PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Mariners signed another forward to the 2020-21 roster, but this deal hits home, literally.
The ECHL club announced it inked Ben Freeman to a contract after finishing his college career at the University of Connecticut.
"You know it's an honor to sign with the hometown team Mariners and I couldn't be more excited to start," Freeman said outside the Cross Insurance Arena Monday.
"It's always been my goal to play professional hockey and this is a great place to start that journey."
Hockey East fans will remember Freeman, the forward is listed at 6'5" so he was hard to miss on the ice. He was also the captain for the Huskies last year and wore the assistant captain letter in the 2018-19 season.
Leading the team in points in the regular with 28 (7 goals, 21 assists), Freeman and UConn were set to begin their postseason in familiar territory for the Falmouth native.
The University of Maine was to host the Huskies in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East playoffs before the NCAA announced the cancellation of all winter and spring sports championships.
Freeman skated for Falmouth for just two seasons before finishing his high school career at Northfield Mount Hermon School, a preparatory school in northern Massachusetts.
Freeman will be the third Maine native to hit the ice at the Cross Insurance Arena wearing the Mariners sweater. Brothers and Cumberland natives Ted and Brian Hart made history as the first local players to skate for Maine last season.
Although Freeman grew up watching the Portland Pirates and the University of Maine playing in the Cross Insurance Arena, he's never skated there.
Head Coach and General Manager Riley Armstrong will have an interesting decision on his hands whether to pair up the Maine boys, Ted Hart and Freeman. The local players skated together in the Casco Bay Youth Hockey Association for more than 10 years.
“Ben comes from a very good college program at UConn,” Armstrong said in a team release. “He is a big body that needs to find that edge and play on the lines to be effective at the pro level."
"[We’re] always looking to grow the game in Maine and keep producing pro players in the state.”
Besides Hart and Freeman, the Mariners have signed four other forwards for this upcoming season. Dillan Fox, Michael McNicholas, Andrew Romano, and Nick Master all signed deals earlier this summer.