Thunder Bay Flyers - History

History

On July 6, 1980, the Degagne Buccaneers and Thunder Bay North Stars were informed by the TBAHA that they would not be permitted to field teams in the 1980-81 City League. On July 10, 1980, the executive of the Thunder Bay Kings would be formed and gave life to the city's premier junior squad for the next twenty years.

From 1980 until 1982, the Kings played in the Thunder Bay Hockey League with the Allan Cup-contending Senior "A" Thunder Bay Twins, the Hardy Cup-contending Intermediate "A" Thunder Bay Blazers, and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union's Lakehead University Nor'westers. Their first season saw them finish in second and meet the Intermediate Blazers in the league semi-final, which the Kings won 3-games-to-2. In the finals, they were swept by the Senior Twins 4-games-to-none. In the second year, the Flyers finished in third and drew the Blazers again. The defeated the Intermediates 3-games-to-1, to meet Lakehead University in the final. Lakehead shockingly upset the Twins 3-games-to-1 in the other semi. The Kings won the final in seven games to win the City Championship.

In 1982, the Thunder Bay Hockey League was disbanded. The Blazers folded into the Twins, and the Twins joined Manitoba's Central Senior A Hockey League. The Kings, with the newly formed Thunder Bay Hornets and the Schreiber North Stars Junior "B" hockey teams, the formed the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League. The Kings won the league in 1983. In the 1983-84 season, the North Stars were replaced by the Jr. B Thunder Bay Maple Leafs. The Kings celebrated an 18-game perfect season before winning the city championship for the third straight year.

In 1984, the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded. The Kings changed their name to the Thunder Bay Flyers and jumped to the United States Hockey League. The Hornets and Maple Leafs merged under the Thunder Bay Hornets banner and jumped to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

After the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded in 1984, hockey players of the Hockey Northwestern Ontario region were left with few choices on where to play. Many players made the jump to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League or the current version of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, some even made the jump to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Due to the region where Thunder Bay is, the league is closer to Manitoba and Minnesota than the closest franchises in the other Ontario Junior "A" Leagues.

With no leagues for the abundancy of top level players in Northwestern Ontario, to help stop the exporting of players to other regions, the Thunder Bay Flyers of the dead Thunder Bay League were kept alive. With no cost effective regional leagues to travel to play in, the closest being in Manitoba, the Flyers jumped the border—they played in the top tier of American junior hockey, the United States Hockey League, with great success. From entering the league in 1984-85 to their exit after the 1999-2000 season, the Flyers are credited with four Anderson Cup regular-season titles in five years (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992) and two straight Clark Cup playoff championships in 1988 and 1989. No team under the leadership of Dave Siciliano (who coached in Thunder Bay from 1986-1993) finished lower than fourth or won less than 31 games out of a 48-game season.

Although their regular season were in the USHL, they came back to Canada for the playoffs to compete against the OPJHL and the NOJHL for the right to represent Ontario at the Centennial Cup. The Flyers won the Dudley Hewitt Cup in 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1995 to compete for the National title, they also made the 1988 Centennial Cup by default. The Flyers have also won 2 National titles. They won the 1989 Centennial Cup, defeating the Summerside Western Capitals then of the Island Junior Hockey League 4-1 in the final game, and they won the 1992 Cup, destroying the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League 10-1 in the Cup final after smoking the Halifax Mooseheads (Maritime Junior A Hockey League) 8-1 in the semi-final.

The Flyers played their last game in 2000. The end of the Flyers sparked the creation of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. The SIJHL was created in 2001 to continue the tradition of the old Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League—a multiple team, self-dependent, local Junior "A" hockey League. The league has been successful since its founding with its top team being the Fort William North Stars. The departure of the Flyers also sparked the creation of the very successful Lakehead University Thunderwolves men's hockey program; playing in the Ontario Universities Athletics Conference of the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport).