Nanaimo Clippers

Nanaimo Clippers
City	Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
League	British Columbia Hockey League
Division	Island
Founded	1972 (1972)–73
Home arena	Frank Crane Arena
Colours	Orange, silver, black, white
Head coach	Bob Beatty (interim)
Website	www.nanaimoclippers.com
Franchise history
1972–1982	Nanaimo Clippers
1982–1983	Esquimalt Buccaneers
1983–present	Nanaimo Clippers

The Nanaimo Clippers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Frank Crane Arena.

Franchise history

The original owner, Cliff McNabb, drew inspiration for the name from the local teams of the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association who prior to 1972 as well as after, were known as the Clippers. The Nanaimo Clippers won the league championship in the 1976 playoffs but lost by default for the Mowat Cup (Provincial Championship). The Clippers were once again league champions in 1978 when the Penticton Vees refused to play the balance of the series (citing rough play – the series stood at 2 games to 1). The Merritt Centennials were earlier chosen to represent the league for the 1978 CAHA Championships. The Nanaimo Clippers folded after the 1982 season, but were started up again before the 1983 season as the Esquimalt Buccaneers. The franchise was moved to Nanaimo early in the 1983 season, playing at the Nanaimo Civic Arena, and renamed the team the Nanaimo Clippers.

In 1998, the Clippers hosted the Royal Bank Cup getting three wins and a loss in round-robin play. The Clippers entered the semi-finals as the second seed behind the South Surrey Eagles also of the BCHL. The Weyburn Red Wings were the Clippers' opponent in the semi-final and defeated them by a score of 4–1, South Surrey went on to win the National Championship.

On March 13, 2004, with 80 seconds left in the third period and the score tied 3–3 in game seven during the first round of the playoffs against Powell River Kings, the Powell River goalie left his crease and froze the puck for a whistle. Under league rules, the goalie was guilty of delay of game. But instead of calling a two-minute penalty, the referee incorrectly awarded a penalty shot. Nanaimo scored and won the game, 4–3. Powell River protested and league officials agreed to cover all costs for fixing the mistake. The Kings went back to Nanaimo on March 16 to replay the final 1:20 of the third period, with the score tied at 3–3. Powell River started a man short for the delay-of-game penalty but neither team scored in regulation. Just 54 seconds into overtime, Nanaimo captain Michael Olson scored the game-winning goal. The Clippers went on to beat Chilliwack 3–1 in a best-of-five series, Surrey 4–0 in a best-of-seven semifinal and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4–1 in the best-of-seven championship final. After taking the BCHL Championship, the Clippers went on to oust the Grande Prairie Storm for the Doyle Cup, earning themselves a berth in the Royal Bank Cup.

On April 16, 2007, the Clippers won the Fred Page Cup by defeating the Vernon Vipers three to two in game six of the BCHL finals. The winning goal was scored by Tyler Mazzei with 36 seconds remaining in the third period at the Vernon Multiplex.

In March 2017, the Nanaimo city council approved a referendum for the construction of a $88 million arena to help solidify a potential Western Hockey League team, either by relocation or expansion, possibly forcing the Clippers to either relocate to another market or fold. The referendum was on March 11 and was rejected by 80% of those voting. The team was purchased by Vancouver-based lawyer Wesley Mussio in 2017.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1972–73	62	31	30	1	—	352	335	63		1st, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 3–4 (Bruins)
1973–74	64	21	41	2	—	243	321	44		4th, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 (Lords)
1974–75	66	21	45	0	—	303	385	42		4th, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 2–4 (Blazers)
1975–76	66	41	21	4	—	384	279	89		2nd, BCJHL	Fred Page Cup Champions (Vees)
1976–77	68	46	19	3	—	403	323	95		1st, Coastal	Fred Page Cup Champions, 4–2 (Vees)
1977–78	66	41	23	2	—	392	324	84	2251	1st, Coastal	Fred Page Cup Champions (Vees)
1978–79	62	33	26	3	—	367	346	69	1625	2nd, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 0–4 (Blazers)
1979–80	66	41	24	1	—	433	346	83		2nd, Coastal	Lost finals, 3–4 (Knights)
1980–81	44	33	10	1	—	307	200	67	1417	1st, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals
1981–82	48	12	36	0	—	232	347	24		6th, Coastal	did not qualify
1982–83	56	30	25	1	—	309	314	61	2420	3rd, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 (Royals)
1983–84	50	30	19	1	—	303	256	61		2nd, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 2–4 (Eagles)
1984–85	52	21	31	0	—	328	367	42		5th, Coastal	did not qualify
1985–86	52	25	26	1	—	305	337	51		3rd, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 (Flyers)
1986–87	52	24	27	1	—	276	292	49		4th, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 (Sockeyes)
1987–88	52	28	20	4	—	277	252	60		3rd, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 (Flyers)
1988–89	60	32	25	3	—	309	312	67	2931	3rd, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 (Paper Kings)
1989–90	60	38	21	1	—	381	314	77	2326	2nd, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 3–4 (Royals)
1990–91	60	25	32	3	—	307	342	53		3rd, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 (Paper Kings)
1991–92	60	27	30	3	—	319	309	57	3059	3rd, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 2–4 (Ice Hawks)
1992–93	60	29	29	2	—	320	326	60	1738	3rd, Coastal	Lost semifinals, 3–4 (Paper Kings)
1993–94	60	21	36	3	—	270	351	45		4th, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 (Paper Kings)
1994–95	60	25	33	2	—	280	330	52		3rd, Coastal	Lost preliminary, 0–2 (Eagles)
1995–96	60	30	25	5	—	251	236	65	1284	3rd, Island	Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 (Vipers)
1996–97	60	34	22	4	—	263	243	72		2nd, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 (Paper Kings)
1997–98	60	30	29	1	—	215	223	61		5th, Coastal	Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 (Eagles)
1998–99	60	37	21	—	2	298	229	76		1st, Coastal	Lost Division Quarterfinals, 0–3 (Salsa)
1999–00	60	28	21	—	11	202	218	67		3rd, Coastal	Lost Conference Semifinals, 2–4 (Chiefs)
2000–01	60	31	25	—	4	221	216	66	1673	1st, Island	Lost preliminary, 3–4 (Salsa)
2001–02	60	41	17	—	2	262	215	84		1st, Island	Lost semifinals, 1–4 (Chiefs)
2002–03	60	41	16	3	0	267	196	85		1st, Island	Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 (Eagles)
2003–04	60	37	15	2	6	256	161	82	2131	2nd, Island	Fred Page Cup Champions, 4–1 (Silverbacks) Doyle Cup Champions
2004–05	60	48	9	0	3	240	142	99		1st in League	Lost semifinals
2005–06	60	44	12	0	4	255	160	92		1st in League	Lost quarterfinals
2006–07	60	41	12	2	5	287	187	89		1st in League	Won Fred Page Cup
2007–08	60	42	14	0	4	249	155	88		1st in League	Lost in Finals
2008–09	60	28	24	2	6	186	193	64		9th BCHL	Lost in First Round
2009–10	60	24	25	1	10	197	204	59		10th BCHL	Lost in Quarterfinals
2010–11	60	29	23	1	7	203	205	66		5th, Coastal	Lost Division Quarterfinals
2011–12	60	26	25	0	9	186	193	61		10th BCHL	did not qualify
2012–13	56	32	20	0	4	182	167	68		2nd, Island	Lost Division Semifinals
2013–14	58	27	28	1	2	176	172	57		3rd, Island	Lost Division Semifinals
2014–15	58	37	16	0	5	235	167	79		1st of 5, Island 2nd of 16, BCHL	Won, Div. Semifinals, 4–3 (Bulldogs) Won, Div. Finals, 4–3 (Kings) 2nd of 3 Mini Series, advanced Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Vees)
2015–16	58	38	18	1	1	235	186	78		1st of 5, Island 4th of 17, BCHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–1 (Bulldogs) Won Div. Finals, 4–0 (Kings) 3rd of 3 Mini Series, eliminated
2016–17	58	23	28	6	1	146	199	53		4th of 5, Island 14th of 17, BCHL	Lost div. semi-finals, 1–4 (Grizzlies)
2017–18	58	32	20	3	3	198	177	70		2nd of 5, Island 6th of 17, BCHL	Lost div. semi-finals, 2–4 (Kings)
2018–19	58	27	30	—	1	180	213	55	750	3rd of 5, Island 14th of 17, BCHL	Lost First Round, 1–4 (Kings)
2019–20	58	37	17	0	4	183	134	78	772	1st of 5, Island 3rd of 17, BCHL	Won First Round, 4–0 (Bulldogs) Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	20	8	11	0	1	59	82	17	255	3rd of 4, Alberni Val. Pod 11th of 16, BCHL	Covid-19 "pod season" - no playoffs
2021–22	54	33	17	3	1	210	172	70	583	3rd of 9, Coastal 6th of 18, BCHL	Won Div Quarterfinal, 4–0 (Eagles) Won Div. Semifinal, 4-0 (Chiefs) Won Div. Finals 4-0, (Rivermen) Lost League Finals 0-4 (Vees)

NHL alumni

• Greg C. Adams
• Byron Bitz
• Mel Bridgman
• Dylan Coghlan
• Paul Cyr
• Tony Feltrin
• Wade Flaherty
• Jason Garrison
• Tanner Glass
• Colin Greening
• Al Hill
• Matt Irwin
• Steve Kariya
• Terry Kleisinger
• Rick Lapointe
• David LeNeveu
• Gary Lupul
• John Newberry
• Ryan O'Byrne
• Barry Pederson
• Ken Priestlay
• Sheldon Rempal
• Geordie Robertson
• Torrie Robertson
• Mark Rycroft
• Raymond Sawada

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia

External links

• Official website