By Harrison Fisher – Sports Editor

The Milford Mariners hockey season is off and…skating.

After a busy off-season and the hiring of a new head coach, the team is ready to take on a tough schedule. The Mariners had an up-and-down season last year, and have been working hard at practice for their upcoming games.

The Mariners’ first scrimmage was against Staples which afforded the team a chance to practice solid plays and form aggressive new lines. The team’s first regular season matchup was a tough matchup against Amity at Bennett Rink in West Haven.

Shaun Malay is in his first year as head coach with the Mariners. Malay has had tremendous experience with CT high school hockey.

Malay is looking to lead the Mariners to a successful year and has done a tremendous amount of preparation and training for the games coming up.

“We are looking to have a successful season in all facets of our Mariner organization both on and off the ice,” Malay said. “A ton of organization goes into running a high school team with any sport. Ice hockey is particularly complex given we are a co-operative team with Law, Foran and Platt Tech. And although our home rink is in Milford, we do not play onsite at any of the schools. There are different procedures across the schools.  We have players from different towns. And yet we need to bring the entire Milford hockey community together, which is a unique and wonderful opportunity.”

Malay’s goal is that the team is greater than the sum of its parts.  

“Creating that ‘whole’ is what I would like to accomplish,” Malay said.  “Although it would be great to win lots of games and play and win our conference and state championship, we really have one goal for the season. It is to show up every day and work as hard as we can. If we do that, everything else will fall into place.”

Malay said he is happy with the effort he has seen from the Mariners to start the season.

“They are a tough and speedy bunch who can skate with everyone we play against,” Malay said. “The players will need to trust themselves and their teammates and always work as hard as they can. And if they do, we should be very competitive this year”

Foran senior Chris Adkins is one of the three captains for the Mariners.

Adkins, who plans to attend Eastern Connecticut University next year to play lacrosse, has played for the Mariners for four years and has become a leader for the club. He has high hopes for this team and looks to set an example for all his teammates.

“A personal goal I have is to develop throughout the games and be able to look back and see areas of improvement,” Adkins said. “Some of the strategies that we have are just working hard in practice every day and getting our team chemistry going. We have been having pasta parties before the games to try and get us closer as a team.”  

Senior defenseman Connor Chirico from Law is also a captain this year. Chirico is a leader on the ice and is ready for a full competitive hockey season.

“I think that we will definitely improve from next year,” Chirico said. “A personal goal is to score a hat trick in a game. A team goal is to qualify for states. My favorite thing about hockey is the relationships I’ve made through the sport. We have prepared for the season by practicing every day. We also workout as a team and have pasta parties to prepare for our games as a team.” 

Chirico said he is excited to begin his final season with the Mariners.

“This season means a lot to me because it’s my final season playing hockey,” Chirico said. “It is also important to me and the team because we want to make a good impression for the new head coach.”

Platt Tech senior Matty Wright is the third captain for the Mariners this season.

The team is encouraging all hockey fans to head over to the Milford Ice Arena this winter to catch a game. Fans can also follow them on Twitter (@MarinersMilford).