Maine Mariners Look for 12th Win in a Row Friday Night, Wild Blueberries Return Saturday
ECHL Maine Mariners

Maine Mariners Look for 12th Win in a Row Friday Night, Wild Blueberries Return Saturday

Published on March 12, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Maine Mariners News Release


The Maine Mariners, proud affiliates of the NHL's Boston Bruins and AHL's Providence Bruins, extended their already franchise-best win streak to 11 games with a 2-1 overtime win against the Adirondack Thunder on Tuesday morning. Now, they're back on home ice for a pair of games this weekend against the Norfolk Admirals, looking to keep the streak alive. Saturday night marks the return of the "Maine Wild Blueberries."

The weekend begins with "Shamrock the Rink" presented by News Center Maine on Friday night, a 7:15 PM faceoff at the Cross Insurance Arena. It's the Mariners' St. Patrick's Day celebration along with the Maine Irish Heritage Center. Green merchandise will be discounted in the team store, and the Stillson School of Irish Dance will perform throughout the night.

On Saturday, the Maine Wild Blueberries return for the fourth time, paying homage to "what could have been." When hockey returned to Portland in 2017, the "Wild Blueberries" were a close second to "Mariners" in the team's naming contest. Every other year since the inaugural season of 2018-19, the Mariners have become the Wild Blueberries for a night. In 2019, they were awarded the ECHL's "Theme Night of the Year" award. The last Wild Blueberries Night was February 17th, 2024, also against Norfolk. Wild Blueberries Night is presented by US Cellular, now part of T-Mobile. The puck drops at 6 PM and the specialty jerseys are up for auction now via DASH, closing at 7:30 PM on Saturday. Samples of blueberry delicacies from businesses across Maine will be available on the concourse throughout the game.

Thanks to their win streak, the Mariners (32-15-5-2) are now in 2nd place in the North Division, just three points behind the first place Wheeling Nailers, with two games in hand. They are one point ahead of the Adirondack Thunder and six in front of the Reading Royals. Maine has a 14 point cushion over fifth place Worcester for a playoff spot. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 22 - a combination of points gained by the Mariners and points "not gained" by the first non-playoff team with the highest points ceiling - currently the Trois-Rivieres Lions. The top four teams in the division make the Kelly Cup Playoffs, with the #1 and #2 seeds having home-ice advantage in the first round.

The win streak began on February 13th at Florida, now spanning 11 games (8 away, 3 home). The Mariners have won their last eight road games and seven of their last eight home games. With a win on Friday, they'll break the Alaska Aces win streak record, set in the 2005-06 season. The Aces are the former ECHL membership that became the Mariners.

Single game tickets to all home games are available at MarinersOfMaine.com or by visiting the Hammond Lumber Company Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena.

Family Four Packs are available for all Saturday and Sunday home games, including four tickets, four food & chuck-a-puck vouchers, and two Spare Time recreation vouchers, all for just $180. Family Four Packs must be purchased in advance of game day.

Check out the Maine Mariners Statistics

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ECHL Stories from March 12, 2026


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