This article refers to the Saginaw Gears of the UHL. For the Saginaw Gears of the IHL, see Saginaw Gears (IHL)

Saginaw Gears (IHL)

The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league ice hockey franchise that played in the defunct International Hockey League . The Gears existed from 1972 to 1983...

.

The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 franchise that played in the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 (UHL). The Gears existed one season and part of another, from 1998 to December 19, 1999. On December 20, 1999, the team left Saginaw

Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 in the middle of the night and moved to Massillon

Massillon, Ohio

Massillon is a city located in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately 8 miles to the west of Canton, Ohio, 20 miles south of Akron, Ohio, and 50 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 32,149 at the 2010 census....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 to finish the season as the Ohio Gears. The team took their name from the Saginaw Gears (IHL)

Saginaw Gears (IHL)

The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league ice hockey franchise that played in the defunct International Hockey League . The Gears existed from 1972 to 1983...

 as part of a marketing plan by then owner, Dr. Khaled M. Shukairy, as an attempt boost poor attendance after two horrible seasons as the LumberKings. The Gears played their home games at Wendler Arena in the Saginaw Civic Center (now known as The Dow Event Center) in downtown Saginaw. Due to poor attendance, the team was moved by UHL commissioner Richard Brosal to Massillon Ohio after a new 6500 seat arena was to be built. The City of Massillon and Developers never followed through with the arena and the ownership were forced to dissolve and cease operations.

The Ohio Gears folded in the summer of 2000, after an unsuccessful resurrection attempt as the Arctic Xpress. Before becoming the Gears, the team was also known as the Saginaw LumberKings (1996–1998), Saginaw Wheels (1994–1996), and Chatham Wheels (1992–1994).