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Chris Clifford
On January 7th, 1987, Kingston Canadians goaltender Chris "Cliffy" Clifford made OHL history when he became the first Ontarioi junior goalie to score a goal.
Nowadays every goalie is expected to be a good puckhandler. Clifford was one of the earlier goalies to conquer the skill. He also recorded 14 assists in his OHL career.
Clifford was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 111th overall in 1984. Ultimately Clifford was destined to a minor league career spent in the IHL and ECHL, but he did get into two NHL games.
The first, in 1985, came in a third period relief appearance. Starter Murray Bannerman had fallen behind 7-2 against Buffalo. Clifford played the third, stopping all 8 shots he faced.
He later played all of 4 minutes in a game in 1988-89, again in Buffalo.
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Clifford signed with the Penguins after the 1988-89 season, but never appealed in goal for them. After retiring, he graduated with a law degree from Queens University.
I played minor hockey with Chris for 2 seasons in what was then the Kingston Township Minor Hockey Association. Another remarkable skill he possessed was his skating ability, something goalies aren't known for.Even in all that equipment, he skated like the wind.
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