Thunder Bay North Stars

Thunder Bay North Stars
City	Thunder Bay, Ontario
League	Superior International Junior Hockey League
Founded	2000
Home arena	Fort William Gardens
Colours	Green, Gold, Black and White
Owner(s)	Scott and Kris Kellaway
General manager	Scott Kellaway
Head coach	Rob Degagne (2017-18)
Website	Official Website
Franchise history
2000-2002	Thunder Bay Wolves
2002-2003	Fort William Wolves
2003-2010	Fort William North Stars
2010-present	Thunder Bay North Stars
Championships
Playoff championships	5: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010)

The Thunder Bay North Stars are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

History

After the fall of the Thunder Bay Flyers in 2001, the Superior International Junior Hockey League was founded. The Thunder Bay Wolves, who had played for a short while in the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League, were a founding team, but after one season they changed their name to the Fort William Wolves. Fort William is one of the original names of the city of Thunder Bay. After two rather average seasons, the North Stars came to life. The team won both the regular season and the playoff titles from 2004 through 2006.

2011 North Stars in action

Their first trip (2004) to the Central Canadian Championship, the Dudley Hewitt Cup, saw them finish in third place. In the round robin, the Stars lost to the North Bay Skyhawks of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League 5-4, lost again to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League's Aurora Tigers 4-0, then came around to beat the NOJHL's Soo Thunderbirds 7-4 to make the semifinal. In the semi, the Stars kept it real close, but were not able to defeat the North Bay Skyhawks for the second time in the tournament, losing 3-2.

Their second Dudley Hewitt Cup (2005) saw them finish second in the round robin, but third overall. In the round robin they beat the OPJHL St. Michael's Buzzers 6-4, lose to the host OPJHL Georgetown Raiders 4-0, and then finally beat the North Bay Skyhawks with an 8-2 blowout. The semifinal put them up against the host Buzzers who put the boots to the Stars in a 6-2 victory.

After winning their third straight of league championship, the Stars competed in their third straight Dudley Hewitt Cup. Going into the playoffs, the Stars finished the regular season with a phenomenal 50-2-0-0 record—the best in the entire Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The Stars took out the K&A Golden Hawks 4 games-to-none and then swept the Dryden Ice Dogs in the four-game final as well. The Stars went to the Dudley on a high and kept rolling. Hosting the 2006 event, the team beat up the NOJHL's Sudbury Jr. Wolves 6-1, but were then thrown around by the tournament favourite St. Michael's Buzzers 7-1. In the final round robin game, the Stars played their SIJHL rival, Dryden Ice Dogs, and beat them 3-0. Fort William and Sudbury both finished with 2-1 records, but because the Stars won their game, the Stars received a bye to the finals. Dryden and St. Michael's also finished tied with a 1-2 record, but because the Ice Dogs shocked the Buzzers with an unlikely 3-2 victory, the powerhouse Buzzers were eliminated. Sudbury defeated Dryden 5-4 in the semifinal. The Stars and Wolves had a tight, but high-scoring game. With the game tied 6-6 it ended up going into overtime, where the Stars scored quickly to win their first Dudley Hewitt Cup and earn the right to compete in the 2006 Royal Bank Cup.

Captain Sean Bassingthwaite screens the net (2008)

The Stars began their first Royal Bank Cup with a loss to the host OPJHL Streetsville Derbys 3-2. The second game saw them defeat the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League's Joliette Action 4-3 in overtime. In the third game, the British Columbia Hockey League's Burnaby Express beat them 3-2. The fourth game had to be won to avoid the chance of elimination and to lock up 3rd seed in the semifinal. To do this, the Stars defeated the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Yorkton Terriers in a hard fought 2-1 victory. The semifinal saw the luck fade from the North Stars. Up 2-0 with less than two minutes to go in the semi against the Burnaby Express, the Express scored two quick goals to send the game into overtime. Roughly a minute into the overtime, the Express sniped again, eliminating the North Stars.

Nevertheless, the North Stars were the first team in SIJHL history to have ever won the Dudley Hewitt Cup or play in the Royal Bank Cup. This feat was repeated in 2013 when the Minnesota Wilderness defeated the St. Michael's Buzzers 4-3 in overtime to send them to the 2013 Royal Bank Cup.

For the 2007-08 season, the North Stars switched to a black, silver, and white colour scheme as opposed to their traditional green, yellow, black, and white.

In October 2010, the North Stars were sold. Their complete assets, roster, and name, were transferred to a new ownership group, led by Doug Gunsinger. The team name was changed to the Thunder Bay North Stars.

In the Summer of 2015 the team ownership was sold to Scott and Kris Kellaway.^[1]

Season-by-season results

Dudley Hewitt Cup

Central Canada Jr. A Championships
NOJHL – OJHL – SIJHL – Host
Round-robin play with 2nd vs. 3rd in semifinal to advance against 1st in the finals.

Royal Bank Cup

Canadian Jr. A National Championships
Dudley Hewitt Champions – Central, Fred Page Champions – Eastern, Doyle Cup Champion – Pacific, ANAVET Cup Champion – Western, and Host
Round-robin play with top four in semifinal games and winners to finals.

Notable alumni

• Robert Bortuzzo (2005-2006)
• Carter Hutton (2003-2006)

References

External links

• Thunder Bay North Stars website
• @TBNorthStars