plans when he fired home a wrister with just 3:50 left to put Maine ahead for good. When Shawn Element stripped one away from Thunder defenseman Jeremy Hanzel to hit the empty net, the Cross Insurance Arena erupted, and the Mariners were onto the second round for the first time ever.

Things looked bleak when the North Division Finals returned to Portland for Game 3, with the Mariners trailing the Wheeling Nailers two games to none after losing the first two in West Virginia. Fighting adversity as they did all season long, the Mariners rattled off three wins in a row on home ice to push the Nailers to the brink of elimination. Game 4 was the highlight of the home sweep, another instant classic featuring Jacob Hudson’s Double OT heroics, ending the longest game in Mariners history at 8:06 of the fifth period just after 11:00 PM.

Game 6 back in Wheeling felt like the one that got away. Tied 1-1 in yet another overtime, Mariners rookie forward Ben Allison skated in on a breakaway for a chance to become a legend. But Nailers netminder Taylor Gauthier stretched his right pad along the ice to deny Allison his magic moment, and set the stage for Emil Pieniniemi’s game-winner instead. Game 7 would go to the Nailers too, despite a miracle comeback attempt in the final minutes that saw the Mariners turn a 4-1 deficit into 4-3. The 14^th playoff game in 25 days was finally the end.

When the Everblades dispatched of the Nailers in five games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Mariners fans were left wondering what could have been, especially considering their February trip to Florida where their magical run began. The Mariners went 28-9-5 from February 13 through the end of the season. They were among the ECHL’s best teams for over half the season, and ultimately were right there with the teams that will compete for the Kelly Cup starting this weekend. In the end, they went where no Mariners team had gone before.

Sports fans know full well that championship teams are often on the verge the year before they finish the job. When we look back at the eighth season of Maine Mariners hockey a year from now, will 2025-26 be remembered as the first step toward glory? I know I can’t wait to find out.