Skip to main content

Saginaw Spirit (OHL, 2015-16)

2015-16 Regular Season--Spirit vs. Soo Greyhounds
     The Saginaw Spirit just completed their 13th season in the Ontario Hockey League. The team is still owned by Dick Garber of Garber Buick and continues to play at Dow Event Center.
     The Spirit iced one of the youngest teams in the OHL this past year. When I bought this program, only right winger Mitchell Stephens (Tampa Bay) was drafted, though the team did have two overage players.
     Saginaw went into the season with higher expectations due to the experience the young roster gained last year. However, the team struggled from the start, costing coach Greg Gilbert his job. He was replaced midseason by scout Moe Mantha. Mantha coached the Michigan Warriors the past five seasons and was a former Spirit coach as well. Saginaw finished the season at a dismal 24-36-5-3 record. Their 56 points were good enough for fourth place in the West Division, 35 points behind first place Sarnia and 10 ahead of last place Flint. 3,354 fans per game watched the Spirit play this season.
     The Spirit had issues putting the puck in the net, as they scored just 209 goals, sixth-fewest in the league. Artem Artemov led the team in scoring, with 19 goals and 55 points. Kris Bennett and Connor Brown led in goals with 24 each, and just two others had at least 20.
     On defense, Saginaw struggled mightily, allowing the third most goals in the OHL (282). The team went through four different goaltenders that season, with Evan Cormier playing the most games. Cormier, a midseason acquisition last year, struggled in 58 games, with a 21-27-7 record, a 3.72 GAA and one shutout. Cameron Zanussi, picked up from Mississauga during the year, made it into just 8 games (1-3-1, 5.14 GAA). David Ovsjannikov and Brandon Bonello were the other netminders this season.
     The Spirit did qualify for the postseason as a #8 seed. That set them up with the Erie Otters, who went 52-15-1, tops in the league. Most experts didn't give Saginaw much of a shot in this series, and were proven correct. Erie swept aside the Spirit in four straight, though Game Four was a close one. The Spirit will go into the offseason looking for a new coach, as Mantha will likely return to scouting.
     As usual with the Spirit, a great-looking program. It is 74 pages, all on glossy paper and loaded with color pictures and ads. Each player has their own color bio, and there is an article about the revived "I-75 Rivalry" with Flint. Local advertisements include Saginaw Valley State University, Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame, Garber Automotive and WNEM TV5.


Sources:
Ontario Hockey League Statistics: 2015-16 (from hockeydb.com)
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

Muskegon Mohawks (IHL, 1965-84)

I know, I said earlier I was going to look at Detroit's minor league teams. That would mean the Vipers would be next, but I decided to cover them later when I had time (I have a TON of programs from that team). Instead, I'm going to look briefly at Muskegon.  Muskegon has had a long, colorful past in professional hockey. It all started in 1960 with the expansion Muskegon Zephyrs of the IHL. Five seasons later, 1965-66, the Zephyrs became the Mohawks, and remain so until 1984-85, when they became the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks would remain in town through the 1992-93 season. After that season, the franchise would relocate to Cleveland, Ohio. Here are the Mohawks programs I have, along with a couple bonus scans.        The Mohawks existed from 1965-84, about 20 seasons, and had two vastly different eras of success. From 1965-76, the Mohawks finished above .500 10 times, winning the Huber Trophy (Regular Season Championship) six times and the ...
Post a Comment
Read more