Chris Clifford

Chris Clifford (born May 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in parts of two games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks. He filled in for Murray Bannerman in a 1985 game and for Ed Belfour in a 1989 game. He won the Bobby Smith Trophy in 1985–86. Clifford was drafted in the sixth round of the 1984 NHL entry draft. Chris is considered the first goalie to score a goal in OHL history. He later became a lawyer.

Playing career Clifford was born in Kingston, Ontario. He spent his junior career with the Ontario Hockey League's Kingston Canadians and most of his professional career with various teams in the International Hockey League. Clifford became the first goaltender in Ontario Hockey League history to score a goal. In December 2019, Chris Clifford had his jersey number retired by the Kingston Frontenacs joining 4 other players in the franchise's history.

He remains an active member of the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawk Alumni networks.

Post-playing career After his hockey career, Clifford attended law school at Queen's University and is now a partner at Bergeron Clifford LLP in Ontario, Canada. He has consistently ranked as one of the top injury lawyers in Canada and is a recognized Top Lawyer in the country. Since 2015, Clifford has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in Canada for his work in personal injury litigation. Along with his business partner Edward Bergeron, Clifford has also received recognition from the Law Society of Ontario as a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation.

Clifford also served as a trustee to the Law Foundation of Ontario until 2016.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1982–83 Brockville Braves CJHL 32 — — — 1746 126 1 4.33 — — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Kingston Canadians OHL 50 16 28 0 2808 229 2 4.89 — — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 1 0 0 0 20 0 0 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Kingston Canadians OHL 52 15 34 0 2768 241 0 5.22 — — — — — — — — — 1985–86 Kingston Canadians OHL 50 26 21 3 2988 178 1 3.57 .866 10 5 5 564 31 1 3.30 — 1986–87 Kingston Canadians OHL 44 18 25 0 2576 188 1 4.38 — 12 6 6 730 42 0 3.45 — 1987–88 Saginaw Hawks IHL 22 9 7 2 1146 80 0 4.19 — — — — — — — — — 1988–89 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0.00 1.00 — — — — — — — — 1988–89 Saginaw Hawks IHL 7 4 2 0 321 23 0 4.30 — — — — — — — — — 1989–90 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 23 17 4 1 1352 77 0 3.42 — 6 3 3 360 24 0 4.01 — 1989–90 Virginia Lancers ECHL 10 7 1 0 547 16 0 1.75 .954 — — — — — — — — 1990–91 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 56 24 26 4 3247 215 1 3.97 — 5 1 4 299 20 0 4.01 — 1991–92 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 2 2 0 0 120 4 0 2.00 — — — — — — — — — 1991–92 Louisville Icehawks ECHL 56 29 19 6 3151 223 0 4.25 .864 13 7 6 780 53 0 4.08 — 1992–93 Muskegon Fury CoHL 19 8 8 2 1038 82 1 4.74 .858 2 — — 117 11 0 5.64 — 1993–94 Louisville Icehawks ECHL 35 11 18 4 1894 152 0 4.82 .857 1 0 0 8 1 0 7.17 — NHL totals 2 0 0 0 25 0 0 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — —