Hockey Programs

1980-81 Regular Season Flags vs. Flint Generals      The Port Huron Flags were in their 19th season of operation in the International Hockey League, the third-oldest franchise in the league (behind Fort Wayne and Muskegon). Despite low attendance and rising financial losses, the Flags were one of the more competitive franchises in the IHL, making the postseason four of the past five years, including a Turner Cup Finals berth in 1978 and a North Division championship in 1979. Home games were played at McMorran Arena. Former Michigan Wolverines assistant Doug Hinton returned for his second season as Flags coach, while Morris Snider was general manager. The Flags were a farm club of the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals.      Port Huron went through 35 players in 1980-81, as the team constantly battled injuries and limped to a 31-35-16 record. Their 78 points were good enough for second place in the North Division, six points ahead of thi...

  1976-77 Regular Season: Flags vs. Saginaw Gears      The Port Huron Flags were in their fifteenth season of operation in the International Hockey League in 1976-77. The team was coming off a surprise run to the 1976 Turner Cup Finals, where they lost to the Dayton Gems in four straight. Former Flag Bob McCammon returned as head coach, while Morris Snider was back as general manager. The Flags were a secondary affiliate of the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.       1976-77 was a big step backward for the team, both on and off the ice. The Flags slumped to a 27-43-8 record, dead last in the league. Their 62 points were nine points back of the next-worst team, the Columbus Owls. Off the ice, the Flags lost $150,000 on the season, putting the franchise's future in jeopardy.       Port Huron scored the fewest goals in the IHL in 1977, with just 268. The team's leading scorer was Larry Gould, with 35 goals and 106 points. The Flags...

     Programs have all sorts of interesting parts, from articles to statistics and player bios. One thing I scanned recently was the United Hockey League's directory from my 2001 Port Huron Border Cats program. I'll post the image, and then write whether each city still has a team. As of 2000-01, the UHL had 17 member teams, two of which were scheduled to arrive in 2001-02. In 2007, the UHL rebranded as the International Hockey League. Here's a breakdown of the league: 1. Adirondack Icehawks -- The Icehawks arrived from Winston-Salem in 1999, and remained in Glens Falls, NY, until 2006. The city is currently home to the ECHL's Adirondack Thunder, who have been in town since 2015. 2. Asheville Smoke-- The Smoke arrived from Brantford in 1998, and lasted in Asheville until 2002. The Asheville Aces lasted one season (2004-05) and folded. That was the last hockey team to call Asheville, NC, home. 3. BC Icemen --The Icemen were a 1997 expansion team, replacing the AHL's ...

1976-77 Regular Season Mohawks vs. Flint Generals       The Muskegon Mohawks were in their 17th year of operation in the International Hockey League. The team was coming off a fourth place finish in 1975-76 (34-31-13) and first round playoff loss to the Saginaw Gears. Former Muskegon Zephyr Morris "Moose" Lallo returned as General Manager, while his former teammate, Brian McLay was hired as head coach. Home games were played at 5,112-seat LC Walker Arena. The Mohawks were a secondary affiliate of the New York Islanders.      The Mohawks stumbled to a 17-20-7 start, leading to Lallo returning behind the bench to finish the season. Muskegon wound up back in fourth place, with a 31-36-11 record. Their 73 points were 11 ahead of last place Port Huron, but 18 behind the first place Saginaw Gears. The Mohawks would wind up with the third-worst record in the IHL that year.       Muskegon scored the second-fewest goals in the IHL in 1976-77, lig...

2000-01 Regular Season: Border Cats vs. Muskegon Fury      The Port Huron Border Cats were in their fifth season of play in the United Hockey League since relocating from Fraser in 1996.  The team was successful on the ice and in the box office. The Cats were one of the better teams in the UHL during their run, and had were drawing over 2500 per game in each of the previous four seasons of play, some of the highest averages in Port Huron hockey history.      However, trouble was brewing behind the scenes. Owner Mostafa Afr had attempted to renegotiate his lease at, then later try to buy McMorran Arena, to no avail. After this failed, Afr announced plans to build a new 5,000-seat stadium, Kimball Entertainment and Sports Arena, near an outlet mall in the Port Huron suburb. Unfortunately, construction was halted in 2000 when finances dried up. The Border Cats were planning on moving into the new arena during the 2000-01 season, but the halt left the team...

1977-78 Regular Season: Barons vs. Chicago Black Hawks       Cleveland, Ohio, had a long successful run in minor league hockey, and attempted multiple times to join the National Hockey League, finally joining the NHL in 1977. The new Cleveland Barons barely made it through their first season in Ohio. Arriving late in the summer from Oakland, the Barons needed a bailout from the NHLPA and the owners to make payroll and pay off debt. Attendance was a league-worst 6,194 per game On the ice, the team was buried in last place in the powerful Adams Division, with a 25-42-13 record George and Gordon Gund purchased the franchise from Mel Swig, giving the team a much-needed influx of cash. Former Rangers defenseman Harry Howell was back as General Manager, while Jack "Tex" Evans returned as Head Coach. Home games were played at the 18,544-seat Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio.       Cleveland wasn't much better in 1977-78, finishing with a 22-45-13 record. Their 57 ...

1995-96 Regular Season: Vipers vs. Atlanta Knights       This was the second season of Detroit Vipers hockey. The team was originally the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, and was purchased by Palace Sports and Entertainment in the summer of 1994. Rick Dudley returned as Head Coach/GM, with former Muskegon Fury Head Coach Steve Ludzik as his assistant. Home games were played at the 20,804-seat Palace of Auburn Hills. The Vipers' farm team was the Flint Generals.      The Vipers were moved to the IHL's Central Division, and had another strong season, going 48-28-6. Their 102 points were good enough for second place, eight points back of the Orlando Solar Bears, and tied for fourth overall in the IHL. Attendance dipped a little bit, but Detroit was still tops in the league, averaging 13,305 per game.       Detroit had the fifth-best offense in the IHL that season, scoring 310 goals. The leading scorer was former Flint Spirit and Saginaw Hawk Lonnie...

1996 Colonial Cup Playoffs: Wheels vs. Brantford Smoke       The Saginaw Wheels were coming off a successful 1994-95 season, their first in the Tri-Cities after two years in Chatham, Ontario. The team finished in third place in the Colonial Hockey League's West Division, with a 36-31-7 record, qualifying for the playoffs for the second-straight year. In the box office, attendance shot up to an average of 2,958 per game. This was an increase of 1,286 per game from their last season in Chatham, and one of the highest averages a Saginaw team had had since the original Gears folded in 1982-83.      The 1995-96 season, however, was a significant step back for the franchise on and off the ice, and a sign of things to come. Partial owner Tom Kirkconnell attempted to buy out his partners and become sole owner of the franchise, but ran into financial trouble in the process. The Colonial League seized control of the Wheels, eventually selling it to local physician Mu...

      Here is the photo album from the 1995-96 Saginaw Wheels. My dad got this for me, along with a Wheels program and a Muskegon Fury program several years ago. The format for this is pretty straight forward: each player has his own page with his position, hometown, birthdate, height and weight. The team photo is at the center of the photo album, and the front office staff is included in the first few pages. The team autograph page is on page 30, while the Supporting Fans autograph page is page 31. All the ads sold for this album are from pages 32-37 as well as the back cover. Advertisers include Nichols' Electronics & Appliances, the Saginaw Wheels Booster Club, The Hockey Shop, Bubba's Roadside Inn, Larry's Lounge (as always, "Just a slapshot away from the Civic Center"), and Reese Auto Supply.      I won't do a breakdown of the 1995-96 Wheels season for this post. Instead, I will share several pictures of notable players from that team as well as a ...