YARMOUTH, N.S. – The scores have been tight, but the Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners have won three out of three exhibition games in advance of the start of the regular season of the MHL and have one more exhibition hockey game at home on Saturday, Sept. 8 ahead of their home game opener the following week.
These exhibition games have been part of the training camp to come up with this year's Mariners' roster heading into the regular season. As of Sept. 6, 16 players had been reassigned to their major midget teams – the latest being the Mariners' 2018 territorial draft pick Ben Charles of the South Shore Mustangs following the Sept. 5 exhibition game. Charles left the ice during the game with an injury but the team said it was not serious. The other players released had been reassigned on Aug. 26 and Aug. 30 to their respective major midget teams.
A posting on the Mariners Facebook page on Sept. 6 said there were 12 forwards, 8 defence and 3 goaltenders remaining at camp. Coach Laurie Barron said he expected the roster to be finalized by the Sept. 8 home exhibition game against the Valley Wildcats. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
In exhibition play as part of the training camp, on the road the Mariners had a 4-3 win over the South Shore Lumberjacks on Aug. 29 and a 5-4 overtime win over the Valley Wildcats on Aug. 31.
At home on Sept. 5, the Mariners had a 5-4 win over the South Shore Lumberjacks. During the home game goals were scored by Logan Timmons (Brett Crossley, Connor Peveril); Noah McMullin (Matt Barron); Shawn Guison (Matt Barron, Brent Broaders); Brent Broaders (Barron, McMullin); and Brent Broaders (Barron, Andrew Martell.)
In net for the Mariners Thomson Phinney had 16 saves on 20 shots. For South Shore, goaltending duties were split between Keaghan Larade who had 12 saves on 15 shots and former Yarmouth minor hockey player Morgan Kini who made 16 saves on 18 shots.
The Sept. 5 game ended up on a chippy note with some roughing after the whistle calls before, at the final buzzer, Lucas Roy of South Shore received a two-minute minor on an instigator call, a 5-minute major for fighting and a 10-minute game misconduct for fighting. From the same melee Connor Peveril of the Mariners received a five-minute major and 10-minute game misconduct for fighting.
