The Saginaw Gears were a minor professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

franchise that played in the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

(UHL), formerly known as the

Colonial Hockey League Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

. The Gears existed for five seasons and part of one other, from 1994 to December 19, 1999.

Chatham Wheels

The club began in 1992 in the

(CoHL) in Chatham, Ontario, as the

Chatham Wheels The Chatham Wheels were a minor professional ice hockey team that played in Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) from 1992 to 1994. Based in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, the team played it homes games in the Chatham Memorial Arena. In its first season ...

. The Wheels won the franchise's only division championship in 1994 with a 39–18–7 record, making it all the way to the championship series before losing to the

Thunder Bay Senators The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats was a minor professional ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and a member of the United Hockey League. The team went through a number of different names prior to being the Thunder Cats, including th ...

. Despite their on-ice success, the Wheels drew just 1,672 fans per game, second-worst in the eight-team loop.

Saginaw Wheels/Lumber Kings

In 1994, the team moved to

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, and became the Saginaw Wheels. Playing around .500 hockey both seasons, Saginaw made the playoffs in both seasons but faced slumping attendance in year two, and so re-branded as the Saginaw Lumber Kings in 1996. After two poor seasons under the Lumber Kings moniker (the second in the renamed United Hockey League), however, the club was sold in 1998. New owner Khaled M. Shukairy decided to re-name the club the Saginaw Gears after the former IHL team. However, attendances remained flat with small crowds (about 2,000 a game) coming to see the Gears at Wendler Arena in the Saginaw Civic Center in downtown Saginaw. Local fans were not encouraged by the Gears' poor play, as they finished with a 20–46–8 record in 1998–99.

Ohio Gears

On December 20, 1999, with the Gears again in last place at 7–17–3, the Gears abruptly left town in the middle of the night. Breaking their lease with Wendler Arena (and owing local businesses a reported $72,000), the club moved to Massillon, Ohio to finish the season as the Ohio Gears. The move had the blessing of

commissioner Richard Brosal after the city of Massillon, Ohio, announced they were to build a new 6,500-seat arena. Playing at a small community rink in nearby

North Canton, Ohio North Canton is a city in central Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 17,842 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History In 1831, the Community of North Canton first began as the Villag ...

with a capacity of 400 and almost no one in attendance, the Gears completely collapsed on the ice, with a 5–40–5 record for the rest of the 1999–2000 campaign. The franchise went dormant after the season, planning on returning in the 2001–02 season when the new arena in Massillon was built. But plans to build the arena collapsed, forcing the team to remain dormant for another year. The Gears never played another game despite resurrection attempts as the Arctic Xpress, Canton Xpress, and finally the Canton Ice Patrol. Defunct United Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1994 Ice hockey teams in Michigan Professional ice hockey teams in Michigan Sports clubs disestablished in 2000 1994 establishments in Michigan 2000 disestablishments in Ohio {{US-icehockey-team-stub