Saginaw Spirit
Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAG : Saginaw Spirit
| Saginaw Spirit | ||
| ||
| City: | Saginaw, Michigan | |
| League: | Ontario Hockey League | |
| Conference: | Western | |
| Division: | West | |
| Founded: | 2002 | |
| Home Arena: | The Dow Event Center | |
| Colours: | Midnight blue, red, silver, and yellow | |
| Head Coach: | Bob Mancini | |
| General Manager: | Bob Mancini | |
The Saginaw Spirit are an ice hockey team from Saginaw, Michigan, United States of America, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League.
Franchise Identities:
- St. Catharines Falcons 1943 to 1947
- St. Catharines Teepees 1947 to 1962
- St. Catharines Black Hawks 1962 to 1976
- Niagara Falls Flyers 1976 to 1982
- North Bay Centennials 1982 to 2002
- Saginaw Spirit 2002 to present
History
The Saginaw Spirit were born when Dick Garber, the owner of several local automobile dealerships, purchased the North Bay Centennials and moved the team after the 2001-02 season to Saginaw and renamed them the Saginaw Spirit.The team can trace its roots back to St. Catharines, Ontario where it played from 1943-1976, as the as the Falcons, Teepees and Black Hawks. The franchise won the Memorial Cup in 1954 & 1960. The team also played as the Niagara Falls Flyers from 1976-1982, and as the North Bay Centennials from 1982-2002.
The Saginaw Spirit have done extensive promotions in the Mid-Michigan area, increasing their fan base and season ticket-holder numbers. The Spirit have one of the highest attendance rates in the Ontario Hockey League.
After three rebuilding seasons the Saginaw Spirit clinched their first playoff berth on March 2nd, 2006, but lost in the first round to the Guelph Storm.
Coaches
The first coach in Saginaw Spirit history would be Dennis Desrosiers. He was well known to local fans, with many years of hockey experience in Michigan. As a player he spent 10 years for the Saginaw Gears (IHL), and spent time coaching the Flint Generals, Saginaw Generals & Kalamazoo Wings all in Michigan. In total, there have been four coaches in Saginaw Spirit history to date.
- 2002-03 - Dennis Desrosiers
- 2003-04 - Dennis Desrosiers / Moe Mantha
- 2004-05 - Doug Lidster / Bob Mancini
- 2005-06 - Bob Mancini
Players
Award Winners
- 2003-2004 - Patrick McNeill, Jack Ferguson Award -1st overall OHL Priority Draft Selection
- 2005-2006 - Ryan Daniels, F.W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy -Best Rookie GAA
- 2005-2006 - Craig Goslin, OHL Executive of the Year
NHL Alumni
Since 2002 the Saginaw Spirit have graduated 2 players onto play in the National Hockey League.
Current squad
Players stats updated as of March 30th, 2006
| Goaltenders | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number |
| Player | Glove | Acquired | NHL Rights | Place of Birth |
| 1 | Jovica Zelenbaba | L | Saginaw Spirit 2005 | 2007 | Waterloo, Ontario | |
| 34 | Ryan Daniels | L | Saginaw Spirit 2004 | OTT 2006 | Pickering, Ontario | |
| Defensemen | ||||||
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | NHL Rights | Place of Birth | |
| 2 | Garrett Sinfield | L | Trade OS 2005 | Free Agent | London, Ontario | |
| 6 | Christopher Breen | L | Saginaw Spirit 2005 | 2007 | Uxbridge, Ontario | |
| 8 | Patrick McNeill - C | L | Saginaw Spirit 2003 | WSH 2005 | Strathroy, Ontario | |
| 13 | Matt Corrente | R | Saginaw Spirit 2004 | NJ 2006 | Mississauga, Ontario | |
| 16 | Jamie Klie | R | Saginaw Spirit 2003 | Free Agent | Harrow, Ontario | |
| 24 | Scott Fletcher | R | Saginaw Spirit 2004 | Free Agent | Haslett, Michigan | |
| Forwards | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number |
| Player | Shoots | Positon | Acquired | NHL Rights | Place of Birth |
| 5 | Tommy Mannino | R | RW | Trade WSR 2005 | Free Agent | Farmington Hills, Michigan | |
| 17 | Tom Craig | L | F | Saginaw Spirit 2005 | 2007 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| 19 | Chris Chappell | L | C | Saginaw Spirit 2004 | Free Agent | Pickering, Ontario | |
| 21 | Jack Combs | L | F | Trade KIT 2005 | Free Agent | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| 22 | Zack Torquato | L | F | Saginaw Spirit 2005 | 2007 | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario | |
| 23 | Patrick Asselin - A | L | LW | Saginaw Spirit 2003 | Free Agent | Peterborough, Ontario | |
| 25 | Tim Priamo | L | LW | Saginaw Spirit 2004 | Free Agent | Guelph, Ontario | |
| 27 | Tom Pyatt - A | L | C | Saginaw Spirit 2003 | NYR 2005 | Thunder Bay, Ontario | |
| 28 | Ryan Berard | R | RW | Trade BLV 2006 | Free Agent | Niagara Falls, Ontario | |
| 29 | Ryan McDonough | L | C | Trade SBY 2005 | Free Agent | Toronto, Ontario | |
Yearly Results
Regular Season
Legend:T = Tie (2002-2005), SL = Shoot Out Loss (2005-06 onward), OTL = Overtime Loss
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | T/SL | OTL | Points | Pct % | Goals For | Goals Against | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | 68 | 11 | 45 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 0.250 | 158 | 275 | 5th West |
| 2003-04 | 68 | 16 | 45 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 0.287 | 161 | 228 | 5th West |
| 2004-05 | 68 | 18 | 42 | 4 | 4 | 44 | 0.324 | 150 | 260 | 4th West |
| 2005-06 | 68 | 36 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 0.544 | 242 | 246 | 2nd West |
Playoffs
- 2002-03 Out of playoffs.
- 2003-04 Out of playoffs.
- 2004-05 Out of playoffs.
- 2005-06 Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
Uniforms & Logos
The Saginaw Spirit logo depicts an American bald eagle with the colors of the Stars and Stripes along its neck, on the words "Saginaw Spirit." The uniform scheme is similar to that previously used by the U.S.A. national team.
The home jerseys are white backgrounds with navy blue sleeves and red trim. The away jerseys are navy blue backgrounds with red sleeves and white trim.
The Saginaw third jersey (inset) has a red background with navy blue sleeves and white trim, bearing across the chest the word "Saginaw" spelled diagonally downwards from left to right.
Arena
The Spirit play at Wendler Arena (capacity 5,497), which is part of The Dow Event Center complex in downtown Saginaw. The OHL All-Star Classic will be hosted here in 2007. The Arena was formerly home to the Saginaw Gears, Saginaw Generals, Saginaw Hawks, Saginaw Wheels & the Saginaw Lumber Kings.
- Capacity = 5,497
- Ice size = 192' x 85'
- [Wendler Arena] The OHL Arena & Travel Guide
External links
- [www.saginawspirit.com] Saginaw Spirit official site
- [Ontario Hockey League] Official web site
- [Canadian Hockey League] Official web site
| Ontario Hockey League |
|---|
| Current Teams : Barrie Colts > Belleville Bulls | Brampton Battalion | Erie Otters | Guelph Storm | Kingston Frontenacs | Kitchener Rangers | London Knights | Mississauga IceDogs | Oshawa Generals | Ottawa 67's | Owen Sound Attack | Peterborough Petes | Plymouth Whalers | Saginaw Spirit | Sarnia Sting | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Sudbury Wolves | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | Windsor Spitfires |
| Canadian Hockey League>CHL: | Memorial Cup | OHL | QMJHL | WHL |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.