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Port Huron Wings (IHL: 1972-73)

1972-73 Regular Season:
Wings vs. Des Moines Capitols
     The Port Huron Wings were a farm club of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. The franchise was renamed "Port Huron Wings" prior to the 1971-72 season to reflect the working agreement with Detroit, which is just 64 miles away from McMorran Arena. Ted Garvin was behind the bench, and McMorran Arena GM Morris Snider doubled as Wings GM. 

     The Wings were in the middle of their strongest run in franchise history. The team had been in the last three Turner Cup Finals, winning it all in 1970-71 and 1971-72. The 1971-72 Wings finished second in the Northern Division with a 37-31-4 record, 28 points behind league best Muskegon. Despite this, the Wings defeated the Mohawks in six games to win their second straight championship.

     1972-73 was an even better season, as the Wings improved to 41-31-1, just six points behind the first-place Flint Generals and 16 behind league-best Fort Wayne. 

     The Wings were a low-scoring team, scoring just 266 goals, seventh in the league. Their top scorer was Larry Klewchuk, who had 28 goals and 67 points. Port Huron had a pair of 30-goal scorers, including Gary Holt and Marty Reynolds. Longtime Flags veteran Bill LeCaine was second in points with 28 goals and 66 points in 60 games. 

     The Wings were very strong on defense, allowing the third-fewest goals in the IHL with 237. Ted Garvin used three goaltenders that season, led by future NHLer Bill McKenzie. McKenzie played in 45 games, sporting a 2.84 GAA and 2 shutouts. His main backup was Glenn Seperich, who had a 3.32 GAA and 1 shutout in 33 games. Karl Bagnell played just one game (the only pro game of his career), allowing six goals. Hank Lehvonen was the top-scoring defenseman for Port Huron, with 10 goals and 48 points in 65 games on the blue line. 

     Looking to three-peat as Turner Cup Champions, the Wings opened the postseason by facing the Toledo Hornets. The Wings swatted the Hornets in four games (best of five), outscoring Toledo 13-5. In Round 2, the Wings downed the Dayton Gems in three straight (best of five), outscoring the Gems 12-7 to advance to their fourth straight Turner Cup Finals. 

     The Wings' would face the Fort Wayne Komets in the Finals, and it went quickly. The Komets, regular season champions with a 48-28-3 record, hammered the Wings in four straight, allowing just 8 Port Huron goals in the process. The Komets brought several busloads of fans for the clincher at McMorran, a 5-1 win in Game 4 that officially ended the Port Huron IHL dynasty. 

     This program is from a game between the Wings and Des Moines Capitols. Not sure of the date of this game, but it's late in the season, as some Wings had played 61 games. The program is 36 pages long, all in black and white. Pages 6-7 include a story about last season's champions, titled "A Night to Remember". Numerous pictures of the post-game celebration on the ice and in the locker room. A letter from then-Governor William Milliken is found on page 1. Page 4 has an article titled "The Port Huron Story", which points out that the IHL is stronger than ever and that Port Huron is the smallest city in the IHL.

     The Des Moines Capitols finished third in the Southern Division, sporting a 30-41-3 record. Their 63 points would have kept them out of the postseason in the Northern Division, but they were safely in third as the Columbus Golden Seals had a horrible season, managing just 22 points. Two future Flags were on the Capitols roster. Larry Gould had a fine rookie season, scoring 30 goals and 84 points. He would join the Flags in 1976-77 and play the last five years of the franchise's existence. Gould's number is hanging from the McMorran Arena rafters. Right Wing Steve Stone scored 35 goals and 84 points for the Capitols in 1972-73. He would play for the Flags from 1975-77, and helped lead the 1975-76 Flags to a surprise Turner Cup Finals run. 

     Local advertisements include WHLS Radio 1450 AM (the radio home of the Wings), The Brass Rail Bar, The Fogcutter Restaurant, London's Dairy, Don R. Brewer Dodge, and Mortimer & Son Lumber Co (which still exists at the same location).


Aftermath: The Wings would drop to dead last in 1973-74 with a 29-44-3 record. Their finals opponent, Fort Wayne, for that matter, was last in the Southern Division at 31-45-0. Attendance, always an issue in Port Huron, hovered around 1,400 per game, which led to the Detroit Red Wings ending their affiliation after that season. The Wings reverted to the Flags nickname for 1974-75, and would remain such until folding after the 1980-81 season.


References:

International Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1972-73,  from hockeydb.com


 

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