Well into the first half of the season, the Chatham Maroons have undergone a sort of housecleaning.
The Maroons confirmed Friday evening that head coach Kyle Makaric was let go, effective immediately. Club general manager Tyler Roeszler will carry on in that role as well as move behind the bench as the new head coach.
Roeszler, who already had a long association with the Maroons, has only held the GM's office for over a week. In a statement issued by the club Friday night, Roeszler's wealth of hockey experience was considered.
"Tyler’s hockey experience on the ice and behind the bench is a welcomed addition to the Maroons," read the statement.
Makaric was in his second season as the Maroons' bench boss. Chatham was expected to begin the season dominating the GOJHL Western Conference with a coach who had a wealth of experience nurturing younger players, but the team's performance in the standings has not been encouraging. As of Friday, the Maroons are tied with the Strathroy Rockets for fifth place in the conference with a 6-8-1-3 record, or 16 points.
This will be Roeszler's second stint as head coach of the Maroons. His first tour of duty was during the 2015-2016 season, but he stepped down after that season due to disagreements with the management at the time, concerning the team's direction.
Between stints with the Maroons' coaching staff, Roeszler worked as an assistant coach with the University of Windsor men's hockey team and as a skills coach with the Windsor Spitfires.
Chatham's next game is Sunday night when the London Nationals visit Memorial Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
---with files from Matt Weverink