By Harry Fisher – Sports Editor

The 2023-2024 Milford Mariners hockey season is underway.

This year, the Mariners are led by new head coach JP Shimko. After a long, hard-fought year filled with ups and downs, the Mariners are ready turn the page and are ready to begin the new winter season. 

“The goal for the year is to improve every day every practice and every game,” Shimko said. “The boys are now buying into the new culture we have in the room and that will start to be evident on the ice. It won’t change overnight, but if we do the right things then the wins will start to come for us.”

The goal this year is to make the State Tournament. This year’s captains are Hunter Griffin, Sam Strate, and Dan Lavallee. The captains organized practices and conditioning workouts in the off-season to ensure the team was in shape and ready to be competitive this season. 

“As a senior assistant captain, promoting team camaraderie and creating a safe space on and off the ice for everyone is my top priority,” Strate said. “Making the State Tournament is a universal goal for us. But I believe creating a new culture and implementing a winning mentality in all of our players is the quintessential for a structured, successful hockey season.”

As a leader, Strate has been working tirelessly with the other captains to make sure the team is improving.

“I’m a firm believer of perfecting the basics,” Strate said. “In practice, we’ve been focusing on polishing up our passing, skating proficiency, and breakout. Players are also encouraged to work outside of the rink to maintain their performance. All in all, I think these are small but significant steps to building a stronger team.”

The Mariners have played three games year so far this year – tough losses to Wilton, Enfield, and Newtown-New Fairfield. Shimko said he liked the fight his team showed in those teams and said he will continue stress the basics going forward.

“We focus on the basics,” Shimko said. “As simple as it sounds, the skills of skating, passing, and where to be on the ice greatly impact the success we have.”

Assistant coach Brian Kim is in his second year with the Mariners. Coach Kim has been working hard alongside Shimko to improve the program.

“One paramount team goal for this season is to qualify for the State Tournament,” Kim said. “The boys have put the time and work in since the summer and now it’s up to all of us to coalesce and develop into a better version of our collective selves each day.

He hopes that the team continues to practice and work hard to be in the best shape to win big-time games.

“Often times film sessions play a large role in what are coaching staff draws up,” Kim said. “We definitely want to make sure we’re cleaning up the mistakes we see from our previous game. The game is fast and physical so we want to simulate that game pace and pressure in practice”.