Skip to main content

Tri City Icehawks (GLJHL, 2011-12)

2011-12 Regular Season: Icehawks vs. Wisconsin Rampage
     Here's a random program. I went to this game while my brother was still living in Bay City. 

     The Tri City Icehawks are a junior hockey team based out of Bay City, Michigan. They play their home games at the Bay County Civic Arena. The team is owned by Arthur and Colleen Dore (Colleen is also General Manager).  Chris Lacy was the head coach, with Eric Albrecht and Arthur Dore serving as his assistants.
     During the 2011-12 season, the Icehawks were part of the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League. That year, the Icehawks stumbled to a 10-32-0 record. The team scored 158 goals while allowing 288 on the year.
     This program is from the game on February 12, 2012, when the Icehawks played the Wisconsin Rampage. The Icehawks won, 4-3, in a shootout. At the time, this was their ninth win of the year.
     The Icehawks are considered a "Tier III" junior team, which would place them one step below the NAHL (where the Port Huron Fighting Falcons and Michigan Warriors once played, btw). Probably the lowest level of hockey I've watched (outside of my brother's house league games). I believe tickets were $4, about the price of high school sports. The lady taking tickets (Colleen Dore, maybe?)  seemed genuinely surprised that my brother and I came to watch the game, especially when I said where I was from. Very welcoming too, may I add. The hockey game wasn't too bad, either.
     The program is on the same level as something you'd find at, say, Deckerville High School athletic events. It's a 15-page program with advertisements (most of them pixelated), all of which are in color. Individual pictures of the players, coaching staff and front office are on the middle pages. The majority of the players from that season were from the Tri-City area, but one was from the Czech Republic! Local ads include Firehouse Soft Car Wash, Ken Wackerle Excavating and Winding Creek Boarding Kennels. BTW, the Icehawks logo on the front is pretty slick.

Aftermath: The Icehawks still exist, and still play at the Bay County Civic Arena. However, they currently play in the United States Premier Hockey League, another Tier III circuit. As of this post, the Icehawks have a 13-1-1 record, tops in the Eastern Conference of the Midwest Region. The Dore family still owns the franchise. 

Resources:

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indianapolis Checkers (IHL, 1985-86)

1985-86 Regular Season Checkers vs. Flint Spirits      The Indianapolis Checkers were back for their second season in the IHL after five seasons in the defunct Central Hockey League. The Checkers remained a secondary affiliate of both the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars. Larry Woods purchased the Checkers after the 1984-85 season and moved the team to the 15,900-seat Market Square Arena, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers. The team kept their Islanders-styled uniforms, but changed the logo.      Former Port Huron Flags coach Ron Ullyot was named Coach/GM of the Checkers, and his team greatly improved on their first IHL season. Indy finished with a 41-35-6 mark. They finished last in the very competitive West Division, which had all the teams win at least 40 games. The Checkers' 88 points would have easily taken fourth place in the East.     Indy scored just 296 goals that year, better than only Flint and Toledo. Longtime minor lea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chatham Wheels (CoHL, 1993-94)

1993-94 Regular Season Wheels vs. Detroit Falcons      The Chatham Wheels were in their second season of play in the Colonial Hockey League. The team was named after the Wheels Inn, a hotel/indoor amusement complex in town that closed in 2009. The Wheels were owned by a group led by Tom Kirkconnell and played their home games at the 3,300-seat Chatham Memorial Arena.       The Wheels were coming off a last place finish in 1992-93, going 24-32-4, 12 points back of 6th place Flint. Attendance was brutal as well, as the team drew just 1,174 per game to Memorial Arena. Changes were made, as longtime junior coach Tom Barrett was hired as Head Coach/GM and Governor, replacing Ron Caron. Barrett added veteran talent to the roster, including former Flint Spirits John Vecchiarelli and Brett MacDonald, and former St. Thomas Wildcats goaltender Kevin Butt, to go along with holdover Jim Ritchie.      Barrett's moves paid off, as the Wheels surged up...
2 comments
Read more