Oakland Skates

The Oakland Skates were a professional roller hockey team and were a member team in Roller Hockey International (RHI) from 1993 through 1996. In 1993 the Skates were a finalist for the RHI league championship, named the Murphy Cup, for one of the league founders, Dennis Murphy, losing to the Anaheim Bullfrogs. After two mediocre seasons in 1994 and 1995 the Skates returned to the playoffs in 1996 losing to the Vancouver Voodoo.

Oakland Skates
City	Oakland, California
Founded	1993
Home arena	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena (1993 - 1995) Henry J. Kaiser Arena (1996)
Colors	Blue, Gold, White (1993)         Purple, Jade, Black, White (1994 - 1996)
Murphy Cups	None
Conference Championships	None
Division Championships	None
Franchise history
Oakland Skates (1993 - 1996)

The Skates played their home games in Oakland, California at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena from 1993 until 1995, until having to move to the Henry J. Kaiser Arena in 1996 due to the remodeling of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum arena (now called Oakland Arena) for the Golden State Warriors.^[1] Skates majority owner Murray Simkin was unwilling to keep the Skates in their temporary home (which opened in 1914) for another season, waiting for the arena remodeling to finish and went on league "hiatus" status after the 1996 season. The team never returned to play.

The Skates qualified for the playoffs for the Murphy Cup in 1993 making it to the finals by beating St. Louis and Calgary before being swept by Anaheim in a two-game series, losing the final by a 9-4 score.^[2] In 1994 they didn't make the playoffs in the expanded league of 24 teams. The 1995 season saw a contraction of the league to 18 teams with the Skates finishing 2nd in their division (with a record of 10-10-4 after a 1-6 start) and qualifying for the playoff again but losing in the first round to the Vancouver VooDoo by a score of 10-4.^[3] Their cross bay rivals the San Jose Rhino's ended up winning the title against Montreal. In 1996, the team made it to the playoffs, but were knocked off by Vancouver for a second consecutive season, losing by a score of 12-3.^[4]

References

1. Swan, Gary. "Skates Hope to Get Kaiser Hopping / Ancient arena is new home for new-age Roller Hockey", San Francisco Chronicle, May 30, 1996. Accessed January 26, 2017. "The Oakland Skates -- who open their season in Oklahoma City tomorrow night -- feel they have moved up the clock on roller hockey success this season by taking a step back in time. Their new home is the Henry J. Kaiser Arena, a homey pre-World War I relic near Lake Merritt, seemingly a stage lying in wait for the filming of Gordie Howe, the Early Years."
2. Penner, Mike. "Bullfrogs Floor the Curse", September 8, 1993. Accessed January 26, 2017. "The Bullfrogs didn't lose a game. They went 13-0-1 during the regular season and swept through the playoffs in four games, including Tuesday's clincher, a 9-4 victory over the Oakland Skates."
3. Staff. "Skates Ousted From Playoffs", San Francisco Chronicle, August 16, 1995. Accessed January 26, 2017. "The Vancouver VooDoo eliminated the Oakland Skates from the 1995 Roller Hockey International playoffs last night, defeating the Skates, 10-4. The loss put an end to the Skates' season, which saw Oakland battle back from a 1-6 start to finish the season at 10-10-4 and earn a playoff berth."
4. Staff. "VooDoo Advances to Face Bullfrogs", San Francisco Chronicle, August 22, 1996. Accessed January 26, 2017. "The Vancouver VooDoo defeated the Oakland Skates, 12-3, on Wednesday night in Vancouver to win a Roller Hockey International playoff series and advance to the Western Conference finals against the Bullfrogs."