Skip to main content

Detroit Falcons (CoHL, 1995-96)

1995-96 Colonial Cup Playoffs
Falcons vs. Flint Generals
     1995-96 was the fifth season of Falcons hockey at The Falcondome. The team was coming off a strong season in 1994-95, yet made a few changes off-ice. The team lost the Detroit Vipers affiliation to the Flint Generals, joining the Florida Panthers system as well as the IHL's Las Vegas Thunder. Costa Papista was hired as GM. Dave Cameron was hired as Head Coach, replacing Larry Floyd, who was hired as coach of the CHL's Huntsville Channel Cats. This was the only time in franchise history that those jobs were split between two people.
     The Falcons took a step back on the ice, dropping to third place in the Colonial League's East Division, with a 33-32-9 record. Their 75 points were four points ahead of fourth place Saginaw, but 32 points behind first place (and Tarry Cup-winning) Flint. On the other hand, the team set a league record for penalty minutes, by spending 2,545 minutes in the box. This probably explained the increase in attendance to a franchise-high 2,046 per game, second-lowest in the league.
     Detroit's offense was the sixth-best in the league in 1995-96, scoring 275 goals. East Lansing native Doug Smith led the Falcons in scoring, with 25 goals and 58 points in 53 games. Tim Harris (22) and Bob McKillop (21) were the only other 20-goal scorers on the team. Defenseman Arturs Kupaks, in his only season in the Colonial League, was second on the points list with 18 goals and 57 points. 
     Defense was a bit of a problem, as the Falcons allowed the fourth-most goals in the league with 310. With the departure of Maxim Michailovsky, the team went through six different goaltenders. Mike Risdale and Sergei Zvyagin returned this season, but both were gone by season's end. Zvyagin played 40 games and went 14-13-6 with a 3.62 GAA and a franchise record 4 shutouts. However, at the trade deadline, Zvyagin was dealt to the Quad City Mallards for veteran netminder Kevin Butt. Risdale played 10 games, going 2-4-1 with a 5.00 GAA before being dealt to the Saginaw Wheels. Dan Ryder, a 3-year veteran from the IHL and ECHL, played 28 games with a 11-12-1 with a 3.66 GAA. Kevin Butt, in 7 games, went 4-2-1 with a 5.17 GAA. Todd MacDonald and John Tanner were the other two netminders. Butt and Ryder split the goaltending duties. 
     For the fifth straight season, the Falcons qualified for the Colonial Cup Playoffs. Their first round opponents were the Muskegon Fury, a rematch from last season's playoffs. The Fury finished in first in the West Division, with a 40-27-7 record. After splitting the first two games, the Falcons won three straight games to upset Muskegon in five games. Their second round opponent was their arch-rivals, the Flint Generals. Flint had a dominating season, running away with the Tarry Cup championship with a 51-18-5 record, easily a league record. The Generals would down the Falcons in five games, outscoring them 18-9 in the process. Detroit avoided a sweep by winning Game 4, 2-1 in overtime. Todd MacDonald, on emergency loan from the AHL's Carolina Monarchs, played the last two games of the series for the Falcons.
     This is a 40-page program, all in black-and-white. It's similar in setup to the 1996-97 Port Huron   Border Cats program. The preview of the 1995-96 season is on page 13, talking about the hiring of Papista and Cameron, as well as Assistant Coach/Assistant GM John Blum, and the new working agreements with Las Vegas and Florida. Page 19 includes a recap of last season, with the franchise and individual records. I went to two games that season, both against the Flint Generals. Flint won both games, including Game 2 of the semifinals, 4-1. That game was a penalty-filled contest, as both teams were unafraid to play physical hockey. Local ads include London's Dairy, The Macomb Daily News, El Charro Mexican Restaurant, Gulyas Chiropractic, Kas-Mikha's Tae Kwon Do, and Woody's Chill & Grill.

Aftermath: By the playoffs, rumors were swirling that the Detroit Falcons were on the move, looking to relocate to Port Huron, Michigan. By this time, the metro Detroit area was overflowing with hockey options, including the IHL, OHL (2 teams) and NHL, leaving the Falcons struggling to draw decent crowds. The rumors became reality when the Falcons, after a failed season ticket drive, signed a lease agreement with McMorran Arena and relocated to Port Huron for the 1996-97 season, renaming themselves "Port Huron Border Cats". Fraser would eventually get another shot at minor league hockey with the UHL's Motor City Mechanics in 2004, but that team would fold after just two seasons. Fraser is currently home to the FPHL's Motor City Rockers, set to play in the 2021-2022 season.

References:
Colonial Hockey League Season Statistics: 1995-96, 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 playoffs in their inaugural cam
Post a Comment
Read more

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region's economy tanked
Post a Comment
Read more

Fort Wayne Komets (1967-68, IHL)

1967-68 Regular Season--Komets vs. Des Moines Oak Leafs      1967-68 was the sixteenth season of Fort Wayne Komets hockey, all in the IHL. The team was coached by Ken Ullyot, who had been with the franchise since 1958. The Komets played      Having lost to Toledo in the 1967 Turner Cup Finals, the Komets slipped to fourth place in '67-68. While Muskegon ran away with first place, the battle for the second-fifth slots was hotly contested. Fort Wayne finished 30-29-13, their 73 points one ahead of Toledo and just five behind second place Dayton.      The Komets were also in fourth place in offense, scoring 282 times that year. Fort Wayne legend Len Thornson led the team with 38 goals and 97 points. Three others, Bob Baird, Randy Gates and Merv Dubchak, joined Thornson in the 30+ goal club. Three others scored at least 20 goals.      The Komets had the second-best defense in the IHL that season, allowing just 272 goals. Fort Wayne used three different goaltenders that year. Rob
Post a Comment
Read more