Playoff Fever: The Last Time a Portland Pro Hockey Team Won It All

Let's go Maine Mariners! Playoff hockey returns to Portland Thursday and Friday night as the Mariners try and win their first Kelly Cup. The team is down 2-0 to Reading, but we know some home cooking is going to make this a series.

It's so great having playoff-intensity hockey back in our town, and it brings back memories of the last time a professional hockey team brought home a championship. That was the infamous first year of the beloved Portland Pirates, who in 1994 won their one and only AHL Calder Cup Championship. It was the very first year of the franchise. It was a magical year to be sure, with beloved team members that became household names in Maine: Killer Kevin Kaminski, Kent Hulst, Jeff Nelson, Kerry Clark, Byron Dafoe, and Olaf Kolzig. The Pirates totally owned the town in the first three years in Portland, with sell-outs at the CCCC most of the time. Portland was Hockeytown!

A few days after the Championship Game, The City of Portland had a big parade for the team with a huge rally on the steps of City Hall. However, the Pirates' win was not the first sweet taste of victory for Portland professional hockey.  The Maine Mariners (first edition) won their FIRST TWO Calder Cups as a franchise, something no team in the AHL has ever done. We can't wait to have hockey back in Portland with the Maine Mariners (2.0) getting back to action this fall.