Saginaw Spirit, MI - OHL Case Study

The Saginaw Spirit are coming off an impressive season in 2024, winning the Memorial Cup on home ice in Saginaw, Michigan. It was the Spirit's first Memorial Cup victory since the franchise moved to Saginaw in 2002. By winning, the Spirit became only the 13th team in OHL history to win the Cup on home ice. 

We had a chance to speak with Saginaw's Goalie & Tech Coach Rick Ice about the season and particularly on their decision to switch to GameStrat for live to bench replay. When Rick first got to Saginaw in 2021, Spirit Head Coach Chris Lazary was already looking for live to bench replay systems to get iPads on the bench. Rick details the process of shopping around different systems/options as a 'no-brainer'.

There was no hesitation really. Seeing the other options were either very expensive, or not quite what we wanted. GameStrat was exactly what we were looking for. 

Including Saginaw, GameStrat now works with 15/20 teams in the OHL. We asked Rick to give his input on what he would say to any team that is on the fence about implementing live to bench video technology within their program.

I highly suggest GameStrat. Using it the past 3 years it's been easy to use, easy to setup and it's been very efficient for us.

Having used the system for the last 3 years, the Spirit staff are now extremely well versed with GameStrat. However, Rick emphasized that the ease of use has allowed for smooth sailing since day one.

Following the instructions it was actually very simple to setup. It integrates very well with the software we use to clip games, so it's been simple from the first day all the way to the last day.

Rick mentioned the GameStrat system as being a great coaching tool for them. When a coach or player wanted to see a certain play, the staff was able to pull it up immediately thanks to GameStrat's seamless integration with their clipping software.

We got the most out of the in-game clipping. If our coaches need to go back and see a certain play or show a player a certain thing, they can make those adjustments and give that instant feedback.

Not only is it great to be able to access live feeds in a game, but having that instant feedback during practice proved to be very helpful for the Spirit all throughout the season as well. 

We use it in practice working on powerplay & penalty-killing. Having access to that footage in real time was huge for us throughout the season and allowed us to be more efficient with our time. 

Before we wrapped up our call with Saginaw's Tech Coach, he finished by telling us a story about how GameStrat was able to help other teams in the Memorial Cup tournament. Although 3/4 teams in the Memorial Cup were already GameStrat users, the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL were using XOS.

3/4 teams in this years Memorial Cup use GameStrat for bench replay.

When the Voltigeurs arrived in Michigan they immediately experienced issues with getting their system running and needed an alternative. Rick describes getting the team on board with the GameStrat system and getting them set up so they could receive live video.

They were having issues with XOS getting set up. I got them hooked up with GameStrat and from there they had a great feed with no problems.