#tri-citystorm

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In this episode meet new Hub Sports Writer Connor O'Gara. We also recap some conference basketball tournament, preview district wrestling, talk about the Storm and wrap up with news from Loper land.

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REED: JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN SIGNED SAM STERNSCHEIN

By: Alex Reed, Jacksonville Icemen JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Jacksonville Icemen signed Sam Sternschein for the 2022-2023 season. The Icemen, the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, signed the 24-year0old forward to a one-year deal. Sternschein joined the Icemen this past March and posted eight points (4g, 4a) in 11 games.  In addition, he also made three postseason appearances with the Icemen. Before Jacksonville, Sternschein (pronounced Stern-Shine) concluded his senior season at Boston College, where he posted three assists in 24 games.  The 6-2, 205-pound rookie forward also played four seasons at Penn State University from 2017-2021, totaling 42 points (28g, 14a) and winning a Big-10 Regular Season Championship in 2020. From 2015-2017 Sternschein played for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, and Lincoln Stars totaling 47 points (27g, 20a). Sternschein joins fellow forwards Jake Hamacher, Luke Keenan, Mike Szmatula, Matt Salhany, Brendan Harris, defensemen Jacob Panetta, Victor Hadfield, and Tim Theocharidis, as well as goaltender Charles Williams as players who have agreed to terms with the Icemen for the 2022-2023 season. The Icemen open the 2022-2023 season at home on October 22 against the Orlando Solar Bears.  Full and partial season ticket packages are currently available! Contact the Icemen office at 904-602-7825, or visit jacksonvilleicemen.com for more information. JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN HOME Read the full article

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SHELLEY: RABBITS ADD JOEY MATTHEWS

BY: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits GREENVILLE, SC -  The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, ECHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, announced today that the club has signed defenseman Joey Matthews to an ECHL contract. Matthews, 24, signs his first professional contract after appearing in 28 games for Canisius College during his final season as an amateur. In his last collegiate season, the Columbia, IL native recorded nine points (2g, 7a) as his Griffins team finished 16-16-3. Before Canisius, Matthews appeared in 82 games over three seasons for the Dartmouth Big Green, amassing 19 points (1g, 18a) during his tenure. The 5'10", 181-pounder spent two seasons in the USHL before his collegiate career. From 2015 to 2017, Matthews produced 24 combined points (5g 19a) for the Sioux City Musketeers and the Tri-City Storm. Mathews will wear number 4 for the Swamp Rabbits and join his new team in Norfolk, VA, for a Friday night meeting with the Norfolk Admirals at the Norfolk Scope Arena. The puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m. Tickets for all Swamp Rabbits home games can be purchased at SwampRabbits.com. GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS HOME Read the full article

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CANTLON: (FRI) RIVERHAWKS AND UCONN BATTLE TO A TIE

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - A far better effort than a week ago and the chances to gain a victory where there, but UCONN hockey had to settle for a 3-3 overtime tie against the UMASS-Lowell Riverhawks Friday night at the XL Center. The Huskies record advances to 2-5-2 overall (1-3-1 HEA) and the Riverhawks record becomes 7-2-4 overall (4-0-3 HEA). The Riverhawks are the top team in Hockey East. The two teams play Saturday night in Lowell at the Tsongas Center. The overtime session saw the Huskies have three of the best chances between the two schools. A clean breakaway by Brian Rigali went forehand on the Riverhawks Tyler Wall, but the big netminder’s left pad stopped the bid at 1:53 of the extra session. After a wraparound attempt by Sasha Payusov sailed in front, Jachym Kondelik came charging down the middle and fired a chance just wide. Carter Turnbull, on the entry in the UMASS-Lowell zone, waited for the screen to develop and whistled a wrist shot that Wall closed the door on at 3:49. “I think certainly that was the first time at home we have played to our potential, and it's been a rallying cry all week - Let's play to our potential and wherever the chips may fall, they fall.” Of his assistants, UCONN head coach, Mike Cavanaugh noted one that he had found a quote from baseball coach Jim Penders, about UCONN’s history, that was founded by two farmers. Farmers get up earlier than everybody else and work the hardest, that was the message for the team prior to the contest. No Husky sat on a bale of hay. They were in the game for the full 65-minutes. The net-front presence on defense was notably much better as it was on offense. “We were playing with the puck. We weren’t playing in our defensive zone for most of the game. It's hard to have energy to play offense, so tonight, we were able to play down in their end for long stretches, which makes it a lot easier to play defense,” remarked Cavanaugh. In the third period, each team sought to get the game-winner. Six minutes in, the Riverhawks' Zach Kaiser thought he had it, and then Brian Chambers, but UCONN goalie Tomas Vomacka, who faced his lowest shot total of the season at 15, because of a more solid team approach to defense, earned high praise from his a teammate Kale Howarth. “Tomas has been great this year. He’s been the best player on this team by far. He’s the goalie I want 10-times-out-of-10. He has always had our back, and now (its our turn) to have his back (tonight). Just a great guy to have between the pipes." A wild sequence of plays saw UMASS-Lowell take a 2-1 lead. A puck sent ahead of Howarth slowed down and he and Wall were in a race to get to it first from 35-feet out from the net dead center. They came together at the same time, but the puck popped up in the air and Howarth was able to retrieve at the right-wing goal line. He skated ten-feet curled in the lower right-wing circle, shooting for the open net, but Wall, racing back with Rigali in front, managed to get a piece of it preventing the red light from going on for UCONN. The Riverhawks peeled back up ice and scored taking a 2-1 lead. Colin O’Neil was on the right-wing circle and as a left-handed shot took Connor Sodergren’s pass off the right-wing boards, skated ten-feet into the circle and zipped his fourth of the season through the five-hole at exactly the 10:00 mark. UCONN came right back to even the game at two 54 seconds later. The new defensive pair for UCONN moved the puck quickly. Wyatt Newpower fed Ryan Wheeler at the left point, and Wall made the save, but Marc Gatcomb wrestled himself away from Riverhawks defenseman, Seth Barton, and backhanded the rebound past Wall for his third of the season. The Huskies briefly regained the lead at 3-2 as Ben Freeman deep in the right corner and took a sharp angle shot. Howarth was in front and tipped it over Wall's glove at 18:08 on the power play. “That was a point of emphasis all week, to get pucks deep and get in front of the net. Win those net front battles and it's any good hockey team’s game plan to get to the front of the net.” Just 1:08 later, the Riverhawks' Chase Blackmun, sent a stretch pass off one of the few UCONN miscues of the game to Matt Brown, who slipped behind the UCONN defensive duo of Harrison Rees, and Newpower. Brown went forehand-to-backhand and slipped his fifth goal underneath Vomacka with 44.1 seconds left in the period to tie the game at three. For the Huskies, the first shot on goal by UMASS-Lowell at 12:08 of the first period found its way into the net. The Riverhawks executed a perfect power play goal with Detroit Red Wings draftee Seth Barton at the left point fed Charlie Levesque, a right-handed shot at the goal line. He swiftly sent a cross goal pass to a wide-open Sodergren, who made no mistake burying his first of the season. UCONN used its first power play late to tie the game at one. The Huskies Yan Kuznetsov found Alexander Payusov at the top of the left-wing circle and he one-timed a rocket to the top-shelf under the crossbar with a screen setup in from by Jachym Kondelik. Wall didn’t see anything with the 6’6 sophomore Czech center blocking out the shot and likely the ceiling lights with 59.1 seconds left in the first period. It was Payusov’s first goal of the season and first since he scored against Vermont on March 1st at the end of last season. “We have been telling him to shoot the puck. He has a great shot and tonight he had five shots on goal tonight. That’s the most he has had on net all season. That’s what we need out of Sasha, he shoots the puck. We gotta keep him shooting (every game).” The Huskies held a distinct shot advantage at 11-3 a big change from a week ago against BC. The first 6:53 UCONN played it tight and solid defensively not allowing a shot on goal and getting a quality left point shot by Kuznetsov. At the 10:22 mark UML was still without a shot and UCONN’s Kondelik turnaround show saw a left pad save by Wall. NOTES: Cavanaugh changed all his line combinations in part of the injury to Jonny Evans (broken finger) and of course to get the team to play better. Payusov and freshmen Alexander Firtsov went to the first line with Kondelik. Created a whole new second line with Ruslan Iskharov-Cale Howarth and Carter Turnbull and a third line of Justin Howell at center flanked by Zac Robbins and Rigali. Then dropped Freeman and Marc Gatcomb to fourth line with Eric Linell (Choate Rosemary Hall). On defense, Kuznetsoc and Rees went from the third unit to the first pair and put Wheeler in for Ryan Flynn with Newpower as his second pair and dropped Cater Berger and Adam Karaschik to the third pair. The 12th ranked nationally red-hot Riverhawks lead the series at 6-4-2 and had won four straight against UCONN. Standing in the Huskies way was Wall, another Rangers draft choice who has been lights out early in college hockey season. He has played 11 of their 12 games has a .949 save percentage and a GAA equally as impressive at 1.59 coming into the game. He has just two regulation losses 3-2 to Colgate in OT and 2-1 to the defending national champion. University Minnesota-Duluth plus two overtime ties to go with his seven wins. UCONN has its next seven games at home as part of a 10 game stretch. Huskies are still winless at home so far this season (0-4-1). UCONN announced earlier in the day the formal national letter of intent was signed by East Haven native Nick Capone who originally two years ago committed to Maine. He went Salisbury prep school for two years and presently is play with the Tri-City Storm (USHL) where he has six points in 14 games so far in his first full season of junior hockey. Capone will matriculate at UCONN next season 2020-21. Read the full article

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KEELEY: MARINERS BRING BACK MASTER

UMass-Lowell product had seven points in eight games PORTLAND, ME – June 26, 2019 – Forward Nick Master has re-signed with the Mariners for 2019-20, the team announced Wednesday. The former UMass-Lowell River Hawk had a strong showing in Maine at the end of the 2018-19 season, registering seven points in eight games. The 24-year-old Master is a native of Broomall, PA and played for the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers program for parts of three seasons, where he was a teammate of Dwyer Tschantz. After a 50 point season (in 40 games) with the U18 squad in 2012-13, Master moved onto to the United States Hockey League and played for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders and Tri-City Storm. With the Storm in 2014-15, Master finished 2nd on the team in goals with 23 and later averaged a point-per-game in Tri City’s playoff run. He began his collegiate career at UMass-Lowell the following season. Master enjoyed the best offensive season of his college career as a freshman in 2015-16, when he posted 24 points (8 goals and 16 assists) in 39 games, finishing in the top 10 of all Hockey East freshmen. He was also named the team’s Rookie of the Year. Over his final three seasons at Lowell, Master remained a mainstay in the lineup, playing a total of 150 career college games. The River Hawks won a Hockey East Championship in his sophomore season. On March 21st, 2019 after finishing his senior year, Master signed with the Mariners. On March 24th, 2019, Master made his professional debut and had an assist in a 6-2 home loss to the Manchester Monarchs. It was the first of a four-game point streak to kick of Master’s pro career. On March 31st at Adirondack, Master opened the scoring with his first goal, coming on the power play. He would score another the following afternoon at home against Adirondack, also adding an assist for his first multi-point game. In eight games with the Mariners, Master scored three goals, with four assists. ��I’d like to thank the Mariners for giving me the opportunity to play during their playoff push last season,” Master said. “It’s a great organization with a great atmosphere and I can only imagine it’s going to be better this year.” Master is the fifth forward and the seventh player re-signed to an SPC for 2019-20. View the current roster here. The second season of Maine Mariners ECHL hockey kicks off October 11th at home when the Adirondack Thunder visit the Cross Insurance Arena for a 7:15 PM faceoff. Full and half season plans along with 12-game mini-plans and group tickets are on sale now by calling 833-GO-MAINE or visiting the Mariners front office at 94 Free St. in Portland. Single game tickets will go on sale on September 16th. Read the full article

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KAKKO LEADS AN INCREDIBLE RANGERS 2019 ENTRY DRAFT

BY: The New York Rangers During the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia on Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22, the Rangers selected eight players. With their eight picks in the Draft, the Blueshirts selected five forwards and three defensemen. The Rangers entered the 2019 NHL Entry Draft with the second overall pick. The Blueshirts selected second or higher in the Draft for only the third time since the NHL Amateur/Entry Draft's inception in 1963 and for the first time since 1966, when the team chose Brad Park with the second overall pick. On Friday, the Rangers used the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft to select forward Kaapo Kakko. Kakko, 18, skated in 45 games with TPS of Liiga (Finnish Elite League) this past season, registering 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points, along with a plus-one rating and 10 penalty minutes. Kakko's 22 goals in 2018-19 were the most any U18 player has registered in one season in the history of Finland's top league, breaking the record of 21 set by Aleksander Barkov in 2012-13. The 6-2, 194-pounder was named the Rookie of the Year in Liiga in 2018-19. Internationally, the Turku, Finland native has represented his country in several tournaments. In a 13-month span from April of 2018 to May of 2019, Kakko helped Finland win a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship, the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, and the 2019 IIHF World Championship. He became the first player in hockey history to win a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship in his U18 season. In addition, Kakko became the youngest player in hockey history to win gold medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship, the IIHF World Junior Championship, and the IIHF World Championship (18 years, 102 days old; Connor McDavid was previously the youngest player to win a gold medal in all three tournaments - 19 years, 130 days old). The Rangers selected seven players on Saturday. The Blueshirts made two selections in the second round - defenseman Matthew Robertson with the 49th overall pick and forward Karl Henriksson with the 58th overall pick. Robertson, 18, skated in 52 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this past season, registering seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points, along with a plus-18 rating and 26 penalty minutes. He established WHL career-highs in several categories in 2018-19, including assists, points, and plus/minus rating, and he tied his WHL career-high in goals. Robertson ranked second among Edmonton defensemen in points during the past season. He also served as an alternate captain for the Oil Kings in 2018-19. Robertson helped Edmonton advance to the 2019 WHL Playoffs, and he tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) in 16 games. The 6-3, 200-pounder has skated in 126 career WHL games over parts of three seasons (2016-17 - 2018-19), all with Edmonton, registering 14 goals and 44 assists for 58 points, along with a plus-two rating and 72 penalty minutes. Internationally, the Edmonton, Alberta native has represented Canada in several tournaments. Robertson helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, as he registered four points (two goals, two assists) in five games. He tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in five games with Canada-Black at the 2017 World U17 Hockey Challenge, and he was named to the Tournament All-Star Team, as he led all defensemen in the tournament in points. In addition, Robertson recorded two assists and posted a plus-five rating in five games while representing Canada at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship. Entering the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Robertson was ranked No. 26 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for this year's Draft. Henriksson, 18, skated in 45 games with Frolunda's junior (J20) team in SuperElit this past season, registering 13 goals and 36 assists for 49 points, along with a plus-35 rating and 26 penalty minutes. He led SuperElit in assists and plus/minus rating and tied for the league lead in points, and he also led all players in their U18 season or younger in points during the season. Henriksson recorded nine points (two goals, seven assists) in six playoff games in SuperElit, as he tied for the league lead in assists and tied for second in the league in points during the playoffs. In addition, he helped Frolunda's U18 team win the gold medal in 2018-19 by recording seven points (two goals, five assists) and a plus-eight rating in seven playoff games. Henriksson skated in two SHL games with Frolunda this past season, and he was one of 17 players in their U18 season or younger who played at least one game in the SHL during the season. The 5-9, 176-pounder has played in Frolunda's organization for the last two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19). Henriksson tallied 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) and posted a plus-42 rating in 38 games with Frolunda's U18 team in 2017-18, and helped the team win a bronze medal by notching six points (two goals, four assists) in seven games during the playoffs. Internationally, the Malmo, Sweden native has represented his country in several tournaments. Most recently, Henriksson registered nine points (three goals, six assists) in seven games while helping Sweden win a gold medal at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship. He was named one of the Top Three Players on his Team in the tournament, as he led Sweden in assists and points. Henriksson also helped Sweden earn a silver medal at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, as he registered two goals in five games during the tournament. Entering the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Henriksson was ranked No. 23 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of European skaters eligible for this year's Draft. With their third-round pick (68th overall), the Rangers selected defenseman Zachary Jones. Jones, 18, skated in 56 games with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League (USHL) this past season, registering seven goals and 45 assists for 52 points, along with a plus-38 rating and 38 penalty minutes. He was named the USHL Rookie of the Year in 2018-19, and he was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team, as well as the USHL Second All-Star Team, this past season. Jones led the USHL in power play assists (25) and ranked fourth in the USHL in assists and plus/minus rating in 2018-19, and he led USHL rookies in all three categories. He also led all USHL defensemen in assists and tied for second among USHL defensemen in points during the season. The 5-10, 175-pounder established a single-season Tri-City record for assists by a defenseman in 2018-19, and his 45 assists were the second-most by any Tri-City player in one season in the team's history (Jaden Schwartz registered 50 assists in 2009-10). Jones also played in the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game during the 2018-19 season. He skated in six playoff games Tri-City during the past season and recorded five assists. Prior to playing in the USHL, Jones played with Selects Hockey Academy in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) for three seasons (2015-16 - 2017-18). He helped Selects Hockey Academy to win the USPHL 16U Championship in 2015-16 and the USPHL 18U Championship in 2017-18, and he served as the captain of the Selects 18U Team in 2017-18. Internationally, the Richmond, Virginia native helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2018 World Junior A Challenge, and he recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in six games in the tournament. Jones has committed to play collegiate hockey at UMass-Amherst beginning with the 2019-20 season. The Rangers used a fourth-round pick (112th overall) to select defenseman Hunter Skinner. Skinner, 18, split this past season between the Muskegon Lumberjacks and the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He skated in 52 USHL games during the 2018-19 season, registering five goals and 19 assists for 24 points, along with 81 penalty minutes. Skinner established USHL career-highs in several categories this past season, including games played, goals, assists, and points. The 6-2, 176-pounder has skated in 83 career USHL games over parts of two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19) with Muskegon and Lincoln, registering five goals and 19 assists for 24 points, along with 85 penalty minutes. Prior to beginning his USHL career, Skinner played with Honeybaked U16 in the High-Performance Hockey League (HPHL). The Wyandotte, Michigan native has committed to play collegiate hockey at Western Michigan University beginning with the 2020-21 season. The Blueshirts used their fifth-round pick (130th overall) to select forward Leevi Aaltonen. Aaltonen, 18, skated in 29 games with KalPa's U20 team in Jr. A SM-liiga this past season, registering 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points, along with a plus-nine rating and 28 penalty minutes. Among players in their U18 season or younger in Jr. A SM-liiga, he ranked third in points per game (1.24) in 2018-19. Aaltonen also recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in six playoff games during the season. He tallied one assist in seven games with KalPa in Liiga during the past season, and he was one of 12 players in their U18 season or younger who notched at least one point in Liiga in 2018-19. The 5-9, 177-pounder has played in KalPa's organization for four seasons (2015-16 - 2018-19). Aaltonen helped KalPa's U20 team win the Jr. A SM-liiga Championship in 2017-18 and KalPa's U18 team win the Jr. B SM-sarja Championship in 2016-17. In 2015-16, Aaltonen won the Timo Jutila Award as the Jr. C SM-sarja (Finland's U16 league) Rookie of the Year and he led the league in points during the season (70; 26 goals and 44 assists in 27 games). Internationally, the Mikkeli, Finland native has represented his country in several tournaments. Most recently, Aaltonen registered five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-four rating in five games while representing Finland at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship. He led Finland in assists and tied for the team lead in points in the tournament. Aaltonen recorded two assists in five games at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and he also registered five points (three goals, two assists) in four games at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He helped Finland win a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship, as he tallied two goals and posted a plus-two rating in seven games during the tournament. In addition, Aaltonen was teammates with Kaapo Kakko at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship. Entering the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Aaltonen was ranked No. 29 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of European skaters eligible for this year's Draft. New York used its sixth-round pick (161st overall) to select forward Adam Edstrom. Edstrom, 18, split this past season between Mora in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and Mora's junior (J20) team in SuperElit. He tallied 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 20 games in SuperElit with Mora's junior team during the season, and he also registered four points (two goals, two assists) in two relegation games. In addition, Edstrom recorded one assist in 15 SHL games with Mora in 2018-19. He also notched two goals in two games with Malungs IF in Division 1 (Sweden's third-highest pro league). The 6-6, 209-pounder played in Mora's organization for three seasons (2016-17 - 2018-19). Edstrom registered 47 points (27 goals, 20 assists) in 40 games while playing with Mora's J18 team and 27 points (19 goals, eight assists) in 69 games with Mora's J20 team in SuperElit. He is expected to play in Rogle's organization in the 2019-20 season. The Rangers used a seventh-round pick (205th overall) to select Eric Ciccolini. Ciccolini, 18, skated in 48 games with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) this past season, registering 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points, along with 58 penalty minutes. Ciccolini won the B.J. Monro Memorial Trophy as the OHA's Top Prospect. He received the OJHL Top Prospect Award, was named an OJHL First Team All-Prospect, and was named to the OJHL Second All-Star Team. Ciccolini also notched five points (one goal, four assists) in five playoff games. The 5-11, 170-pounder played parts of two seasons in the OJHL (2017-18 and 2018-19). A native of Vaughan, Ontario, Ciccolini played with Canada-East at the 2018 World Junior A Hockey Challenge. Ciccolini is committed to begin his collegiate career at the University of Michigan in 2019-20.

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KEELEY: FALMOUTH NATIVE BEN FREEMAN SIGNS WITH MARINERS

Out of the University of Connecticut, 6’5 forward is a local product BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners PORTLAND, ME – August 3, 2020 – After Cumberland-born brothers Ted and Brian Hart made Mariners history last season, becoming the first Maine natives to suit up for the franchise, another local product is now looking to join the list. On Monday, the Mariners announced the signing of 6’5 forward Ben Freeman, a native of Falmouth. “I couldn’t have asked for a better starting point,” Freeman said. “I grew up watching the Pirates play and so it’s going to be really special to skate in that building.” Freeman, 24, just finished up a four-year Division I college career at the University of Connecticut. In 2019-20, he captained the Huskies and led the team with 28 points (7 goals, 21 assists) in 33 games. He was also the recipient of Hockey East’s Len Ceglarski Award for Sportsmanship. Freeman wore a letter as an Alternate Captain in his junior season of 2018-19 as well. Born in Falmouth, Freeman played initially at Falmouth High School but traveled to Massachusetts to join Northfield Mount Hermon School, a preparatory school just south of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. Freeman had a big year in 2013-14, putting up 46 points in 31 games. It was in that season that he committed to the University of Connecticut. After a brief stop with the Springfield Rifles 18U AAA program, he took his game to the Connecticut Jr. Rangers of the USPHL Premier. Read the full article

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KEELEY: NICK MASTER RE-SIGNS WITH MAINE MARINERS

Speedy forward looks to bounce back after injury-plagued 2019-20 season BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners PORTLAND, ME – July 27, 2020 – The Mariners added another forward to the mix for 2020-21, announcing the re-signing of Nick Master on Monday. Master originally became a Mariner at the end of the 2018-19 season but missed the majority of 2019-20 with a wrist injury. “I’m really excited to get back on the ice with the guys considering last year was cut short for me,” said Master. “Seeing both sides of the game from being on the ice and watching last year really made me appreciate not only the game but the city of Portland and their fan base.” Out of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Master joined the Mariners in late March of 2019, after finishing his collegiate career. He found immediate success, registering seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight games with the Mariners down the stretch. The native of Broomall, PA then re-signed in the summer of 2019. On October 26th, 2019, while playing in his sixth game of 2019-20, Master suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He had scored one goal in six games. “Being injured last season gave me the opportunity to see what it takes at the pro level and what things I need to be prepared for this upcoming season, said Master. “I can’t stress enough how excited I am to play again and put on that Maine sweater.” Master, Read the full article