The time is almost here to hear the skates dashing on the ice, cheering and supporting the Milford Mariners. Last year, the team, composed of athletes from Foran, Law, and Platt Tech High Schools, had a 13-6-1 record as a result of great senior leadership, taking them to the Division Three state playoffs. This year, the Mariners are looking to exceed last year’s goals.
Senior Parker Guarnieri, captain for the Foran hockey team, states, “We have to keep working hard and prove we can step up this year.”
A very important contributor to this team’s success last year and this year is head coach John Paul “JP” Shimko, who is once again looking to lead the team to success. Shimko starts his third season this year.
Shimko has stated that he is primarily focused on the team’s future. He says, “We will need to leave last year in the past and focus on the group we have in the room to be successful.”
The team has also been focused on the season. Shimko states, “Our players have been putting in the hard work for the entirety of the offseason and will be ready to go come December 1.”
While losing the seniors was a challenge, the incoming seniors are expected to step up. Shimko has faith in his new seniors, who he is confident will step up to their roles.
Shimko states, “We are expecting a big year from Parker Guarnieri, as he is our top offensive returning player. In addition, we are excited to see Aiden Riker between the pipes, helping our team out on the defensive end.”
As the season is approaching, the Mariners are more prepared than ever. Aiden Riker, the senior goalie for the Mariners, has been preparing with the team.
Riker says, “We’ve been doing conditioning on and off the ice to prepare for the upcoming season.”
With three separate high schools participating on one team, the chemistry may be hard.
Shimko states, “When I first became the coach for the Mariners, I thought we would have chemistry issues with players coming from three different schools. However, our group is very tight-knit, no matter which school each player attends. This is one of our biggest advantages we have as a team.”
As the season approaches, one thing is clear: The Mariners are set to make this season their strongest yet.
