Maine Mariners games postponed amid labor dispute between league, players union

Both Maine Mariners games in Portland scheduled for this weekend have been postponed amid a labor dispute between the hockey league and a players union.

Members of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced earlier this week that players in the league were prepared to strike, accusing the ECHL of obstructing collective bargaining with unfair labor practices.

The strike notice became effective Friday, when games were scheduled to continue after a holiday break, according to the association, which represents players in the ECHL, formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League.

The Cross Insurance Arena box office confirmed Friday afternoon that both Friday and Saturday’s games have been postponed and will be rescheduled.

The Mariners were set to play the Worcester Railers on Friday night and the Trois-Rivières Lions on Saturday afternoon.

The ECHL issued a statement Friday, saying the league had made its “last, best and final offer” to the players’ union Thursday. Any future offers by the league “likely will need to account for losses in revenue attributable to missed games from player strike,” the statement read.

The union said in its own statement that it had filed an unfair labor practice charge against the league after several months of bargaining.

“We are asking for basic standards around health, safety and working conditions that allow the players to remain healthy, compete at a high level and build sustainable professional careers,” Brian Ramsay, the executive director of the hockey players’ association, said in the statement Monday. “Our members have never been more united and remain ready to return to the bargaining table at any time.”

The Mariners team social media account shared a statement from the ECHL in posts Friday that accused the union of forcing all players in the league to go on strike.

“This could also result in the postponement or rescheduling of additional games, and we will be in direct communication with our fans and supporters as soon as practicable if that is the case,” the statement read. “But know that we’re working to have a team on the ice for our next regularly scheduled home game.”

A reporter’s efforts to reach Michael Keeley, director of media relations and broadcasting for the Mariners, were unsuccessful Friday afternoon.

As of Friday, the Mariners are 11-8 on the season, with three overtime losses and one shootout loss, good for fifth place out of nine in the Eastern Conference’s North Division and 16th overall in the 30-team league.

The ECHL is the third tier of North American professional hockey, below the NHL and the American Hockey League. Most ECHL teams serve as developmental teams for nearby NHL and AHL teams; the Mariners are affiliated with the Boston Bruins and their AHL team, the Providence Bruins.

This story will be updated.