Flint Firebirds (OHL, 2017-18)

2017-18 Regular Season
Firebirds vs. Erie Otters

2017-18 is the third year of Flint Firebirds hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The Firebirds are coming off a "bounce-back" season in 2016-17, in which they went 32-28-3-5 and made the playoffs after a disastrous inaugural season. Head Coach Ryan Oulahan returned behind the bench, but GM George Burnett was replaced by Barclay Branch (the son of OHL commissioner David Branch).
This program is from the game I went to between the Firebirds and Erie Otters. The Firebirds were in the middle of a long winless streak, and lost to Erie, 5-2. Probably one of the more uninspired OHL games I have ever went to. Rumors were flying that "suspended" owner Rolf Nilsen and his assistants were causing trouble behind the scenes again, leading to the players being disinterested on the ice.
The Firebirds have had nice programs in each of their three seasons, and this is no different. It's 64 pages, all in color and on glossy paper. The front office and Coach Oulahan each have their own biographies. There is an article about billet families (the families that have OHL players live with them), and one about players that have been drafted by NHL teams. Local advertisements include Black Rock Bar & Grill, Perani's Hockey World, Sagelink Credit Union and Powers Catholic High School.

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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...

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...

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 ...

Hockey Programs

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