Hockey Programs

1972-73 Regular Season Opening Night Gears vs. Des Moines Capitols      Professional hockey came to Mid-Michigan in 1972 with the arrival of the Saginaw Gears of the International Hockey League. The Gears were an expansion franchise awarded to North Stars executive Wren Blair, and played their home games at the new Wendler Arena, part of the Saginaw Civic Center complex. The team was named after the Saginaw Steering Gear plant, located in Buena Vista on M46, and was a nod to the city's auto industry ties. Blair's choice as head coach was Don Perry, formerly of the Eastern Hockey League. Thanks to Blair's ties to the Minnesota North Stars, the Gears would be a secondary affiliate of that NHL team.      The Gears would take the ice in turqoise and tangerine jerseys featuring the "toothed G" logo you see on the program. Their first regular season game was in Port Huron. Despite a hat trick by forward Juri Kudrasovs, Saginaw fell, 5-4, to the defending cha...

1972-73 Regular Season Clippers vs. Virginia Red Wings      The Baltimore Clippers were coming off their first-ever trip to the AHL's Calder Cup Finals in 1972. Terry Reardon was back behind the bench in '72-73. The Clippers were no longer affiliated with the California Golden Seals, and appeared to operate as an independent that season.      After two straight years at the top of the Western Division, the Clippers crashed to the basement in 1973. Their record of 17-48-11 and miniscule 45 points were the worst in the AHL that year. Baltimore was 10 points behind the fifth place Cleveland/Jacksonville Barons and 68 behind the league-leading Cincinnati Swords. Oddly enough, attendance remained steady that year, as 2,910 fans per game went to the Civic Center, the same as last season.      So, what happened that season in Baltimore? The lack of an NHL affiliate, even from one as awful as the Golden Seals, didn't help matters. Neither did a...

1971-72 Regular Season Clippers vs. Hershey Bears      Baltimore has had a long history in the American Hockey League. Prior to the Skipjacks and Bandits, Baltimore was home to the Clippers, who began play in 1962. Terry Reardon returned as Head Coach and General Manager. The Clippers played their home games at the Baltimore Civic Center, which held 11,329. For the 1971-72 season, the Clippers were the primary affiliate of the NHL's California Golden Seals.      Reardon's Clippers successfully defended their Western Division crown in '71-72, but it wasn't easy. In a hotly contested division race, the Clippers finished with a 34-31-11 mark. Their 79 points tied with Hershey and was one point ahead of Cincinnati. The fourth place Cleveland Barons were just five back of Baltimore. Leading the way on offense for the Clippers was left winger Peter Laframboise, who what 37 goals and 81 points. Center Joe Szura had the most goals on the team, popping in 38. A...

1969-70 Regular Season Komets vs. Toledo Blades      The Komets were in their 18th year of play in the International Hockey League, one of the oldest and most stable franchises in that circuit. Owned by a group headed by Colin Lister, the Komets were lead by Vice President/GM Ken Ullyot and Head Coach Moe Bartoli. The team played it's home games at Memorial Coliseum, which they still do to this day.      Fort Wayne had a rough season in '69-70, finishing with a dismal 26-38-8 record. Their 60 points were just six ahead of the expansion Flint Generals for the final playoff spot in the North, and a whopping 40 behind league-best Muskegon. Veteran center Ray Brunel, in his only season with the team,  led the Komets in scoring, with 33 goals and 88 points. Brunel was joined in the 30-goal club by left winger Bob Baird and right winger Merv Dubchak. A player of note on the 1969-70 Komets was right winger Ron Ullyot. After a stint at Michigan, Ullyot pl...