356:, December 30, 1999. Accessed February 4, 2024. "Dr. Bernard Bubanic, a Canton chiropractor, said it was an -.emotional, bul. necessary, decision to move his minor league Saginaw Gears of the United Hockey League (UHL) to Stark County in a somewhat surprising move last week.... In Saginaw, the Gears - who first began operations in 1992 as the Chatham Wheels - were last in the league in attendance and last in the UHL's Central Division with a 7-18-3 record."
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On
December 20, 1999, with the Gears again in last place at 7–18–3 and last in the league in attendance, the Gears broke their lease with Wendler Arena (and owing local businesses a reported $ 72,000), and moved to
316:
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
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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 rename the club the
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234:. 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
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254:. 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
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in downtown
Saginaw. Local fans were not encouraged by the Gears' poor play, as they finished with a 20–46–8 record in
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238:. Despite their on-ice success, the Wheels drew just 1,672 fans per game, second-worst in the eight-team loop.
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308:, with a capacity of 400 and almost no one in attendance, the Gears had a 5–40–5 record for the rest of the
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267:. However, attendances remained flat with small crowds (about 2,000 a game) coming to see the Gears at
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214:. The Gears existed for five seasons and part of one other, from 1994 to December 19, 1999.
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campaign. The franchise went dormant after the season, planning on returning in the
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803:Ice hockey clubs established in 1998
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818:1999 disestablishments in Michigan
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772:Other professional hockey leagues
697:International Hockey League teams
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350:"Here come your new Ohio Gears!"
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813:1998 establishments in Michigan
296:. The move had the blessing of
222:The club began in 1992 in the
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210:(UHL), formerly known as the
206:franchise that played in the
401:Colonial Hockey League teams
292:to finish the season as the
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246:In 1994, the team moved to
242:Saginaw Wheels/Lumber Kings
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683:Thunder Bay Thunder Cats
490:Thunder Bay Thunder Cats
30:Not to be confused with
27:UHL ice hockey franchise
688:Winston-Salem IceHawks
643:Port Huron Border Cats
613:Mohawk Valley Prowlers
460:Port Huron Border Cats
224:Colonial Hockey League
212:Colonial Hockey League
663:Roanoke Valley Vipers
608:Missouri River Otters
736:Muskegon Lumberjacks
678:Saginaw Lumber Kings
618:Motor City Mechanics
523:Adirondack Frostbite
485:Thunder Bay Senators
470:Saginaw Lumber Kings
298:United Hockey League
273:Saginaw Civic Center
256:Saginaw Lumber Kings
236:Thunder Bay Senators
208:United Hockey League
151:Saginaw Lumber Kings
107:Orange, blue, silver
70:United Hockey League
741:Port Huron Icehawks
588:Kansas City Outlaws
528:Adirondack IceHawks
480:St. Thomas Wildcats
32:Saginaw Gears (IHL)
746:Quad City Mallards
658:Richmond RiverDogs
653:Quad City Mallards
638:Port Huron Beacons
465:Quad City Mallards
420:Dayton Ice Bandits
325:, and finally the
306:North Canton, Ohio
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726:Fort Wayne Komets
716:Evansville IceMen
628:New Haven Knights
578:Fort Wayne Komets
348:Sbaraglia, Greg.
327:Canton Ice Patrol
250:, and became the
248:Saginaw, Michigan
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122:Franchise history
59:Saginaw, Michigan
16:(Redirected from
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758:Related articles
668:Rockford IceHogs
648:Port Huron Flags
603:Madison Monsters
563:Danbury Trashers
450:Michigan Falcons
445:Madison Monsters
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228:Chatham, Ontario
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533:Asheville Smoke
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440:London Wildcats
425:Detroit Falcons
410:Brantford Smoke
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290:Massillon, Ohio
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265:former IHL team
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182:Division titles
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314:2001–02 season
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18:Saginaw Wheels
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623:Muskegon Fury
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767:Huber Trophy
762:Colonial Cup
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711:Dayton Gems
699:(2007–2010)
538:B.C. Icemen
516:(1997–2007)
403:(1991–1997)
787:Categories
633:Ohio Gears
333:References
294:Ohio Gears
283:Ohio Gears
263:after the
226:(CoHL) in
204:ice hockey
171:Ohio Gears
94:Home arena
310:1999–2000
230:, as the
188:(1993–94)
167:1999–2000
157:1998–1999
147:1996–1998
137:1994–1996
127:1992–1994
76:Division
277:1998–99
271:in the
198:were a
84:Founded
79:Central
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104:Colors
66:League
200:minor
194:The
88:1992
54:City
789::
352:,
341:^
329:.
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386:e
379:t
372:v
186:1
34:.
20:)
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