Charlottetown, PEĀ āĀ The Holland College Hurricanes head to Maine this weekend to play NCAA Division III Maine Maritime Academy Mariners, in Castine, Maine, for the Kongsberg Cup.
Saturday’sĀ game marks the first meeting between Maine Maritime and Holland College, but itās not the first time Maine Maritime has faced a Canadian opponent. The Mariners are 5-2 against Canadian opponents, including the Mount Allison Mounties in past years.
Both Holland College and Marine Maritime Academy prepare students to work in the marine industry, which is how the trophy came to be called the Kongsberg Cup. Kongsberg Maritime provides innovative and reliable solutions for merchant marine, offshore, subsea, navy, coastal marine, fisheries, simulation and training, port and harbour surveillance and more. Michael Muti of Kongsberg will present the trophy to the winning team at the end ofĀ Saturday’sĀ game.
The Mariners have a long-established football tradition and were among the founding members of the New England Football Conference (NEFC) almost a half-century ago. The eight-team conference includes Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the United States Coast Guard Academy. Maine Maritime has captured nine NEFC conference or divisional championships, most recently in 2009. Well known for its powerful running game, Maine Maritime set a NCAA Division III rushing record in 2010 with 5189 yards in 11 games. The Mariners are coming off a 1-8 overall record in 2013.
Hurricanes head coach Andrew Hickey said the game will present a unique set of challenges for the team.
āThe rule differences between the NCAA and Canadian football will certainly come into play for us as the visiting team. We also have a large number of first-year players. That said, we are fired up and looking forward to the game. We had a good training camp and have a talented group of athletes. Players are still competing for starting spots, so our guys will be going hard to make an impression.ā
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