Sturgeon Falls native Moe Mantha has been hired as the new head coach of the Saginaw Spirit.
The Spirit, who fell 4-1 to the Battalion at Memorial Gardens last Thursday, sit in the eighth spot in the OHL’s Eastern Conference.
Mantha returned to Northern Ontario this summer and took over as head coach and general manager for the French River Rapids expansion NOJHL team based out of Noelville.
The Rapids team has struggled to a 1-40-1-1 record and last place in the 12-team NOJHL, but despite the record, it was widely known throughout the league that he was very well respected by his players and his coaching staff.
Mantha confirmed the hiring via text this morning.
“Yes, I am on the road traveling there now,” stated Mantha.
Mantha had been named a Northern Ontario scout for Saginaw this summer after operating a NAHL team in Michigan for five years.
The former NHLer who has coached in the OHL with both the Spirit and Windsor Spitfires, is expected to make his coaching debut Wednesday night when the Spirit host the Sarnia Sting Wednesday night.
Mantha replaces outgoing coach Greg Gilbert, who was let go after a 0-6-1-1 run that included a 11-4 loss to the Sarnia Sting on Monday.
Spirit GM David Drinkill stated in a release that Mantha is coming in to coach the club for the rest of the season.
“At the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, I will be doing an extensive search to find the next Head Coach of the Saginaw Spirit,” Drinkill stated in a release.
“I want to go through a thorough process making sure we have the right leader and teacher in place for our team to be successful on and off the ice moving forward.
“Sometimes all a team needs when they are struggling is a new message by a new messenger and I have confidence that Moe will get the best out of our players down the stretch and into the playoffs.”
Spirit President and Managing Partner Craig Goslin says Mantha comes from a hockey family.
“He is a positive, high energy head coach with 20+ years of coaching experience,” Goslin said in a release.
“We are grateful that he was able to adjust from his scouting position with us to fill the role behind the bench as our interim head coach. Our obligation and commitment is to our player’s development both on and off the ice. We believe in our players and their ability to compete at a very high level.”
The Mantha family was also a local group which attempted purchase the Mississauga IceDogs franchise back in 2006-2007, but was outbid by a group out of Niagara.
