Nanaimo Clippers

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

Franchise history

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 3 wins and a loss in round-robin play. The Clippers entered the semi-finals as the 2nd 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.

March 13, 2004 marked one of the strangest playoff games in all of hockey history with the Clippers playing in the final game of their first-round league playoff series against the Powell River......
Read More