Port Huron Flags (IHL, 1966-67)

     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 Trophy-winning Dayton

     Offense wasn't an issue, as the Flags scored 314 goals, just one fewer than league-leading Dayton. Frank St. Marseille continued his prolific run at McMorran, scoring 41 goals and 117 points in 72 games. Newcomer Mauril Morrissette, arriving early in the season from Toledo, also scored 41 goals, to go along with 75 points, in 66 games in Port Huron. Center Ken Saunders scored 32 goals and 106 points in 72 games. Six additional players had at least 20 goals that year: Larry Mavety (25), Bob McCammon (20), Bill LeCaine (26), Ken Gribbons and Marty Reynolds (27) and Ray Germain (20). Mavety was the leading scorer on defense, with 73 points in 71 games.

     If there was a weak spot, it was on defense, as the Flags surrendered 300 goals, second-most in the league. The team used two goaltenders that year. Norm Jacques, an original Flag, played in 53 games, while Dwight Bearchell played 21 games in his rookie year. No stats are available for this season. As of this game, Jacques had a 4.00 GAA through four games.

     No playoffs for the Flags that season, as the Toledo Blades would win their first Turner Cup, downing the Fort Wayne Komets in six games. Lloyd Maxfield would resign as head coach following the season, replaced by former NHL defenseman Jerry Toppazzini. 

     This program, unlike the previous year's edition, is standard size. It's only 18 pages, and is full of advertisements and articles. The team photo for the 1965-66 Turner Cup Champions is on page 17. Arena Ice Chips is on page 9, and includes information about the team's goal judge, Carm Workman, rookie defenseman Ron Burman, and the new intermission game, "Scoro". 

     This program is from early in the season, a November 2, 1966, game against the Columbus Checkers. The Checkers were an expansion franchise that year, and would bring up the rear in the IHL standings, with a 23-48-1 record, 26 points behind the Flags. In front of 2,164 fans, the Flags bombed the Checkers, 8-4. St. Marseille and Gribbons each had two goals, while Norm Jacques made 37 saves. 

     On the cover of the program is right wing Tommy Clark, a Sarnia native. Clark joined the Flags from the now-defunct Chatham Maroons, and played the last four years of his career in Port Huron. Pretty sure that's Glenn Ramsay of the Toledo Blades he just scored on. 

     This is the Flags lineup for that night. Again, quite a few players returned from the 1966 Turner Cup roster. Several of these players have their numbers in the rafters at McMorran Arena. For some reason, Norm Jacques, Guy James and Frank St. Marseilles aren't included in that group. Jacques was one of the better goaltenders the Flags had, playing seven seasons in Port Huron. He came out of retirement in 1980-81, at age 42, to fill in as an emergency goaltender, then was a coach in the Port Huron Hockey Association for years. Guy James was an ironman defenseman for Port Huron, playing in an IHL record 780 consecutive games. Frank St. Marseille averaged over 40 goals in three seasons with the Flags, before signing with the expansion St. Louis Blues after the 1966-67 season. He would go on to a 10-year career in the NHL with St. Louis and Los Angeles.

     Here's the roster for the Columbus Checkers. Edward "Moe" Bartoli would be part of Columbus hockey for nearly a decade, playing and coaching the Checkers, Golden Seals and Owls. In 1966-67, he was Player/Coach, and led the team with 31 goals and 103 points in 70 games. The Checkers had several 30 goal scorers along with Bartoli. Nels Tremblay scored 39 goals and 88 points, despite playing for three teams that year (Toledo, Dayton, Columbus). Bert Fizzell had 36 goals and 81 points after spending the previous two seasons in Port Huron. Roger Ouimet (32) and Kerry Bond (36) were the other 30-goal scorers on the team. Alton White joined the Checkers from the Fort Wayne Komets, and would eventually reach the World Hockey Association in the 1970s.

     General Manager Frank Gallagher was the previous GM of the Flags, and would later go on to found the Flint Generals in 1969.

  Local advertisements include Southeastern Michigan Gas Company, Valley Coach Lines Inc., Sport Shop Toys, The Bowl-o-Drome and Zebra Bar, and Sperry's Department Store.

References:

Port Huron Times Herald, November 3, 1966, from newspapers.com

International Hockey League Statistics: 1966-67, from hockeydb.com