National Brewers

The National Premiums plan for the upcoming season was to play several non league games at the Baltimore Civic Center to increase the exposure of the National Premium name. The club decided to phase out weekly practices due to overwhelming ice time costs. The elimination of practice time would reduce the team budget from $6,200 to $4,000 for the season. Team manager Dave Mattingly requested a donation of $1000 from G. Heileman Brewing Company to keep player costs in the range of $250 for the season. However, the Heileman sponsorship money dried up after just one season. Meanwhile the Premiums returned for another season in the Washington CHL, but were without original Brewers player Randy Mattingly, who retired after 15 seasons. In addition, 8 year Brewer Biff Evans also did not return for the new season.

The Premiums were inconsistent for the first two thirds of the season and the lack of practice time showed as the team struggled. The expected home non league games at the Baltimore Civic Center did not materialize as the Baltimore Skipjacks of the American Hockey League were not able to provide ice time for the Premiums. Late in the campaign, the team reeled off 5 straight wins and was possibly peaking at the perfect time of the season. A 7-4 loss in the regular season final stopped the winning streak just prior to the playoffs. Dave Mattingly and Tim O'Neil led the scoring followed by new Premiums' Craig Hefner and Ned Radebaugh and veteran Steve Wirth. Tom Browne and Doug Bunce split the goaltending for a second straight season. The regular season ended with the Premiums record standing at 10-10-0. It was good for another third place finish behind Caravan Sporting Goods and Maruk's Blades. Finishing fourth was Fairfax, followed by D & F Arrows and a new team known as the Cecils.

The third place finish insured that the Premiums would face first place Caravan in a one game semi final playoff. The top CHL club was too strong for the Premiums and claimed a 9-4 victory. Rick Dade scored 2 goals in the loss and goaltender Doug Bunce stopped 18 shots as Caravan moved into the playoff final. The National Premiums first two seasons in the CHL of Washington resulted in two third place finishes and a pair of playoff semi final losses.