Hockey Programs

1993-94 Regular Season Bulldogs vs. St. Thomas Wildcats      After two seasons of mediocre hockey, small crowds and growing financial losses, Flint Bulldogs owner Leslie J. "Skip" Probst had had enough. Probst relocated his Bulldogs to Utica, New York and the 3,930-seat Utica Memorial Auditorium, recently vacated when the AHL's Utica Devils moved to St. John, New Brunswick. While The Aud was slightly smaller than Flint's IMA Sports Arena (4,021 seats), the Utica-Rome area had a much larger population than the Flint area, with about 299,000 people.       Upon leaving Flint, Probst took a few parting shots at the City of Flint and the area's hockey fans, saying that the city might no longer be able to support professional hockey. "People don't care here. It's amazing. We're absolutely doing the right thing in leaving Flint," Probst said after the announcement.  "If another team can come into Flint and make it, God bless them. They'll h...

     Heading into the 1966-67 season, the Port Huron Flags were coming off their best two seasons in the five-year history of the franchise. In 1964-65, the Flags captured the Huber Trophy for finishing first overall. In 1965-66, the Flags won their first Turner Cup, downing Dayton in five games.      The core of the Turner Cup winning team was back at McMorran Arena for the 1966-67 season. Player/Coach Lloyd Maxfield had familiar faces like Bill LeCaine, Guy James, Marcel Goyette, Ray Germain and Bob McCammon. Longtime Flags goaltender Norm Jacques was back in the Port Huron net after a one-year absence. Home games were played at McMorran Arena. John Wismer of WHLS was owner/GM of the franchise.      The 1966-67 season was a disappointment, as the Flags dropped to fifth place, with a 34-33-5 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1962-63. Their 73 points were just three back of fourth-place Des Moines and 18 behind Huber Troph...

1965-66 Regular Season Opener Flags vs. Fort Wayne Komets       The Port Huron Flags were in their fourth season of operation heading into the 1965-66 season. The team was owned by John F. Wismer, owner of WHLS radio. Center Lloyd Maxfield returned as head coach, while Frank Gallagher returned as General Manager. Home games were played at 3500-seat McMorran Arena in downtown Port Huron.       The Flags were coming off their best season on ice in 1964-65. The team finished in first place in the IHL, with a 43-22-5 record, six points ahead of Fort Wayne, to win their only Huber Trophy (regular season champions). Unfortunately, the Flags were upset in Round 1 by the Des Moines Oak Leafs, blowing a 3-2 series lead to the third-place Oak Leafs.       1965-66 was a step back in the regular season. The Flags dropped to third place, with a 34-32-4 record. Their 72 points were 25 back of the first place Muskegon Mohawks. Port Huron had the t...

1991-92 Regular Season Opponent Unknown       In the summer of 1990, the Franke family purchased the Flint Spirits, relocating the franchise to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to replace the recently departed Komets. The new team assumed the Komets name and history. While this move kept IHL hockey in Fort Wayne, it ended Flint's 21-year history in the league. An attempt to join the ECHL for 1990-91 fell flat, and Flint went without professional hockey for the first time since 1968-69.       It was inevitable that the IHL would pull out of Flint. The league had gradually expanded outside it's tradition Midwest footprint, adding such cities as Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver and Albany. Traditional smaller market cities such as Toledo, Port Huron, Saginaw and Dayton had drifted out of the IHL. Flint had been dealing with subpar attendance for about 15 years. While the Spirits (top affiliate of the New York Rangers) did average over 2500 per game in 1989-90, the tea...