Maine Mariners gear up for return with release of 2021-22 schedule Minor league hockey is set to return to Portland in late October after a hiatus last winter. Share The Maine Mariners are scheduled to hit the ice again on Oct. 22 with a home game against the Worcester Railers. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer The Maine Mariners took a small but positive step toward returning to the ice at Cross Insurance Arena by releasing their 2021-22 ECHL hockey schedule. A 72-game regular season – the team’s third overall and first since the coronavirus pandemic wiped out an impending playoff run in March of 2020 – is set to begin Oct. 22 when the Mariners host the Worcester Railers. Both teams took a hiatus during the 2020-21 season, as did roughly half the ECHL franchises, including all six teams in the North Division.