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Kalamazoo Wings (IHL, 1983-84)

1983-84 Regular Season: Wings vs. Muskegon Mohawks

     1983-84 was the tenth season of operation for the Kalamazoo Wings in the International Hockey League. Owned by Ted and Martha Parfet, the Wings were a secondary affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and played their home games at 5,121-seat Wings Stadium.
     Kalamazoo had been one of the more competitive franchises in the IHL since joining in 1974. After missing the postseason in their inaugural campaign, the K-Wings had qualified each year since, including three straight Turner Cup Finals appearances (1979-81), winning two Cups in 1979 and 1980.
     Kalamazoo was coming off a mediocre 1982-83 season, which saw the team drop to 32-44-6 (2nd in the IHL West, 5th overall) and a second round exit at the hands of Milwaukee. Coach (and former Red Wing) JP LeBlanc was back behind the bench for his third year in 1983-84.
     The IHL shrunk to seven teams and dropped the division format when the Saginaw Gears folded after last year. While Kalamazoo remained in fifth place in 1984, they improved
their record to 37-36-7-2, eight points behind fourth place Toledo.
     Kalamazoo had a good season on both offense and defense in 1984. The K-Wings were fourth overall in goal-scoring in the IHL, pumping in 333 goals. They were led by center Rob Davies, an early-season acquisition from the Peoria Prancers. Davis scored 31 goals (25 in Kalamazoo) to go with 94 points. Southfield native Steve Banonis, a product of Ferris State University, led the team in goals with 42 in his final season. Former Atlanta Flames draft pick Jim McRae was the other 40-goal scorer, with an even 40.
     On defense, the Wings were even better, allowing 316 goals, second-fewest in the league. Georges Gagnon, who helped win the 1980 Turner Cup, was back in net in Kalamazoo, appearing in 67 games that season. Except for brief stints in the AHL, Gagnon would spend the remainder of his career in Kalamazoo and have his number retired by the ECHL's K-Wings. Backing him up was Dave Ross, a 1982 LA Kings draft pick. Ross played in just 10 games for the K-Wings in 1984. In the February 25 program, Ross admitted that he wasn't used to going so long between starts and would have preferred to split the starts 50/50. However, Gagnon was a workhorse, and Ross would end up with Toledo for the next two seasons. While not in either one of these programs, the other netminder was Detroit prospect Mark LaForest.
1983-84 Regular Season: Wings vs. Flint Generals
     For the ninth consecutive year, Kalamazoo qualified for the playoffs. The IHL had a bizarre format in 1983-84, as the top three teams in the standings received first round byes, while Kalamazoo faced Toledo in a best-of-three first round series. Toledo was a formidable opponent, having won the past two Turner Cup titles, and finished 41-36-5, eight points ahead of Kalamazoo. The Goaldiggers would knock off the K-Wings in three games, outscoring them 14-7 in the process. Toledo would reach the finals by upsetting first place Fort Wayne before getting dethroned by the Flint Generals in four straight.
      I bought these two online from a 21-program lot. Due to COVID-19, these programs took nearly a month to arrive, despite coming from Battle Creek. All the programs were labeled with the date and game result. As you can see, Kalamazoo lost both games, 7-2 to Flint and 7-5 to Muskegon.
     The Kalamazoo Wings usually put out great-looking programs, and these are no different. Each program is 54 pages long, with almost all the pictures in black and white. The Little Caesar's ads on page 27 (above the rosters)  are the only color ads inside the program (Domino's has a color ad on the back cover). Left winger Mike Corrigan, a 5th Round pick by the Red Wings in the 1980 Draft, is featured on the March 31st program. He had a fine season for the K-Wings, scoring 17 goals and 40 points (with 128 PIM) in 68 games. The February 25th player is Dave Ross, who was acquired from Fort Wayne earlier in the year. Ross's mask is interesting--it looks like an Ernie Higgins mask with the eyes and nose cut out and a cage put in place. Both players were interviewed in their respective program. Corrigan stated that he would prefer to face the Flint Generals in the playoffs, since they were an "undisciplined team" that you could antagonize into taking stupid penalties.
     As with any program, there are plenty of statistics. Stats in each program include the franchise's year-by-year standings, their playoff record vs. other IHL teams, and team and individual records for the regular season and playoffs. Kalamazoo's all-time roster is included on page 43. A notable player on that roster is Richard Sevigny, who played for the K-Wings in 1977-78 and eventually reached the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens.
     Plenty of advertisements throughout these programs. Local ads include Godfather's Pizza ("A Pizza You Can't Refuse"), the Kozy Inn on Riverview Drive, 98.5 WNWN FM "Country 98" (The radio home of the Kalamazoo Wings), and Denooyer Chevrolet.

Aftermath: JP LeBlanc would be replaced by former Goaldiggers Head Coach Bill Inglis for the 1984-85 season. The Wings would miss the postseason just one time (1992-93) in the remainder of their IHL days. The franchise suspended operations after the 1999-2000 season and were replaced by a new Kalamazoo Wings franchise (the old Madison Kodiaks) in the UHL for the 2000-01 season. The new K-Wings are currently members of the ECHL.
References:
International Hockey League Regular Seasons Statistics: 1983-84, from hockeydb.com
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