Skip to main content

Des Moines Hockey: Oak Leafs (IHL, 1963-72)

Now for a random one: The 1971-72 Des Moines Oak Leafs, who played in the IHL for about 10 years after five years in the USHL. Always liked that nickname.

1971-72 Regular Season--Oak Leafs vs. Columbus Seals
     The Des Moines Oak Leafs enjoyed a 10-year run in the International Hockey League after five years in the USHL. The team played it's home games in Des Moines Ice Arena, and were affiliated with the New York Rangers in 1971-72. The Leafs were coached by Terry Slater, who would eventually coach 12 years at Colgate. The team's jerseys were nearly identical to the Minnesota North Stars, with the Oak Leaf logo on the front and "DES MOINES" written above the players' numbers. 
     Coming off a finals run in 1970-71, the Oak Leafs slipped to third place (out of four) in the Southern Division, with a 35-34-3 record. Their 73 points were safely miles ahead of woeful Columbus, but 25 points behind first place Dayton. 
     The Oak Leafs were third-best in the IHL in goals scored that year, notching 296 goals in 72 games. Leading the team was Duke Asmundson, who scored 35 goals and 81 points. Two other players scored 30+ goals (Jean-Rene Losier and Ken Sutyla), while four others had over 20.
     Des Moines' fortunes on the other side of the puck were not as successful. The team allowed the third-most goals in the league, 278. In spite of this stat, the team only used three netminders. Former NHLer and assistant coach Bob Perrault played 51 games that season. Not bad for someone over 40! Richard Dumas made it into 16 games, while Wayne Bell had 6 games.
     In the playoffs, Des Moines faced second-place Fort Wayne in the opening round. The Komets knocked off the Oak Leafs in four games (best of five), outscoring them 15-7.
     Decent program, with 36 pages (all black-and-white). Lots of ads, and the roster sheets were printed on yellow paper. Lots of game pictures against the Port Huron Flags, who the Leafs faced in the 1971 Turner Cup Finals. Again, love the nickname...probably because I'm a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

     After the season, the Oak Leafs would be renamed the Des Moines Capitals. They had their finest season in 1973-74, winning the regular season title and then the team's only Turner Cup in six games over Saginaw. However, they fell to fourth place in the South (31-38-7) and were knocked out in Round One of the postseason. Rising travel costs (their closest opponent was 495 miles away) and declining attendance forced the franchise to suspend operations after the 1974-75 season.

Sources:
Des Moines Oak Leafs Stats: 1971-72 (from hockeydb.com)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the playoffs in their inaugural cam
Post a Comment
Read more

Fort Wayne Komets (1967-68, IHL)

1967-68 Regular Season--Komets vs. Des Moines Oak Leafs      1967-68 was the sixteenth season of Fort Wayne Komets hockey, all in the IHL. The team was coached by Ken Ullyot, who had been with the franchise since 1958. The Komets played      Having lost to Toledo in the 1967 Turner Cup Finals, the Komets slipped to fourth place in '67-68. While Muskegon ran away with first place, the battle for the second-fifth slots was hotly contested. Fort Wayne finished 30-29-13, their 73 points one ahead of Toledo and just five behind second place Dayton.      The Komets were also in fourth place in offense, scoring 282 times that year. Fort Wayne legend Len Thornson led the team with 38 goals and 97 points. Three others, Bob Baird, Randy Gates and Merv Dubchak, joined Thornson in the 30+ goal club. Three others scored at least 20 goals.      The Komets had the second-best defense in the IHL that season, allowing just 272 goals. Fort Wayne used three different goaltenders that year. Rob
Post a Comment
Read more

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region's economy tanked
Post a Comment
Read more