Skip to main content

Muskegon Lumberjacks (IHL, 1985-86)

1985-86 Season--Opponent Unknown
     By the mid-1980s, pro hockey in Muskegon had nearly collapsed. The Mohawks franchise had bottomed out, drawing few fans and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past decade. After a miserable 19-55-8 season in 1983-84, the franchise was purchased by Larry Gordon for $1."I put a $1.00 bill on the table and they refused the offer. I told them I'd be at the Holiday Inn...a short time later, I received a call and they accepted the offer," Gordon recalled years later.
     Gordon's cheap purchase was a godsend for Muskegon hockey. The team was renamed "Musekgon Lumberjacks" and the roster was overhauled, as only three Mohawks remained. Gordon also hired Rick Ley as Head Coach/President of Hockey Operations. The new Lumberjacks did a 180-degree turnaround in 1984-85, going 50-29-3 and reaching the Turner Cup Finals.
     The Lumberjacks were a secondary affiliate of the Quebec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins in 1985-86. Ley returned behind the bench in 1985-86, and his Lumberjacks bettered their record from the previous season. Muskegon's sparkling 50-27-5 mark and 105 points won them their second-straight East Division crown, just seven points behind league-best Fort Wayne.
     Muskegon topped the IHL in goals scored that year, pumping in 376 goals. Leading the way was Jock Callander, a holdover from the previous season who followed Gordon from the CHL's Montana Magic. Callander scored 39 goals and 111 points in 1985-86. Ley had a pair of 50-goal scorers as well, as former Mohawk Scott Gruhl scored 59 goals and newcomer Dave Michayluk notched 52. Ex-Detroit Red Wing Dennis Polonich had 32 goals and 68 points in his first season in Muskegon. Three more players scored at least 20 goals.
     The Lumberjacks had the third-best defense in the IHL, surrendering 290 goals. Michel Dufour was the top netminder that year, playing in 52 games and going 29-14-0 with a 3.09 GAA. Bruce Gillies and Brian Ford were the backups that season. Ford drew the nod for the majority of the playoffs.
     Muskegon rolled through the 1985-86 Turner Cup Playoffs. They drew Indianapolis in Round One, and shoved aside the Checkers in five games (best-of-seven). The semifinals brought on  tough Saginaw Generals squad, who finished 41-33-8 and won the Turner Cup just two years earlier. Despite a close-fought series (including an overtime Game 1), the Lumberjacks eliminated Saginaw in five games to reach the Turner Cup Finals for the second straight year.
     The Lumberjacks opponent for the Finals was the Fort Wayne Komets, regular season champions with a 52-22-8 record. Despite the tough opponent, Muskegon crushed the Komets in four straight, outscoring Fort Wayne 23-11 in the process. Game Four, a 6-2 Lumberjacks win at LC Walker Arena, clinched the franchise's first Turner Cup Championship since 1967-68. Jock Callander, who scored 12 goals and 23 points in just 14 games, was named MVP of the Turner Cup Playoffs. Captain Scott Gruhl accepted the Turner Cup from Commissioner Bud Poile and the celebration was on!
     Very nice program for that season. It's 90 pages loaded with ads, article and pictures. The poster insert features Lumberjacks star forward Jock Callander. Looks like the original owner of the program was a winner too, as there's a stamp on the insert. Great articles about each IHL team and a recap of the 1984-85 season. Local ads include WGHN 1370 AM/93 FM ("The Rhythm of the Lakeshore"), House of Chan Chinese Restaurant and McDonalds of Muskegon (featuring the infamous McDLT!).


Sources:

VandeVoorde, Jay. Muskegon's Hockey History and Heroes. Author House, Bloomington, 2006.
Goal! Muskegon Lumberjacks Official Magazine, 1985-86 season.
International Hockey League Statistics: 1985-86 (from hockeydb.com)
"Muskegon Lumberjacks Win 1986 IHL Turner Cup Championship", Youtube, from hockeychief1.
"Lumberjacks Defeat Darren Pang and Saginaw in OT-1986 Turner Cup Playoffs", Youtube, from hockeychief1
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

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 Turner Cup (Playoff C
Post a Comment
Read more