After two mediocre seasons in 1994 and 1995 the Skates returned to the playoffs in 1996 losing to the Vancouver Voodoo.

[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 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.