The Baltimore Skipjacks were a minor league professional

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 h ...

team from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States. The Skipjacks originated in 1979, and played as the Baltimore Clippers 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 ...

for two seasons. The team was renamed to Skipjacks in 1981, and played the following season in 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. Acc ...

. The Skipjacks then played eleven seasons as members 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), from 1982 until 1993. The Skipjacks were one of three AHL teams to have been based in Baltimore, including the Baltimore Clippers, and the

Baltimore Bandits The Baltimore Bandits were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. They played in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Baltimore Arena. The Bandits were an affiliate of the National Hockey League's Might ...

. The Skipjacks operated as a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

for five seasons each, and were previously a farm team to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

for two seasons, 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 ...

for one season. The team played its home games at the

Baltimore Civic Center CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention ...

, which was renamed to the Baltimore Arena in 1986. Gene Ubriaco was the team's head

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for seven seasons, and won the AHL Coach of the Year Award during the

1983–84 AHL season The 1983–84 AHL season was the 48th season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league initiates two new awards. The Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award is first awarded to the league's "best ...

, when he led the Skipjacks to a division title. The Skipjacks reached the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

finals in the

1984–85 AHL season The 1984–85 AHL season was the 49th season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Binghamton Whalers finished first overall in the regular season. The Sherbrooke Canadiens won their first Calder ...

, but were defeated by the

Sherbrooke Canadiens The Sherbrooke Canadiens were a professional ice hockey team in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They played their home games at the Palais des Sports. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1984 to 1990, and were a farm team of the M ...

. In the same season,

Jon Casey Jonathon James Casey (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars, Boston Bruins, and St. Louis Blues from 1984 to 1997. Early life Jon Case ...

won the AHL Goaltender of the Year Award and led the AHL in goals against average.

Mitch Lamoureux Mitch Lamoureux (born August 22, 1962) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. Lamoureux was born in Ottawa, Ontario, but grew up in Nepean, Ontario. He played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers Th ...

is the Skipjacks career leader in

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

(119), assists (133), and points (252), and was inducted into the

AHL Hall of Fame The AHL Hall of Fame is an online ice hockey museum dedicated to honoring members of the American Hockey League. Each year, a new class of inductees is enshrined during the AHL's All-Star Classic. On January 5, 2006, the league announced that Joh ...

. The Skipjacks relocated from Baltimore in 1993, and became the Portland Pirates.

Eastern Hockey League

When the Southern Hockey League folded due to financial issues in 1977, Baltimore had no professional hockey team based in the city. A group of 22 businessmen formed the Baltimore Hockey Advocates in 1979, and raised to purchase an expansion team for Baltimore. The

(EHL) granted the Advocates an expansion team on September 12, 1979, which revived the Baltimore Clippers name. Three previous professional hockey teams in Baltimore had used the name, including the

Baltimore Clippers (1945–1949) The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League at Carlin's Iceland. The team began play in the 1944–45 season known as the Baltimore Blades, and ...

, the Baltimore Clippers (1954–1956), and the Baltimore Clippers (1962–1977). The Clippers name paid homage to local history in the

Baltimore Clipper A Baltimore Clipper is a fast sailing ship historically built on the mid-Atlantic seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland. An early form of clipper, the name is most commonly applied to two-maste ...

, and the

Port of Baltimore Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...

. The newest Clippers played in the EHL for two seasons, and were affiliated as a

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

from 1979 to 1981. The team played in green, white and gold uniform colors, the same as its parent team in Minnesota. Gene Ubriaco was the team's first head

. He had played left wing for the previous Clippers during the 1967–68 AHL season, and retired as a player in 1970. During the 1979–80 season, he briefly came out of retirement and played four minutes as an emergency

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 ...

, stopping all three shots he faced. In a home game on March 8, 1980, the Clippers defeated the Utica Mohawks 5–4 in overtime. Spectators were excited by fighting between the teams and threw beer and other debris onto ice surface, which resulted in injuries and at least one arrest. The Clippers won 41 games in the team's first season, tied for a second-place finish and five wins behind the first-place team.

Warren Young Warren Howard Young (born January 11, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. Playing c ...

was the team's highest-scoring

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, and led the league with 53

scored. In the 1980–81 season, the Clippers dropped to fourth place, winning 29 games.

Defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

Gerry Ciarcia, tied for the league lead with 68 assists. In the 1981 playoffs, the Clippers faced the first place

Erie Blades The Erie Blades name was used by two professional ice hockey teams in Erie, Pennsylvania. Both teams played their home games in the Erie County Field House. After the second Blades team folded, the void was filled by the Erie Golden Blades, a te ...

and lost all four games in the series. In June 1981, the North Stars named Ubriaco coach and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Nashville South Stars The Nashville South Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League (CHL) for the 1981–82 season. They then played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) for the 1982–83 season and part of the 1983–84 s ...

in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. On July 19, 1981, EHL team owners mutually agreed to fold the league, and begin a new league.

Atlantic Coast Hockey League

The

(ACHL) was founded in 1981 to replace the EHL. The Advocates raised another US$100,000 to help establish the new league. Advocates' president John Haas stated the ACHL was set up "primarily to pay the financial obligations" of the EHL. The Advocates also rebranded the team to Baltimore Skipjacks, to avoid paying US$10,000 in

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

rights for the Clippers' name. The team name had maritime origins in the skipjack boat, which later became one of the state symbols of Maryland in 1985. The Skipjacks did not affiliate as an NHL farm team during the season, and chose a green and white color scheme without the gold color used by the North Stars. The Skipjacks unveiled a new logo which resembled a

ship's wheel A ship's wheel or boat's wheel is a device used aboard a water vessel to steer that vessel and control its course. Together with the rest of the steering mechanism, it forms part of the helm. It is connected to a mechanical, electric servo, or ...

, with the team name spelled out with ropes. On September 26, 1981, the new team name was announced, and Moose Lallo was named the team's new head coach who agreed to a one-year contract. He had won two championships during twenty years of coaching in the International Hockey League. The new Skipjacks finished third place in the 1981–82 ACHL season. Jim Stewart (ice hockey), Jim Stewart was named an Atlantic Coast Hockey League#ACHL All-Stars, ACHL first team all-star, as the league's best goaltender. In the 1982 playoffs, Baltimore faced the second place Mohawk Valley Comets (ACHL), Mohawk Valley Stars. In a high-scoring series with 72 goals, the Stars prevailed in seven games.

American Hockey League

Penguins' affiliate

Skipjacks team owners continued to lobby for an

team in Baltimore. In 1982, the

relocated their farm team and merged the

into the ACHL's Skipjacks, with a three-year affiliation commitment to the Skipjacks. Coach Lou Angotti and sixteen Erie players made the move to Baltimore. The Skipjacks had an uphill battle in the new league as they shared the same arena with the Baltimore Blast (1980–92), Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–92), Major Indoor Soccer League. The hockey team was consistently outdrawn by the soccer team and given second choice for nights of play. The Skipjacks also had a secondary farm team affiliation with the

for the 1982–83 AHL season. Mike Gillis led the team in scoring with 113 points.

led the league with 57 goals, and won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL Rookie of the Year. Defenseman Greg Tebbutt won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL Defenseman of the Year. Lamoureux improved the offense, but the Skipjacks finished the season in fifth place and missed the playoffs. The Skipjacks went into the

affiliated only with Pittsburgh. The Skipjacks unveiled a new logo for the season ''(shown in infobox)'' which resembled the word "JACKS" superimposed on a ship's wheel, and used the same black, gold and white color scheme of the Penguins. Ubriaco was brought back as head coach, and led the team to its best record with 102 points, and 384 goals scored. The Skipjacks won the John D. Chick Trophy as the regular season champions of the AHL's south division. The offense was evenly spread out, with 18 different players scoring at least 10 goals, and Paul Gardner (ice hockey), Paul Gardner led the team with 81 points. The Skipjacks were bolstered by the conscious decision of the Penguins to keep its prospects in the AHL, in an effort to finish last in the 1983–84 NHL season and win the right to select Mario Lemieux first overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. In the playoffs, the Skipjacks defeated the fourth place Springfield Indians in four straight games, then waited 15 days for the second round start as Rochester Americans and St. Catharines Saints series went the full seven games. The layoff possibly affected the Skipjacks, as they lost to Rochester in six games in the second round. After the season, Ubriaco was given the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's Coach of the Year. In the

, the Skipjacks won a league record 16 consecutive games during February and March. The Skipjacks featured seven different players with 20-goal seasons. However, they were a more defensive oriented team than previous seasons, conceding only 252 goals, while scoring 326, and finishing second place in the south division with 98 points. The defense was led by captain Steve Carlson, and goaltender

, on loan from the Minnesota North Stars. Casey led the league with the lowest goals against average to win the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award, and was voted the AHL's best goaltender, winning the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award. In the playoffs, the Skipjacks defeated Rochester in the first round by four games to one, and then won all four games against the first place Binghamton Whalers in the second round. The Skipjacks' offense was shut down in the finals by rookie 19-year-old goaltender Patrick Roy, and the team lost in six games to the

. The Skipjacks struggled in the 1985–86 AHL season, even though Ubriaco stayed when many players moved up to the NHL. The offense was led by Tom Roulston with 38 goals, and 87 points. The team finished seventh place in the southern division, missing the playoffs. In the 1986–87 AHL season, Ubriaco improved the team to fifth place in the southern division, but still missed the playoffs. Alain Lemieux led the team with 41 goals and 97 points. The Penguins announced after the season, that they would not renew the affiliation agreement.

Unaffiliated season

Baltimore needed to find a new source of money, without the financial help from the Penguins. Businessman Thomas Ebright Memorial Award, Tom Ebright purchased the team for $250,000, and operated it as an independent franchise, without an NHL farm team affiliation for the 1987–88 AHL season. The Skipjacks began the season with sixteen consecutive losses, and finished last in the AHL with 35 points, missing the playoffs. The team's leading player was center Doug Shedden, who scored 37 goals, and 88 points on the season.

Capitals' affiliate

The

began a five-year farm team affiliation with the Skipjacks in the 1988–89 AHL season. The Skipjacks logo was switched to a red, white and blue color scheme to match the Washington Capitals. Terry Murray was appointed the new head coach, and improved the team record to 30 wins, but the Skipjacks missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Centerman Mike Richard led the team in scoring with 44 goals, and 107 points, Mike Millar scored 47 goals, and Scott McCrory added 37 goals. The Skipjacks began the 1989–90 AHL season with a 26–17–2 record, before head coach Terry Murray was promoted to the NHL, and replaced by Doug MacLean. The Skipjacks finished the season with 43 wins, and a third-place finish in the southern division. Goaltender Jim Hrivnak won 24 games, and earned four shutouts, and Mike Richard led the team in scoring again with 41 goals, and 83 points. In the playoffs, the Skipjacks defeated the second place Adirondack Red Wings in six games, in the first round, then lost to the first place Rochester Americans in six games in the second round. In the 1990–91 AHL season, Rob Laird (ice hockey), Rob Laird became the team's new head coach. Kenny Albert began his professional broadcasting career as the play-by-play announcer of the Skipjacks in 1990. The offense was led by Alfie Turcotte with 33 goals, and 85 points, and Jim Hrvniak won 20 games in goal. The Skipjacks finished third place in the regular season, received a bye in the first round, then faced the Binghamton Rangers in round two of the playoffs, losing in six games. The league realigned into three divisions for the 1991–92 AHL season, with the Skipjacks remaining in the southern division. Washington also allocated the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL, East Coast Hockey League, as a farm team for the Skipjacks. The offense was led by Simon Wheeldon with 38 goals and 91 points, in addition to John Purves (ice hockey), John Purves, and Reggie Savage, having 40-plus goal seasons. Despite the goal scoring, the Skipjacks struggled in the new division placing fifth, and out of the playoffs. In the 1992–93 AHL season, Barry Trotz became the new head coach. The offense was led by John Byce with 35 goals, and 79 points, and goaltender Byron Dafoe played 48 of 80 games. The Skipjacks finished the season fourth place in the southern division, and faced first place Binghamton in the playoffs. The Skipjacks extended the series to seven games against the top team in the league, but lost 5–3 in the deciding game. After the season, owner Tom Ebright relocated the team to Portland, Maine, after losing an estimated $2.5 million after six seasons in based in Baltimore.

Coaches

The Skipjacks and Clippers had seven different head coaches in fourteen seasons of play. Gene Ubriaco coached seven seasons in Baltimore, and won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as American Hockey League Coach of the Year in the 1983–84 season. Five of the seven Baltimore coaches, were also head coaches of NHL teams, including Ubriaco, Angotti, Murray, MacLean, and Trotz.

Players

Skipjacks alumni include over 140 players who also had NHL careers. Jim Stewart (ice hockey), Jim Stewart was the only player from the ACHL Skipjacks to play in the NHL. Thirteen players from the EHL Clippers went onto NHL careers.

is the Baltimore Skipjacks career leader in goals (119), assists (133), and points (252). He was inducted into the

in the class of 2011. Three Skipjacks also won season awards:

Results

Season-by-season results in the regular season, and playoffs.

References

{{Defunct AHL Baltimore Skipjacks, 1981 establishments in Maryland 1993 disestablishments in Maryland Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Eastern Hockey League (1978–1981) teams Minnesota North Stars minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Penguins minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs established in 1981 Ice hockey teams in Maryland Sports clubs disestablished in 1993 Washington Capitals minor league affiliates