Yarmouth Mariners
| Yarmouth Mariners | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| League | Maritime Junior Hockey League |
| Division | Eastlink |
| Founded | 1976 (Cole Harbour Colts) |
| Home arena | Mariners Centre |
| Colours |
Navy, Gold, Aluminum Silver and White |
| Owner(s) | Mitch Bonnar |
| General manager | Laurie Barron |
| Head coach | Laurie Barron |
| Franchise history | |
| 1976-1997 | Cole Harbour Colts |
| 1997-2000 | East Hants Penguins |
| 2000-2002 | Dartmouth DQ Blizzard |
| 2002-Present | Yarmouth Mariners |
Navy, Gold, Aluminum Silver and White
The Yarmouth Mariners are a Junior "A" team based out of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. They play in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. All home games are played out of the 1750 seat Mariners Centre. The season usually runs from mid-September to early March every year.
The franchise that would eventually become the Mariners saw its first year of action in 76’ as the Cole Harbour Colts. The team would remain as the Colts until 1997, where the club would turn hands and become none other than the East Hants Penguins. In 2000, the Penguins were purchased by Paul Currie, moved to Dartmouth and named the Dartmouth DQ Blizzard.
Currie ran the franchise for two seasons in Dartmouth. Although the club fared reasonably well in the standings, attendance was poor and sponsorship support was thin as the team competed heavily with Major Junior and University hockey for attention. Currie quickly made a decision to relocate the team.
Although it was not the only location considered, Yarmouth quickly became the front-runner and in 2002 Currie secured league approval and moved his team to Southwestern Nova Scotia where they would become the Yarmouth MotorMart Mariners. In their first season, the team managed to place third in the Bent and enjoyed immense fan and community support.
The 2003/2004 season was a memorable one for the team. The Mariners had a strong club and managed to plow through the playoffs with scoring from the likes of Jason Hedges, Steve Yetman, Grant Kenney, Matt Oxtoby and Justin d’Entremont. It was an exciting time for the team and their fans. However, the Mariners faced a very well coached Campbellton Tigers in the league final. Yarmouth split the first two games at home with the Tigers, but lost two in Campbellton. Returning to Yarmouth, the Mariners surrendered the championship to Campbellton. But even with the loss, fans stayed loyal and were delighted with the hockey they were treated to over that great season.
2004/2005 was the year Yarmouth hosted the Fred Page Cup. The Mariners dominated that season, ending up with 38 wins and just 14 losses, good for first overall in the league. The plan? Take a league title and carry the momentum into the Fred Page Cup. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. In a strange turn of events, the Mariners were hit by a number of injuries at the worst time. In the first round of the playoffs, star goalie Matt Anthony was ousted from play with a knee injury. Soon after, his backup, Matt Bracegirdle would injure his groin. Losing both goalies, coupled with other injuries to key forwards, would prove too difficult to overcome as the Mariners fell to a strong Truro Bearcats in round two. Truro would go on to take the league title that season from defending Champions the Campbellton Tigers.
...
Wikipedia