By Lily Forster – Staff Reporter

The Milford Mariners’ 2020-2021 season recently came to an end. 

The team ended the season with a record of 5-4 and made it to the SCC semi-finals.

There were only two seniors on the team this year. The team was led by senior Kyle Kosh, along with two other captions, Luca Ubaldi and Kevin Wokonovicz.

The Mariners’ season was affected by COVID-19 in many ways. 

“This season, the off-ice aspect was changed greatly,” Kosh said. “Without a locker room, we were getting dressed outside before practices and games. Unlike prior years, growing our chemistry was much harder without a locker room and with a shortened season. On-ice, we were wearing masks during practices and games.”

Even with the changes made by COVID-19, the Mariners still managed to keep their positive attitude. 

“Everyone was coming to the rink ready to go,” Kosh said. “We grew as a program and as a team this season.” 

Kosh went First Team All-SCC, was named the SCC Player of the Year, was First Team All-State, and received the Hobey Baker Character Award.

On the girls side, the Milford Lightning, in the inaugural season, finished the regular season record with a record 2-1-3. The team also advanced to the SCC semifinals.

With being a new team this year, it made it a little more difficult to get the ball rolling, but senior captain Mckenzie Broderick said they had an amazing group of girls and coaching staff that allowed them to do just that.

“I would say that overall the team’s biggest achievement was just us being able to persevere through this difficult and confusing time,” Broderick said.

In regards to changing and or improvising situations this year there were a few things that were taken away such as locker rooms and team gatherings. 

“While it may seem so small being able to get dressed together it made all the difference. As a team we decided to all get dressed in the parking lot, parked together, before every game in order to have that same feeling. Having such a small team made it easy for everyone to be able to get together (non-COVID speaking) but we did not have that option this year,” Broderick said.

Their team had three captains who were able to look to each other for advice, because this season, COVID-19 had an effect on being captain. 

“It was crucial that we worked and bonded on and off the ice as much as possible whether it was Zoom meetings or just communicating on the ice,” Broderick said.