1994 New England Stingers Tee

The Story

The New England Stingers were introduced to Portland at a news conference on March 2nd, 1994.  Experienced hockey operators Tom Ebright and Godfrey Wood owned the club, which they envisioned as a summertime extension of their Portland Pirates American Hockey League franchise.  The duo were riding a wave of enthusiasm in the city. Ebright and Wood first came together one year earlier, partnering to move Ebright’s struggling Baltimore Skipjacks AHL club to Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center.  When the Stingers were announced in early March, the Pirates were nearing the completion of a storybook first season in the city, one which saw the club win the Calder Cup championship.

Portland Pirates Head Coach Barry Trotz served as Head Coach and brought along his AHL assistant, Paul Gardner. The Stingers roster included several veterans with NHL experience, including Len Hachborn and Kevin Kaminski.  University of Maine rookie Cal Ingraham signed on and would lead the Stingers in scoring with 30 goals and 32 assists.

The Stingers struggled to adapt to the hybrid game, dropping the first seven matches of RHI’s 22-game season.  In the front office, the challenges were just as daunting. Stingers management faced severe pressures both on the revenue and expense sides of the business. The Stingers experience stood in stark contrast to RHI co-founder Larry King’s 1993 boast to Sports Illustrated that “In this league coaches need more skill than owners need money.” The Stingers announced several larger crowds at the Cumberland County Civic Center as the season wound down, including successive attendance highs of 4,677 and 4,691 at the club’s final two home games in August 1994.  Nevertheless, the Stingers finished the season with an estimated $300,000 operating loss and with average announced attendance of 2,850, 5th worst in the 18-team league. Adding insult to injury, the Stingers finished in last place with a record of 5-17. Ebright and Wood formally withdrew from Roller Hockey International in March of 1995, under the guise of a one-year hiatus.

Crafted with the intention of being the softest shirt in your lineup, our signature tees are made with premium airlume (for softness) and ringspun (for durability) cotton combined with poly to make the perfect tee👌 that wears and feels like a well-worn favorite. Our garments are printed with inks that actually blend into the fabric giving it more character and true vintage look with every wash.

Size Chart

• 52% airlume ring-spun cotton/48% polyester
• Unisex fit
• Imported garment with American-made fabrics.
• Printed in the USA 🇺🇸
• Made in certified eco-friendly facilities ♻️