Hockey Programs

     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 ...

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...

      Now, here are the mascots from Port Huron. Didn't take too long at all, actually. As far as I know, the original Port Huron Flags and the Port Huron Clippers did not have mascots (the Clippers barely had any paying customers, for that matter). We'll start with Bridges and work our way to Mitts, the Prowlers mascot. All of these pictures are either from my program collection or pictures I've taken at hockey games.  Once again, if you know what happened to the suits, let me know. Just curious where they wound up after the teams folded or moved away. 1. Bridges (Port Huron Border Cats, CoHL, 1996-2000) Bridges (as far as I know) was the first mascot for a Port Huron pro hockey team. He was actually the third mascot in the franchise's history, as the Detroit Falcons had Freddie and Frieda the Falcons during their stay in Fraser. The logo had the Blue Water Bridge in it, hence the name. Bridges would dance around the concourse at McMorran Arena and skate around prio...

      As promised, here are the mascots from Flint's long hockey history. As far as I know, the original Flint Generals and the Flint Spirits did not have mascots. There was a mascot called "Wolferee", I'm not sure if he was a secondary mascot in Flint or Port Huron. I remember him, but I don't have any pictures of him.  Anyway, the first three pictures are from my hockey card collection. The Warriors and Firebirds pictures are from Google searches. Again, if you know what happened to some of those suits, let me know.  1. Boris the Bulldog (Flint Bulldogs, CoHL, 1991-93) The Flint Bulldogs were the original member of the Colonial Hockey League, and Boris the Bulldog is the first mascot for a Flint hockey team. He didn't run around nude, he did have a home Bulldogs jersey on and (I think) black hockey gloves. Boris would occasionally do skits on the ice. One memorable one was during intermission of a Bulldogs-Brantford Smoke game. Boris chased around the Smoke...

      So yesterday apparently was National Mascot Day, so I thought I'd post a few pictures of the mascots that Saginaw has had over the years. I believe there have been seven mascots for Saginaw hockey teams, dating back to 1979. As far as I know, the Saginaw Generals and Saginaw Hawks did not have a mascot during that franchise's four years in Saginaw. The first four pictures (Gear-Rilla to Gear-Rilla) are scans from my programs. The Spirit mascots' pictures are from Google searches.  If anyone knows what happened to the Wheels, Lumber Kings and UHL Gears mascots, let me know. I'm curious what happened to those suits after the team switched names. 1. Gear-Rilla (Saginaw Gears, IHL 1979-83)  The first mascot for a Saginaw hockey team. The original Gear-Rilla appeared in 1979 and was around for the last few seasons of that team's existence. Gear-Rilla was a little before my time (I was born in 1982). I know the other mascots have skated around the ice, not sure ...

1997-98 Regular Season Lumber Kings vs. Brantford Smoke Lumber Kings vs. Port Huron Border Cats Lumber Kings vs. BC Icemen      The Saginaw Lumber Kings were coming off a miserable 1996-97 season on the ice and at the box office. The team finished next-to-last in the Colonial Hockey League with a 21-48-5 record and saw their attendance drop to 2,062 per game (fourth lowest in the league). The Lumber Kings were also the first team in the Saginaw-Flint hockey rivalry to be swept in a season series, dropping all 13 games to the Flint Generals. Despite this, John Blum returned as Head Coach/GM, and added ex-Gears forward Warren Holmes as an assistant. Home games were still played at 4,727-seat Wendler Arena (once again, no ice-level seats).      The Lumber Kings weren't much better in 1997-98. After starting off 9-14-0, Blum was fired and replaced by Warren Holmes. Didn't really matter, as Saginaw finished dead last in the United Hockey League (UHL), with a 23-...

  1998-99 Regular Season Gears vs. Quad City Mallards Gears vs. Thunder Bay Thunder Cats Gears vs. Port Huron Border Cats      Another year, another new ownership group and rebrand. Saginaw's UHL franchise would now be known as the Saginaw Gears, a nod to the popular IHL franchise that played from 1972-83, winning two Turner Cups and sending multiple players to the NHL. The new owner was Dr. Khaled Shukairy, who also owned the Flint Generals. The team would go with royal blue, orange and white, Edmonton Oilers-style jerseys, and  a modern-looking logo, passing on the turquoise, tangerine and white of the original Gears. Robert Dirk was the new head coach while George Manias was the new general manager. Home games were played at 4,727-seat Wendler Arena (again, no ice-level seats).      Despite the name change and the hype, the new Gears had far more in common with the Lumber Kings than they ever did with their namesake, as they dropped to the base...

2000-01 Regular Season: Generals vs. Rockford Ice Hogs The Flint Generals were in their eighth season of existence in the United Hockey League. The team was was coming off its second Colonial Cup championship in 2000, having swept aside arch-rival Quad City in four straight games, the first sweep in Colonial Cup Finals history. Following the season, Head Coach/GM Doug Shedden left to take the coaching job with the ECHL's Memphis Riverkings. He was replaced in Flint by his assistant coach Billy Thurlow.      Thurlow had some talent to work with. Returning to the Generals from the 2000 championship were long-time General Chad Grills, ex-Red Wing Mark Major, Dale Greenwood, Khalil Thomas and defensemen Gary Roach and Lorne Knauft. Returning to the Generals from the Madison Kodak was popular winger Jim Duhart, who turned into a prolific scorer since leaving Flint in 1997. Starting goaltender Mark Richards joined Shedden in Memphis, and was replaced by ex-Saginaw Wheels goalte...