The Clinton Comets were an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in Clinton, New York. Founded in 1927–28 as the Clinton Hockey Club and nicknamed the Comets in 1949, the team played primarily at the

Clinton Arena Clinton Arena, also known as Edward W. Stanley Recreation Center, is an indoor arena in Clinton ( Oneida County), New York, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Description Built in 1948-49, the arena burned ...

from 1949 until 1973. The team was originally started by Ed Stanley who acted as manager to build a team from local high school students and helped to provide finances for the team to buy equipment and take road trips. He quickly was able to build a very successful team which in the 1933–1934 season played in the National Amateur Championship at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

against the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

. Stanley, along with

Albert I. Prettyman Albert I. Prettyman (died 1963) was a coach and athletic administrator at Hamilton College. During his coaching career he was head coach of many sports including basketball, track and field and football, but the majority of for his coaching work wa ...

who brought college hockey to nearby

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

went on to be the only two people from the same town or city on the 1940 Olympic hockey committee. The

1940 Winter Olympics The 1940 Winter Olympics, which would have been officially known as the and as Sapporo 1940 (札幌1940), were to have been celebrated from 3 to 12 February 1940 in Sapporo, Japan, but the games were eventually cancelled due to the onset of Wo ...

were scheduled for Sapporo, Japan but were canceled because of the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as well as the hopes of Comets players Wilfred Goering and Art Scoones who were trying out for the Olympic team. From 1954 until 1973, the Comets participated in the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

, dominating for ten of their nineteen seasons. Most notably, under head coach Pat Kelly, the Comets posted a 315–208–64 (wins-losses-ties) record of eight seasons. During that period, in the 1967–68 season, the Comets produced an awe-inspiring 57–5–10 record. The Comets won the EHL playoffs in 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1968–69 and 1969–70. Later, when the team began playing games in the Utica Memorial Auditorium, it changed its name to the

Mohawk Valley Comets They Mohawk Valley Comets are a former professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They were a member of the North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the ...

and played in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of the Clinton Comets include: *

Ed Giacomin Edward "Ed" Giacomin (born June 6, 1939) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1965 and 1978. Playing career Giacomin began his p ...

, who went on to become a

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. * Benny Woit, former player for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. *

Pete Babando Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

, former player for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

and

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. * Pat Kelly, went on to later become head coach of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, was the founder and first league commissioner of the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. He also had the ECHL's championship trophy named after him, the

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

. * Len Speck, who played on the team from 1961–1971 * Jack Timmins, player-coach from 1954-58, went on to become General Manager of the Tidewater Red Wings, Detroit's American League affiliate, Commissioner of the North American Hockey League and retired from the National Hockey League Central Scouting Service. * Jack Kane, who went on to get inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall Of Fame, in 1997.

Other hockey teams in the Mohawk Valley

* Utica Mohawks of the Eastern Hockey League (1978–80) * Mohawk Valley Stars of the

Atlantic Coast Hockey League The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. Acco ...

(1981–84) *

of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1985–87) *

Utica Devils The Utica Devils were a professional ice hockey team of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Utica, New York, and played its home games at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. History The Utica Devils were AHL affiliate of the Nationa ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(1987–93) *

Utica Bulldogs The Flint Bulldogs were a professional hockey team in Flint, Michigan, from 1991 to 1993. They were a part of the Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) and played their home games at the IMA Sports Arena. They compiled an overall record of 47–66–7 (). ...

of the

Colonial Hockey League Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

(1993–94) *

Utica Blizzard The Utica Blizzard were a professional ice hockey team from Utica, New York, and member of the Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) from 1994 to 1997. The Blizzard replaced the Utica Bulldogs after the team had to be taken over by the league in the midd ...

of the Colonial Hockey League (1994–97) *

Mohawk Valley Prowlers The Mohawk Valley Prowlers were a minor professional ice hockey based in Utica, New York, as a member of the United Hockey League (UHL) that played from 1998 to 2001. The Dayton Ice Bandits' franchise was purchased and relocated following the reloc ...

of the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

(1998–2001) *

Mohawk Valley IceCats The Norfolk IceCats were a semi-professional hockey team in the North Eastern Hockey League (NEHL) based in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada owned by Jim Cashman. The franchise was previously known as the York IceCats until a move to St. Catharines, Onta ...

of the

North Eastern Hockey League The North Eastern Hockey League was a semi-professional ice hockey league from 2003 until 2008. It was created by entrepreneur Jim Cashman, who served as league president. The NEHL was built to focus on giving players that were not quite ready ...

(2006–07) *

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

of the American Hockey League (2013–present)

References

{{Reflist * Mancuso, Jim and Zalatan, Fred. The Clinton Comets: From The Chenango Canal to National Champions. Utica, NY: Mancuso Publishing, 2005. * Mancuso, Jim and Zalatan, Fred. The Clinton Comets: An EHL Dynasty. Utica, NY: Mancuso Publishing, 2004. * "Clinton Comets." The Internet Hockey Database. 15 Aug. 2007. Wikimedia Foundation. 14 Apr. 200

External links

Clinton Comets EHL Career Statistics on HockeyDB.com
Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 1949 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1973 1949 establishments in New York (state) 1973 disestablishments in New York (state) Ice hockey teams in New York (state) Eastern Hockey League teams