By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
Jim Armstrong, a former Quinnipiac hockey coach and member of the New Haven Blades, died unexpectedly on Saturday.
Armstrong, 68, coached at Quinnipiac from 1980 to 1994 compiling a record of 140-183-8. He played junior hockey in Canada before joining several minor league hockey teams.
East Haven High coach Lou Pane, who was a captain for Armstrong’s team in 1985 remembered him as true leader.
“He was truly a mentor to all of us, Pane said. “He not only taught us about the game of hockey but how to become men.
“His loyalty to his team will live on forever. Without him I would have never gone to college.”
Armstrong played goalie for the wildly popular Blades in the New Haven Arena in 1963-1965 and again in 1971-72, the Blades’ last season.
He was originally from Peterborough, Ontario and lived in Hamden for over four decades.
Armstrong, born on March 1, 1943, played . He also played minor league hockey for the Saginaw (Mich.) Gears and the Seattle Totem Poles.
The family had no service plans to release.