Boston Bruins affiliates playoff primer: Maine Mariners

As the Boston Bruins secured the single season wins record in the NHL on Sunday, the playoffs are about to begin. The postseason is also about to start for the Bruins minor league affiliates. We’re going to cover their postseason runs in addition to the Bruins here on Causeway Crowd, so we’ll start with a playoff primer for their ECHL team, the Maine Mariners.

Season outlook

The Mariners enter the final three games of the regular season sitting in third place in the ECHL North Division, owning a 40-26-2-1 record and 83 points in 69 games. They have three games left and they’re all at home in Portland.

Maine has a chance to jump into second place in the North Division by the time the season ends, as they’re one point behind second place Reading. They play host to the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Wednesday and the Norfolk Admirals on Saturday and Sunday.

Team leaders

As things currently stand, Pat Shea leads the Mariners in goals with 25, while Tim Doherty leads the Mariners in assists with 48 and overall points with 69. Reid Stefanson leads the Mariners in plus/minus with a +20 rating. Carter Johnson leads the team in games played with 70. It’s worth noting that all the players I just mentioned are forwards.

The Mariners have gone through a good share of goalies this season. Michael DiPietro and Francois Brassard are the two goalies currently on the roster. Brandon Bussi and Kyle Keyser, who have had fantastic AHL seasons, also played in Maine briefly this season. The Mariners have also played Trevor Gorsuch, Josh Boyko, and Peter Thome between the pipes this season.

Brassard leads all Mariners goalies in games played this season with 31, authoring a 2.68 GAA and .905 save percentage. DiPietro has appeared in 28 games, posting a 2.63 GAA and .917 save percentage. The next highest in games played are Bussi and Boyko with four each.

Playoff matchup

As things currently stand, the Mariners would have a first round matchup in the North Division semis with the Newfoundland Growlers, who clinched the top spot in the North with 98 points. If they play Newfoundland it will be an uphill climb for sure, but anything can happen in the playoffs.

If the Mariners jump to second place, they’ll play the fourth place team in the North Division, which could either be the Worcester Railers or the Adirondack Thunder, which would be a more favorable matchup. With the postseason on the doorstep, let’s go Mariners!