Saginaw Spirit

Hockey team
team = Saginaw Spirit

logosize = 150px
city = Saginaw, Michigan
league = Ontario Hockey League
conference = Western
division = West
founded = 2002–03
arena = The Dow Event Center
colours = Midnight blue, red, silver, and yellow
coach = Todd Watson
GM = Todd Watson
affiliates = Leamington Flyers
name1 = St. Catharines Falcons
dates1 = 1943–47
name2 = St. Catharines Teepees
dates2 = 1947–62
name3 = St. Catharines Black Hawks
dates3 = 1962–76
name4 = Niagara Falls Flyers
dates4 = 1976–82
name5 = North Bay Centennials
dates5 = 1982–02
name6 = Saginaw Spirit
dates6 = 2002–PresentThe Saginaw Spirit are a junior 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.

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 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.

The team entered the post season the following two seasons, both times against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Spirit lost to the Greyhounds in six games in the 2007 post season and in four games in the 2008 post season.

Coaches

The first coach in Saginaw Spirit history was 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.

"List of coaches. Numbers of seasons in parentheses."

*2002-03 - Dennis Desrosiers (2)
*2003-04 - Dennis Desrosiers / Moe Mantha
*2004-05 - Doug Lidster / Bob Mancini
*2005-07 - Bob Mancini (3)
*2007-Present - Todd Watson

Players

See complete list of all List of Saginaw Spirit alumni.

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

*"2006-2007" - Tom Pyatt, William Hanley Trophy -Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year

*"2006-2007" - Craig Goslin, OHL Executive of the Year

NHL alumni

Since 2002 the Saginaw Spirit have graduated four players who have played in the National Hockey League.

*Cody Bass
*Paul Bissonnette
*Geoff Platt
*Chris Thorburn

Current squad

Roster updated as of October 10th, 2008

eason-by-season results

Regular season

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.
*2006–07 Lost to Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
*2007–08 Lost to Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.

Uniforms and 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.

Mascots

Saginaw's main mascot is "Sammy Spirit," resembling an American bald eagle. The team held a vote on their website to name a new secondary mascot for the 2006–07 season. The mascot was named [cite web |url=http://www.saginawspirit.com/ss/home.nsf/public/87F6C36ABD6B6B90852571FC0074AE03 |title=Spirit on the Colbert Report Tonight |publisher=Saginaw Spirit |accessdate=2007-02-01 |date=2006-10-03] "Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle" after Stephen Colbert. Colbert had promoted the contest on his show, "The Colbert Report". After naming the mascot after Colbert, the Spirit won seven straight games before losing to the Sarnia Sting on October 20. Since then, "The Colbert Report" has featured ongoing comedy sketches related to the team, the mascot, and other teams in the Ontario Hockey League, especially the Oshawa Generals, and Oshawa, Ontario mayor John Gray. [cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com/article/177061 |title=The Steagle has landed |publisher=Toronto Star |author=Sunaya Sapurji |date=2007-02-01 |accessdate=2007-02-01]

Arena

The Spirit play at Wendler Arena (capacity 5,527), which is part of The Dow Event Center complex in downtown Saginaw. The OHL All-Star Classic was hosted here in 2007. This was the first time in history that the OHL All-Star Game was hosted in an American city. The Arena was formerly home to the Saginaw Gears, Saginaw Generals, Saginaw Hawks, Saginaw Wheels and the Saginaw Lumber Kings.:Capacity = 5,527 :Ice size = 192' x 85'

* [http://www.ohlarenaguide.com/spirit.htm Wendler Arena] The OHL Arena & Travel Guide

Mid Michigan Spirit

The Saginaw Spirit in partnership with Meijer food stores sponsor the Mid Michigan Spirit. This is a women's hockey club based out of Midland, Michigan. The 16U team took second at the MAHA state tournament during the 2006-2007 season. A 16U team moved up to 19U for the 2007-2008 season. This team once again took second at the MAHA state tournament in Canton, Michigan on March 9th, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.saginawspirit.com/ www.saginawspirit.com] Saginaw Spirit official site
* [http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/ Ontario Hockey League] Official web site
* [http://www.chl.ca/ Canadian Hockey League] Official web site