In his final season of junior hockey in 1986-87, Mike Maurice led the Kingston Canadians with 48-goals and 92-points.

But his time in Kingston may be best remembered by a goal he didn’t score. It was the historic Chris Clifford goal, the first scored by a goaltender in Ontario Hockey League history.

“Without Mike it would have never happened,” reflects Clifford four decades later. “Nobody remembers me making any saves, just making that one shot I had,” he quipped.

On a cold January night in 1986, Kingston was protecting a 4-3 lead in the final minute against the Toronto Marlboros at the Memorial Centre, in front of just 1,269 fans.

The Marlies pulled goaltender Sean Burke for an extra attacker. Clifford made a glove save and then saw an opportunity. He quickly backhanded the puck up the ice. It landed in the neutral zone and rolled on edge, slowly curling towards the Marlies goal.

Maurice followed the puck, recognizing the moment and knowing that Clifford could make OHL history. “Most players would have just tapped it in, but Mike protected the puck right from center ice  holding off one of the Marlies driving to the net and allowing the goal to happen for me.”

With the news that Maurice passed away last week at age 60, his part in that historic goal makes the memory even more special for Clifford.

“Mike had already scored two goals in the third period, and he gave up the opportunity for a hat trick.”

Former teammate Steve Seftel says the selfless work by Maurice on the Clifford goal exemplifies who he was as a player and a teammate.

“Mo was a classic team player, the kind of guy who always had your back and supported teammates on and off the ice. He carried that Hamilton ‘Steel City’ toughness but paired it with silky smooth hands around the net. Mike played fearless and because of that he gave everyone around him confidence.”

Those Kingston teams in the mid-1980’s never won a championship, but 40 years later, the bonds forged between teammates remain strong.

“With all the adversity we had to face, we faced it together and it was humbling at times. We had a young team and going into games in places like Belleville, we felt outgunned and outmanned. The only thing we really had was each other,” remembers Clifford. 

Following his overage season in Kingston, Maurice had a tryout with the Washington Capitals, but he wound up going to school at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo.

At Laurier, Maurice was reunited with his close friend and former Kingston teammate Marc Lyons. The Golden Hawks were a powerhouse, winning consecutive Ontario titles in 1989 and 1990 and reaching the Canadian University final both years.

Lyons became an All-Canadian defenseman, while Maurice emerged as one of the country’s top scorers and an OUAA all-star. That 1990 team is remembered as one of the best in school history. They went 25-and-3 and lost 2-1 to Moncton in the national final.

In 2012, Maurice, Lyons and their teammates were inducted into the Laurier Golden Hawks Sports Hall of Fame.

During a Christmas tournament in the 1990-91 season, televised on TSN, Maurice suffered a badly broken leg – an injury Lyons believes changed the course of his career. It took him 18-months to fully recover.

“Mo was leading the country in scoring. He got tripped on a breakaway and suffered a badly broken leg crashing into the boards. He would have been an All-Canadian that year, and would have won Canadian University Player of the Year.”

“He still went on to have a pretty good minor league career, but his skating was never quite the same,” said Lyons.    

Maurice turned pro with Toledo of the ECHL in 1991-92, exploding for 39 goals and 111 points in 62 games as a rookie.

Signed by the Detroit Red Wings, he made the jump to the AHL and had two productive seasons with Adirondack, including 25 goals in 1993-94.

In all, Maurice played a dozen professional seasons and over 600 regular season games, including time in the AHL, IHL and ECHL. It included stops in places like Houston, St. John’s, Detroit, Las Vegas and Springfield MA.

As Lyons points out, “For Mike to have decent years in the pros is amazing, he played university hockey, broke his leg, and had to fight for a spot as a free agent. He wasn’t someone who had a parent NHL team supporting him, he had to do it all himself.”

Maurice didn’t play his first pro season until age 25.

“It was his love of the game,” Clifford says, that carried Maurice through so many years of long bus rides and minor league seasons.

Seftel, a 17-year-old rookie when he arrived in Kingston, saw Maurice as 19-year-old veteran who looked out for his younger teammates.

“Mike and I shared a couple of classes at LaSalle High School, and I always appreciated his quiet confidence. We spent time together doing the things teenagers do and every day he greeted you with a warm smile and a kind word.”

Years later Seftel remembers playing against ‘Mo’ in the AHL.

“I was with Baltimore and he was playing for Hamilton. Then we reconnected at the Canadians 30-year reunion in 2016 and had a long, easy conversation. Through all the years and miles, he was still just Mo – warm smile, kind greeting, and always the guy who had your back.”  

Maurice played into his late 30’s, retiring in 2004 and returning home to Hamilton where he had grown up. Hockey was all he had known. He wound up going into business with his older brother – doing home renovations. Just like going to the rink, he enjoyed putting in a hard day’s work.

Mike didn’t play pickup hockey, instead he became an avid golfer, spending his summers on the course as often as he could.  

In July 2025, Maurice learned he had Stage 3 Esophageal cancer. Fourteen months later, he was gone.  

Since his passing, Lyons says condolences have poured in from former teammates and friends throughout the hockey world.

“Everyone loved him. Good player, decent guy, didn’t have an ego. Teammates loved him in the room, on the bus trips playing card games, Mike was just one of the boys.”

Hundreds of players have come through Kingston, but Maurice stands out as one who is well-remembered by Kingston hockey fans of that era.

‘Mo’ played big in the big games, was physical and fearless with a scorer’s touch. More importantly to those who played alongside him, he was a well-liked and respected teammate – a guy who always had your back.

The play he made on Clifford’s historic goal is frozen in time.

For Mike Maurice, it seems a fitting way to be remembered.

Mark Potter broadcast Kingston Canadians games on CKWS radio in the 1980’s. Like many others he enjoyed Maurice’s style of play and love of the game. A Celebration of Life for Maurice will be held in Hamilton sometime in October.