Coach Greg Gilbert fired by Saginaw Spirit; Mantha hired as interim replacement

By @MichaelCaples –

UPDATE: The Spirit announced 15 minutes after an initial press release announcing the firing of Greg Gilbert that scout Moe Mantha has been named interim head coach.

“Moe Mantha has been our Northern Ontario scout and is coming in to coach the rest of the year,” said Spirit GM Dave Drinkill in a press release.

“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. 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.”

Mantha has previously served as head coach of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program and the Michigan Warriors of the NAHL.

Original article:

After an eight-game losing streak, the Saginaw Spirit will begin looking for a new coach.

The OHL franchise announced today that head coach Greg Gilbert has been fired after four-plus seasons in Saginaw.

“The Saginaw Spirit would like to thank Greg Gilbert for all his hard work and dedication to the organization over the last five seasons.” said Spirit General Manager Dave Drinkill in a press release.

Gilbert, 54, was a mid-season hire for the Spirit during the 2011-12 season. He led the Spirit to a 20-10-0-6 finish, which earned him OHL Coach of the Year honors.

He finishes his time behind the bench with the Spirit with a 134-134-26 regular-season record and a 7-18 playoff record.

“After losing 8 straight games, the time has come to make a change behind the bench,” Drinkill said. “There is never an easy time for something like this to happen and it is the toughest part of the hockey industry. We want to wish Greg Gilbert all the best moving forward.”