Mariners Wrap up Regular Season, Prepare for Playoffs
Published on April 14, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Maine Mariners News Release
The Maine Mariners, proud affiliates of the NHL's Boston Bruins and AHL's Providence Bruins, finish up the regular season this week with a Wednesday night home game and a Saturday road contest, as they prepare to begin their Kelly Cup Playoff run next weekend. The Mariners are locked into the #2 seed in the North Division Playoffs, as they wait to find out who their first-round opponent will be.
The puck drops at 7:00 PM on Wednesday in the home finale - a "Wicked Wednesdays" presented by Chick-Fil-A. Fans can enjoy $4 Miller High Life Drafts (12 oz) through the end of the second period. It's the final game of the VIP Rivalry Cup, pitting the Mariners and Worcester Railers, who battle annually for New England hockey bragging rights. The Mariners have already clinched the 2026 trophy, winning 9 of the first 13 meetings. The Mariners finish the regular season on Saturday in Trois-Rivieres, QC taking on the Lions at 3:00 PM. Both Worcester and Trois-Rivieres are eliminated from playoff contention.
Coming off a three-game home sweep of the Norfolk Admirals, the Mariners are now 42-19-6-3 on the season, setting a new franchise points record on Friday, with their 89th standings point of the season, surpassing the 87 of the 2022-23 team. Now at 93, they can also set a new team single-season wins record with one more victory - a mark also held by the 2022-23 squad.
Saturday's win clinched home ice advantage in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, while Wheeling clinched the division on Sunday, locking the Mariners into the #2 seed. Their first-round opponent (the #3 seed) is still yet to be determined but will be either the Reading Royals or Adirondack Thunder. Reading is currently one point ahead of Adirondack and holds the tiebreaker (regulation wins) but Adirondack holds a game-in-hand.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven North Division Semifinals is Friday, April 24th at 6:00 PM at the Cross Insurance Arena, followed by Game 2 on Saturday, April 25th at 6:00 PM. Tickets to all first-round home games are available at
MarinersOfMaine.com/playoffs. A playoff block party will be held on Center Street prior to Game 1, with watch parties planned for various locations during road games. More details will be announced. All games will be live streamed on the Mariners Broadcast Network via FloHockey.tv and MarinersOfMaine.com/listen or the Mixlr App, with pregame coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to puck drop.
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