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SAGINAW SPIRIT SECOND SEASON WRAP-UP
Dick Garber (Owner), Bob Marcini (Team President)
But sometimes you can't measure progress in
wins and losses. Sometimes progress is measured off the ice surface.
Garber, an automobile mogul, is president of
Garber Management Group. The Garber name has been synonymous to 'Buick'
in the Saginaw market for literally decades. When he purchased the OHL
franchise and brought it to his hometown, he admitted he knew very little
about hockey. So he did one of two things: 1. He immersed himself in the
game of hockey to learn about the sport; and, 2, He surrounded himself with
good people.
With the team struggling, like the Spirit has
the past two seasons, changes are imminent. And Garber knew it. Very early
into the 2003-04 campaign, he abruptly fired head coach Dennis Desrosiers
and assistant coach Jamey Hicks. In January, he broomed Spirit
president Costa Papista.
Tough moves - yes, when you bring in the
human elements. The trio - Desrosiers, Hicks and Papista - are all very
likable people. Tough moves - no, when you have to consider doing what is
right for the team and the ever-increasing fan base from throughout the
Tri-Cities.
People around Saginaw who truly know hockey
said Desrosiers had a difficult time communicating with his players. He's
chalked up a number of years behind the bench - but not age this age level.
Papista had to go because Garber wanted a fresh start as well as a new look
for his team.
Moe Mantha was brought in as head
coach. The 42-year-old Lakewood, Ohio native was head coach of the under-18
team in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. The team
features many of the top 16-17 year olds from throughout the nation. Mantha
played 13 years of professional hockey as a defenseman for Winnipeg,
Pittsburgh, Edmonton, Minnesota and Philadelphia. In addition, he coached
two seasons in the ECHL with Columbus and six seasons in the AHL with
Hershey, Baltimore and Cincinnati. He flat out knows hockey.
Mark Morris, who spent time in the
Vancouver Canucks organization, was named assistant coach. Morris was
formerly the head coach of Clarkston University (New York) for 15
seasons. He played four years at Colgate and three seasons with the New
Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League.
The atmosphere changed when the coaching duo
arrived in Saginaw, both on the ice and in the locker room. Players began
taking pride in themselves and the organization . . . exactly what Garber
was striving for.
The Spirit had a number of losing streaks
throughout the season. Heck, it's still a young franchise. Again,
knowledgeable hockey people in the area admitted right off the bat that it
would be roughly a 3-5 year plan. But Mantha and Morris got the players to
understand that they would be accountable for their play. So instead of
being blown out like they were a year ago and at the start of the season,
the Spirit actually was competitive this season. This is evidenced by their
21 one-goal losses for the season. They were 8-21 in one-goal games for the
season.
The Saginaw Spirit was 11-45-5-7 in
its inaugural season (2002-03). One could say that the local icers gained
just five more wins than a year ago. But when you mention 'progress', the
Spirit gained in leaps and bounds. The organization will become stronger
next season with the addition of Bob Mancini as team president. The
knowledgeable Mancini will take over the helm July 1 at the conclusion of
his duties for the Edmonton Oilers, where he served as amateur scout.
Along with being a scout with two National
Hockey League franchises (Edmonton and Quebec), Mancini was head coach at
Ferris State University and Michigan Tech. He was one of the
founding members of the Ann Arbor, MI-based USA Hockey National Team
Development Program.
Playing their final game in a Spirit uniform
(because of their age) were Nick Lees, Steve Dix and Justin
McCutcheon. Lees gained publicity at the end of the season when he
played in his 327th OHL game - a league record. He also led the Spirit in
scoring with 42 goals and 26 assists for 68 points, good enough for 25th in
the Ontario Hockey League.
Netminder Mike Brown was 23th in the
league in goals-against-average with a 3.24 mark. Teammate Eric Pfilgler
was 25th with a GAA of 3.28. Ironically, former Spirit goaltender Tyson
Kellerman (Brampton Battalion) was 22nd with a 3.17 GAA.
*
The Saginaw Spirit averaged nearly
4,300 fans per game during its 34 home games at the Saginaw County Event
Center's Wendler Arena. A total of 144,952 fans from throughout
mid-Michigan attended the Spirit home contests - good enough for fourth
among Ontario Hockey League teams. A year ago the Spirit drew 136,873 fans.
The capacity at the Wendler Arena for hockey
is 5,497 and the Spirit attained that figure three times during the year.
The Saginaw club sported crowds of 5,000 or more five times during the
season and 4,000 or more fans a total of 18 times. Included in the figure
were 2,505 season ticket holders. The Spirit also has 168 corporate sponsors
- which is first amongst OHL teams.
*
The Saginaw Spirit Charitable Foundation
collected more than $10,000 in the second annual post-season jersey auction
following its final game of the season. The Foundation coordinates fan
donations to respond to requests of the hockey club throughout the year.
This season, the foundation had more than 450 requests for donations,
appearances and support.
Fans donate to the foundation at each Spirit home game through the purchase of Meijer Chuck-A-Pucks and 50/50 tickets, but the live jersey auction is the single-biggest fund-raiser of the season.
The top draw was OHL Milestone award winner
Nick Lees' final OHL jersey.
A Spirit fan donated $1,500 for the jersey.
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