The Saginaw Spirit are a junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

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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 to Saginaw after the 2001–02 season, renaming it the Saginaw Spirit.

The team traces its roots back to St. Catharines, Ontario, where it played as the Falcons, Teepees, and Black Hawks from 1943–1976. It won two Memorial Cup championships as the Teepees, in 1954 and 1960. In 1976, the franchise moved to nearby Niagara Falls, where it was known as the Flyers. In 1982, the team was moved again, this time to North Bay, and renamed the Centennials, where it remained until moving to Saginaw in 2002.

The 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 Spirit clinched their first playoff berth on March 2, 2006, but lost in the first round to the Guelph Storm. They made the playoffs the following two seasons, but lost to the division rival Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds both times, in six games in 2007 and in four games in 2008. In 2009, the Spirit won their first playoff series since relocating to Saginaw, sweeping Guelph in four games. They were then swept in the second round by the London Knights.

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

• 2003–04 - Patrick McNeill , Jack Ferguson Award -1st overall OHL Priority Draft Selection
• 2005–06 - Ryan Daniels , F.W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy -Best Rookie GAA
• 2005–06 - Craig Goslin , OHL Executive of the Year
• 2006–07 - Tom Pyatt , William Hanley Trophy -Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year
• 2006–07 - 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 August 19, 2009

Goaltenders
Number		Player	Glove	Acquired	NHL Draft	Place of birth
1		Tadeas Galansky		Saginaw Spirit 2009	2010	Czech Republic
30		Anthony Peters	L	Trade KNG 2008	Undrafted	Blyth, Ontario
40		Edward Pasquale	L	Trade BLV 2007	ATL 2009	Toronto, Ontario
Defensemen
Number		Player	Shoots	Acquired	NHL Draft	Place of birth
2		Brad Walch	L	Saginaw Spirit 2007	Undrafted	Saginaw, Michigan
3		Kyle Flemington	R	Saginaw Spirit 2008	2010	Parkhill, Ontario
4		Nick Crawford - A	L	Saginaw Spirit 2006	BUF 2008	Caledon, Ontario
14		Alex Lepkowski	L	Saginaw Spirit 2009	2011	West Seneca, New York
17		Joe Underwood - A	R	Trade GUE 2007	Undrafted	Canton, Michigan
26		Nicholas Trecapelli	R	Saginaw Spirit 2007	2010	Guelph, Ontario
27		Frank Schumacher		Saginaw Spirit 2009	2011	Brighton, Michigan
41		Cody Sol	L	Saginaw Spirit 2007	ATL 2009	Woodstock, Ontario
44		Matt Braun		Saginaw Spirit 2008	2010	Mississauga, Ontario
79		T. J. Brodie	R	Saginaw Spirit 2006	CGY 2008	Dresden, Ontario

Forwards
Number		Player	Shoots	Position	Acquired	NHL Draft	Place of birth
5		Garrett Ross			Free Agent 2009	2010	Dearborn, Michigan
11		O/A Tyler Murovich	L	C	Free Agent 2007	Undrafted	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12		O/A Ryan Schnell	L	LW	Free Agent 2009	Undrafted	Cary, Illinois
14		Jordan Szwarz	R	RW	Saginaw Spirit 2007	PHX 2009	Burlington, Ontario
15		O/A Joe Pleckaitis	L	LW	Trade BAR 2007	Undrafted	Markham, Ontario
16		Daniel Pachis	L	C	Saginaw Spirit 2007	Undrafted	Whitby, Ontario
20		Mitch Fillman	R	RW	Free Agent 2007	Undrafted	Oakville, Ontario
23		O/A Jordan Skellett	L	LW	Trade ERE 2008	Undrafted	London, Ontario
25		Josh Shalla	L	LW	Trade GUE 2009	Undrafted	Whitby, Ontario
28		John Kavanagh	R	C	Saginaw Spirit 2007	Undrafted	Cambridge, Ontario
51		Anthony Camara	L	LW	Saginaw Spirit 2009	2011	Toronto, Ontario
67		Barry Sanderson	R	C	Trade NIA 2008	Undrafted	Dearborn, Michigan
89		Vincent Trocheck	R	C	Saginaw Spirit 2009	2011	Bingham Farms, Michigan

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	91	2006–07
Most wins	44	2006–07
Most goals for	291	2006–07
Least goals for	150	2004–05
Least goals against	217	2006–07
Most goals against	275	2002–03

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Ryan McDonough	45	2007–08
Most assists	Tyler Haskins	60	2006–07
Most points	Jack Combs	100	2007–08
Most points, rookie	Jan Mursak	80	2006–07
Most points, defenseman	Patrick McNeill	77	2006–07
Best GAA, goalie	Ryan Daniels	2.94	2006–07
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SL	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	–	2	0	74	0.544	242	246	2nd West
2006–07	68	44	21	–	0	3	91	0.669	291	217	2nd West
2007–08	68	33	25	–	8	2	76	0.559	234	231	4th West
2008–09	68	36	24	–	4	4	80	0.559	235	219	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.
• 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.
• 2008–09 Defeated Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to London Knights 4 games to 0 in conference semi-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 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 ^[1] 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. ^[2]

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'

• The OHL Arena & Travel Guide

Mid Michigan Spirit

The Saginaw Spirit in partnership with Meijer food stores sponsor the Mid Michigan Spirit, 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 and once again took second at the MAHA state tournament in Canton, Michigan on March 9, 2008.

References

1. Spirit on the Colbert Report Tonight
2. The Steagle has landed