Flint Firebirds (OHL, 2022-23)

2022-23 Regular Season:
Firebirds vs. Owen Sound Attack

Despite bumps in the road in their first few seasons, the Flint Firebirds have become a competitive franchise in the OHL. After having the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, Flint returned in 2021-22 with an excellent 42-21-1-4 record (2nd place in the West Division) and a run to the Western Conference Finals before falling to Windsor in 7 games.

Head Coach Ted Dent returned behind the bench in 2022-23 for his second season as Firebirds coach. As of today, the Firebirds sport a 25-25-4-1 record, putting them in fourth place, 23 points behind first-place Windsor. 50-goal scorer and Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann was dealt earlier in the year to Peterborough.

As the season is still going on, I won't go through the stats. I plan on going to at least one more Firebirds game before the season's over, maybe even a playoff game as well.

This program is from Flint Generals Night, February 4, 2023, against the Owen Sound Attack. This was the second-annual Generals night, as the Firebirds wore throwback Generals jerseys (based on the jerseys the 1995-96 Colonial Cup Champs wore), displayed the Generals' championship banners, and had a Flint Generals-Muskegon Fury Alumni Game before the Firebirds game. The Firebirds even used the "standing General Rally" logo in place of their own emblem on the roster sheet and the scoreboard! Flint won both games that day: the Generals defeated the Fury, 12-9, and the Firebirds (Generals) defeated the Attack, 5-3, in front of a sellout crowd.

Roster Sheet:
General Rally Lives!

The Firebirds always put out a great program, and this year is no different. It's 46 pages, all in color. Articles include one about ex-Firebirds in the NHL, one about the Pitre brothers, and bios about owner Rolf Nilsen, the front office, and Coach Ted Dent. Local advertisements include The Genesee Group, Dort Financial Credit Union, and Maxi Quality Meats.

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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 playoffs in their inaugural cam

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

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

Hockey Programs

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