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Patrick J. Kelly (ice hockey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pat Kelly
Born
Patrick J. Kelly

(1935-09-08) September 8, 1935 (age 89)
Known for
HonoursMember of the ECHL Hall of Fame

Patrick J. "Pat" Kelly (born September 8, 1935) is an American retired ice hockey coach who co-founded and served as the first commissioner of the East Coast Hockey League. He is the namesake of the Kelly Cup. Kelly also coached the Colorado Rockies for two years and the Birmingham Bulls in the late-1970s.

Early life

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Kelly was born in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. He played junior hockey with the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 1952.

Career

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He played professionally for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, the Trois-Rivières Lions in the Quebec Hockey League, Troy Bruins of the International Hockey League and the Greensboro Generals of the Eastern Hockey League. He helped Crowland capture the 1948–1949 Bantam B Championship of Ontario, beating Peterborough in the finals.

Coaching and management

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Kelly began his coaching career in the Eastern Hockey League with the Jersey Devils and later the Clinton Comets. Clinton was 151–39–28 and won three straight regular season and postseason titles from 1967 to 1970. In the 1967–1968 season, the Comets finished with a 57–5–10 record, making them the only professional team in history to lose only five games or less in a season. In the 1969–1970 season, Kelly was named Minor League Coach of the Year by The Hockey News. Kelly served as head coach and general manager for Charlotte in the Southern Hockey League from 1973–76 guiding the Checkers to a 136–68–12 record, two regular season titles and two postseason titles while earning Coach of the Year honors in the SHL twice.

He coached the Colorado Rockies in the National Hockey League in 1977–78 and is the only coach in history to lead the Rockies into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Following coaching stops in the AHL, Kelly went to Peoria in the IHL where he led the Rivermen to the Turner Cup in his first season behind the bench in 1984–85. He recorded his 800th career win on January 4, 1987 and was inducted into the Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in February 1990. Kelly was inducted into the Roanoke Hall of Fame and the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Welland, Ontario in 1998, and in March 2002 he became the first inductee into the Greensboro Hockey Hall of Fame when the Generals retired his uniform number (5).

Kelly was named commissioner emeritus of the ECHL following the 1995–1996 season, after serving as commissioner for the first eight seasons of the ECHL. He celebrated his 50th season in hockey in 2002–2003.

In 2008, he was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame.[1]

Coaching record

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National Hockey League

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Colorado Rockies 1977–78 80 19 40 21 59 2nd in Smythe Lost in preliminary round (0-2 vs. PHI)
Colorado Rockies 1978–79 21 3 14 4 10 4th in Smythe Fired.
NHL totals 1977-1979 101 22 54 25 69 0-2 (0.000)

World Hockey Association

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Birmingham Bulls 1976–77 57 24 30 3 (66) 5th in Eastern Did not qualify.
WHA totals 1976-1977 57 24 30 3 51 0-0 (0.000)

Eastern Hockey League (1954-1973)

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Jersey Devils 1964–65 72 34 34 4 72 4th in Northern Lost in division semi-finals (1-3 vs. LI)
Clinton Comets 1965–66 72 41 28 3 85 2nd in Northern Won in division semi-finals (3-0 vs. JON)
Lost in division finals (1-4 vs. LI)
Clinton Comets 1966–67 72 44 26 2 90 1st in Northern Won in division semi-finals (3-0 vs. LI)
Lost in division finals (2-4 vs. JER)
Clinton Comets 1967–68 72 57 5 10 114 1st in Northern Won in division semi-finals (3-0 vs. LI)
Won in division finals (4-3 vs. NH)
Won Walker Cup (4-0 vs. CHA)
Clinton Comets 1968–69 72 44 18 10 98 1st in Northern Won in division semi-finals (3-0 vs. LI)
Won in division finals (4-3 vs. NH)
Won Walker Cup (4-0 vs. NSH)
Clinton Comets 1969–70 74 50 16 8 108 1st in Northern Won in division semi-finals (4-0 vs. SYR)
Won in division finals (4-3 vs. NH)
Won Walker Cup (4-2 vs. GBO)
Clinton Comets 1970–71 74 31 32 11 73 4th in Northern Lost in division semi-finals (1-4 vs. NH)
Clinton Comets 1971–72 75 30 32 13 73 3rd in Northern Lost in division semi-finals (1-4 vs. JON)
Clinton Comets 1972–73 76 18 51 7 43 3rd in Northern Did not qualify.
EHL totals 1964-1973 659 349 242 68 766 4 division titles 46-30 (0.605 - 3 Walker Cups)

Southern Hockey League

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Charlotte Checkers 1973-74 72 44 27 1 89 2nd in SHL Won in league semi-finals (4-2 vs. GRE)
Lost in James Crockett Cup finals (3-4 vs. RV)
Charlotte Checkers 1974-75 72 50 21 1 101 1st in SHL Won in league semi-finals (4-0 vs. RV)
Won James Crockett Cup (4-2 vs. HAM)
Charlotte Checkers 1975-76 72 42 20 10 94 1st in SHL Won in league semi-finals (4-2 vs. RV)
Won James Crockett Cup (4-1 vs. HAM)
Charlotte Checkers 1976-77 17 10 7 0 20 3rd in SHL Promoted to Head Coach of Birmingham Bulls
SHL totals 1973-1977 233 146 75 12 294 2 titles 23-11 (0.676 - 2 James Crockett Cups)

American Hockey League

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Rochester Americans 1978-79 52 16 27 9 (64) 4th in South Did not qualify.
Binghamton Dusters 1979-80 30 8 19 3 19 5th in South Fired.
AHL totals 1978-1980 82 24 46 12 62 0-0 (0.000)

Eastern Hockey League (1978-1981)

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Salem Raiders 1980-81 72 32 31 9 73 3rd in EHL Lost in league semi-finals (2-4 vs. RIC)
EHL totals 1980-1981 72 32 31 9 73 2-4 (0.333)

Atlantic Coast Hockey League

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Salem Raiders 1981-82 47 32 15 0 64 1st in ACHL Won in league semi-finals (4-1 vs. WS)
Lost in Payne Trophy finals (2-4 vs. MV)
Virginia Raiders 1982-83 65 20 36 9 49 4th in ACHL Lost in league semi-finals (0-4 vs. CAR)
ACHL totals 1981-1983 112 52 51 9 113 6-9 (0.400)

International Hockey League

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Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
Peoria Prancers 1983-84 82 29 48 5 - 63 6th in IHL Did not qualify.
Peoria Rivermen 1984-85 82 48 29 5 - 105 1st in East Won in league quarter-finals (4-3 vs. IND)
Won in league semi-finals (4-2 vs. FW)
Won Turner Cup (4-3 vs. MUS)
Peoria Rivermen 1985-86 82 46 31 - 5 97 3rd in West Won in league quarter-finals (4-1 vs. MIL
Lost in league semi-finals (3-4 vs. FW)
Peoria Rivermen 1986-87 82 31 42 - 9 71 5th in West Did not qualify.
Peoria Rivermen 1987-88 82 34 41 - 7 75 4th in West Lost in league quarter-finals (3-4 vs. SL)
IHL totals 1983-1988 410 188 191 10 21 407 1 division title 21-17 (0.553 - 1 Turner Cup)

References

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  1. ^ "The ECHL - Premier 'AA' Hockey League | ECHL announces 2014 Hall of Fame inductees". Archived from the original on 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
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Preceded by Head coach of the Colorado Rockies
1977-78
Succeeded by