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Dayton Gems (IHL, 1975-76)

1975-76 Regular Season:
Gems vs. Flint Generals

      The Dayton Gems iced one of their strongest teams ever in 1975-76. Affiliated with the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals, the Gems absolutely dominated the IHL Southern Division, finishing with a 47-21-10 record. Their 104 points broke the franchise's season record, and placed them 34 points ahead of second-place Fort Wayne in the South. The Gems also earned the Huber Trophy as regular season champions, 9 points ahead of North Division champ Saginaw. 

     Dayton scored the most goals in the IHL, lighting the lamp 340 times, just one ahead of second-place Saginaw. Leading the way was right winger Brian Kinsella, a Washington Capitals prospect. Kinsella scored a career-best 43 goals and 88 points. Right Winger Mike Powers, acquired early in the season from Columbus, chipped in 33 goals and 81 points. Steve Self (36), Paul Nicholson (35) and Bill Riley (35) were the other 30-goal scorers for the Gems. Future Bruin enforcer Stan Jonathan played his rookie season with the Gems, scoring 26 goals and 73 points, along with 192 penalty minutes, in 69 games.
     
     The Gems were nearly as good on defense, surrendering only 240 goals, just two more than league-best Muskegon. Two Bruins prospects, Jim Pettie and Gary Carr, were the main two netminders for Dayton that season. Pettie would play in 51 games that season and would eventually make it into 21 games for the Bruins before the decade was over. Carr played in 42 games and would also tend goal for the Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls in 1977-78. Future Port Huron Flag and Muskegon Mohawk Rocky Menard, Garth Malarchuk (traded to Saginaw and Fort Wayne by season's end) and Bob Smith would also tend goal for the Gems.

     The Gems were a favorite heading into the Turner Cup Playoffs, drawing the Kalamazoo Wings in Round 1. The Wings were making their first trip to the postseason, finishing last in the North with a 27-41-10 record, 40 points behind Dayton. Despite this, they gave the Gems a fight, stretching the series to six games before falling, outscored only 18-16. 
     After that series, the Gems didn't have too much trouble the rest of the way. Fort Wayne was up next, and they were quickly dispatched in 5 games to send Dayton to the Turner Cup Finals for the first time since 1970. Their opponent would be the Port Huron Flags. The Flags were a mere 36-31-11 that season, but got red hot come playoff time. In fact, they were unbeaten heading into the finals, having swept Flint and Saginaw. What looked like a close series quickly turned into a rout, as the Gems crushed the Flags in four straight, outscoring them 25-11, to capture their third and final Turner Cup championship. 
     This program is 82 pages long, 44 pages of GOAL Magazine and 38 pages dedicated to the Gems. This is from a Saturday, February 7, 1976 game vs. the Flint Generals, which the Gems won, 5-2. The Gems section of the program is loaded with the usual advertisements, stats and articles, including a "Hockey Know-How" article on page 6. The GOAL Magazine in the middle of the program includes articles about Gerry Hart of the New York Islanders, an interview with comedian Rich Little, and "Little Giants of the NHL" (short players in the league). The GOAL section is the only part with color photos.
     Local advertisements include Liberal Supermarkets, Genesee Beer, "Mike-sells" Potato Chips, Joe Bissett's Grub Steak and Burger Chef.

Aftermath: The Dayton Gems stumbled to a 35-38-5 record in 1976-77 (2nd in the South Division) and were crushed by Fort Wayne in Round 1, 4-0 (outscored 23-7). Even worse, attendance had continued it's steady decline since the early 1970s. The heavy financial losses from the past few years forced the team to suspend operations after 1977. The Gems were quickly replaced by the Dayton Owls, who moved from Columbus for 1977-78. They fared much worse, as financial problems forced the team to move to Grand Rapids in December. The Gems came back in 1979-80, but it wasn't much better in "The Second Coming", as the team folded for good after a single season of play.

Reference:
International Hockey League Season Statistics: 1975-76,  from hockeydb.com.
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