Muskegon Mohawks (IHL, 1976-77)

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, lighting the lamp just 294 times. Rookie Garth MacGuigan led the team in offense that season, as the Islanders third round pick scored a career-high 54 goals and 94 points in 78 games. Another rookie, Yvon Vautour, was next on the list with 43 goals and 90 points in 76 games. Mike Usitalo (29) and Bob MacGuigan (21) were the other Mohawks with over 21 goals. 

     The Mohawks struggled on defense, surrendering 322 goals, just six fewer than the worst team, the Port Huron Flags. They did have a good net minder to start the season, as former California Golden Seal Ted Tucker played 43 games, with a 3.73 GAA and 1 shutout before being traded to Toledo (he would later return to Muskegon). Andre LePage, a 1975 Islanders fourth round pick, played 23 games with a 4.15 GAA. Steve Miskiewicz played 21 games with a 5.05 GAA. Tucker and LePage would see action in the playoffs. The top-scoring defenseman that season was Mike Hordy, with 16 goals and 61 points in 77 games. Joey Girardin was next with 8 goals and 35 points in 74 games. 

     This was the era of "Old Time Hockey", and Muskegon was no stranger to physical play. The Mohawks racked up 1,517 penalty minutes, fifth most in the IHL. Defenseman Ed Pizunski had the most, with 308 PIM in 62 games (along with 19 goals and 41 points). Garth MacGuigan was next with 156 PIM. Carlo Torresan, in his final season in hockey, had 141 PIM in just 29 games. Bill Kestall and Bob MacGuigan were the other Muskegon players with over 100 PIM in 1976-77.

     Despite the losing record, the Muskegon Mohawks qualified for the 1977 Turner Cup Playoffs, as the Port Huron Flags were the only team eliminated. The Mohawks drew the Saginaw Gears, who finished first place in the IHL's North Division with a 40-27-11 record, just two points ahead of second-place Kalamazoo. This was actually a close series, as the Mohawks stretched the Gears to seven games before falling in Game 7 in Saginaw. The Gears would go on to win their first Turner Cup, downing Toledo in seven games.

     This is a 54-page program, all in black and white. 1976-77 was the centennial year in the United States, so the program's cover has a patriotic feel to it. It's loaded with advertisements and statistics, as well as the rules of hockey and referee signals. The team photo for the 1975-76 Mohawks is on page 6, while the seating chart for LC Walker Arena is on page 7. Ticket prices ranged from $3 to $4.25. The home and road schedules are on pages 14-15. An introduction to the new "Voice of the Mohawks", Dan Waxell, is on page 20. Dan would eventually be the radio voice of the UHL's Saginaw Gears and color commentator for the UHL's Flint Generals. 

     This program is from the Saturday, November 6, 1977, game between the Mohawks and the Flint Generals. The Generals would finish in third place with a 35-33-10 record and would lose in the first round to Kalamazoo. Generals goaltender Rick St.Croix would reach the NHL in 1977-78, and would end up playing 131 games over eight seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Pierre Giroux would play several seasons in Flint, and would hit the 50-goal mark in 1980-81. He also played six games with the Los Angeles Kings in 1982-83. Defenseman Bob Hoffmeyer would reach the NHL in 1977-78, and would play 198 games over six seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Flyers and New Jersey Devils. Head Coach Doug Carpenter played for the Generals in the last three years of his career, then became coach/GM in 1973-74. He would remain with the Generals through 1977-78. Carpenter would eventually coach for six seasons in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs.

     As for the Mohawks, Garth MacGuigan would play five games over two years with the New York Islanders, but spent the majority of his career in the minors. He would win three Adams Cups in the Central League, with the Fort Worth Texans and Indianapolis Checkers. He would finish his career back in the IHL with the Checkers in 1984-85. Left winger Bob Tombari played his entire pro career in Muskegon (1967-78) and was part of the 1968 Turner Cup champion Mohawks. He was a dependable goal scorer throughout his career in Muskegon. Goaltender Steve Miskiewicz played for the Mohawks for four seasons, his best season being in 1973-74. In his final season, 1978-79, he came back for one game, playing 20:00. Ted Tucker made his rounds through the IHL in his career, with stops in Muskegon, Toledo, Port Huron, Columbus and Dayton. Ted won two Turner Cups in his career, with the 1975 Toledo Goaldiggers and the 1981 Saginaw Gears, his final season of play. Head Coach Bryan McLay would be back behind the bench for the final three games and the playoffs in 1977-78. 

     Local advertisements include Bowen-Fischer AMC/Jeep, Lappo Lumber Company, Hoagie Heaven, G. Grabow Distributors (supplier of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Blatz), Zephyr Gas Stations (where the team's original nickname came from), and Vander Wall Bros. Inc. (Concrete and Lite-Weight Products).

Aftermath: 1976-77 would be the first of eight consecutive losing seasons for the Muskegon Mohawks. The team would miss the playoffs three times in this stretch and bottom out in 1978-79 (15-58-7) and 1983-84 (19-55-3). The Mohawks would be sold to Larry Gordon in 1984 and rechristened "Muskegon Lumberjacks".

Reference:

International Hockey League Statistics: 1976-77, from hockeydb.com