Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye
| Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Lakehead Junior Hockey League |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Home arena | Thunder Bay Tournament Centre |
| Colors |
Black, Orange, and White |
| Owner(s) | Derek Geddes (2017) |
| General manager | Derek Geddes (2017) |
| Head coach | Dale Savela (2017-18) |
| Franchise history | |
| 2009-2017 | Thunder Bay Stars |
| 2017-present | Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye |
The Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They play in the Lakehead Junior Hockey League and are eligible to compete for the Keystone Cup, Junior B Championship of Western Canada.
History
The Thunder Bay Stars joined the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League in 2009. The team was formed after the K&A Wolverines accepted an invitation to play Junior A in the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
In both 2010 and 2011, the Stars finished third in the regular season, but managed to upset the second place Nipigon Elks in the league semi-finals to earn entrance into the league finals. In both cases, the Stars were defeated by the Thunder Bay Northern Hawks.
At the end of the 2016-17 season long time Stars owners Dave and Scott Simpson sold the franchise to Derek Geddes. The team was rebranded as the Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye.
For the 2018 season BC, Alta, and Sask elected not to participate in the Keystone Cup. As a result the tournament was reorganized to feature the LJHL & KJHL champion and runner up. Although the Thunder Bay hawks won the LJHL championship, the new format allowed the Fighting Walleyes make their first Keystone Cup tournament.
Season-by-season standings
| Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Results | Playoffs |
| 2009-10 | 30 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 123 | 222 | 3rd of 3 TBJBHL | Won Semi-final, 3-1 (Elks) Lost Finals, 0-4 (Northern Hawks) |
| 2010-11 | 30 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 22 | 123 | 161 | 3rd of 4 TBJBHL | Won Semi-final, 3-1 (Elks) Lost Finals, 0-4 (Northern Hawks) |
| 2011-12 | 32 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 30 | 149 | 171 | 3rd of 5 TBJBHL | Lost Semi-final, 2-3 (Elks) |
| 2012-13 | 32 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 29 | 140 | 143 | 3rd of 5 TBJBHL | Lost Semi-final, 3-4 (Elks) |
| 2013-14 | 30 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 34 | 123 | 104 | 2nd of 4 TBJBHL | Won Semi-final, 4-1 (Elks) Lost Final, 1-4 (Northern Hawks) |
| 2014-15 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 30 | 149 | 132 | 2nd of 4 TBJBHL | Won Semi-final, 4-1 (Elks) Lost Final, 0-4 (Northern Hawks) |
| 2015-16 | 32 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 54 | 210 | 81 | 1st of 5 TBJBHL | Won Semi-final, 4-0 (Falcons) Lost Final, 2-4 (Northern Hawks) |
| 2016-17 | 30 | 4 | 22 | 4 | 12 | 114 | 231 | 3rd of 4 LJHL | Lost Semi-final, 1-4 (Elks) |
| 2017-18 | 28 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 212 | 109 | 1st of 4 LJHL | Won Semi-final, 4-0 (Falcons) Lost Final, 1-4 (Northern Hawks) (advance as LJHL representative Northern Hawks are Hosts) |
Keystone Cup history
Western Canadian Jr. B Championships (Northern Ontario to British Columbia)
Six teams in round robin play.
| Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | Bronze Medal Game | Gold Medal Game |
| 2018(A) | W, Peguis Juniors 7-2 L, St. Malo Warriors 1-3 L, Thunder Bay Northern Hawks 3-9 | 1-2-0 | 3rd of 4 | L, Peguis Juniors 3-6 Bronze Medalist | Did not qualify |
- (A)BC, Alta, & Sask did not send teams to Keystone Cup