:''This article refers to the Saginaw Gears of the IHL. For the Saginaw Gears of the UHL, see

Saginaw Gears (UHL) The Saginaw Gears were a minor professional ice hockey franchise that played in the United Hockey League (UHL), formerly known as the Colonial Hockey League. The Gears existed for five seasons and part of one other, from 1994 to December 19, ...

''. The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league

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

franchise that played in the defunct International Hockey League (IHL). The Gears existed from 1972 to 1983. The Gears played their home games at

Wendler Arena The Dow Event Center (formerly known as Saginaw County Event Center and Saginaw Civic Center) is an indoor arena located in Saginaw, Michigan. The center consists of several parts: The Atrium, The Garden Room, The Theater, The Red Room, Huntington ...

in the

Saginaw Civic Center The Dow Event Center (formerly known as Saginaw County Event Center and Saginaw Civic Center) is an indoor arena located in Saginaw, Michigan. The center consists of several parts: The Atrium, The Garden Room, The Theater, The Red Room, Huntington ...

(now known as The Dow Event Center). IHL hockey would later return to the Tri-Cities when the Flint Generals were moved to

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County, Michigan, 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, Michi ...

to become the Saginaw Generals for the 1985–86 season.

Championships

The Gears made the playoffs for nine straight seasons, from 1973–82. The Gears reached the Turner Cup Finals five times in that stretch, and won the following championships:

Trivia

The

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

replica at the Hockey Hall of Fame in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

has

Saginaw 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 Greate ...

misspelled as "Sagimaw" for the 1976-77 championship.

Notable players

The Gears sent several players to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

in their 11-year existence. The biggest names include: * John Gibson * Lou Franceschetti * Bob Froese *

Greg Hotham Gregory S. Hotham (born March 7, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 230 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1979 and 1985. He was selected by the M ...

, whose sons

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

and Andrew played for the

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a major 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 Major Junior leagues of the Canadian Hockey Leagu ...

Mario Lessard Mario Lessard (born June 25, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Born in East Broughton, Quebec, Lessard began his National Hockey League career with the Los Angeles Kings in 1978, the team he would play his entir ...

* Mike Palmateer * In 1974–75, longtime NHL forward/defenceman Reg Fleming joined the Gears in time for the 1975 playoffs. * Head Coach Don Perry also made it to the NHL, coaching the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

from 1981–84. * Marcel Comeau, 1980–81 IHL's top scorer and most valuable player *

Dennis Desrosiers Dennis Desrosiers (born March 28, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 13 professional seasons, mostly in the International Hockey League (IHL) where he played 532 games, scoring 312 goals and 277 point ...

10 year veteran of the Gears. High scoring right wing / tough guy. Color commentator of

Decades long career as a coachhttps://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=1346

References

External links

Saginaw Gears statistics at Hockey Database
Professional ice hockey teams in Michigan Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States International Hockey League (1945–2001) teams 1972 establishments in Michigan 1983 disestablishments in Michigan Ice hockey clubs established in 1972 Boston Bruins minor league affiliates {{Michigan-sport-team-stub