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Thunder Bay North Stars

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Thunder Bay North Stars
CityThunder Bay, Ontario
LeagueSuperior International Junior Hockey League
Founded2000
Home arenaFort William Gardens
ColoursGreen, gold, black, and white
       
Owner(s)Scott and Kris Kellaway
General managerScott Kellaway
Head coachRob DeGagne (2017–18)
WebsiteOfficial Website
Franchise history
2000–2002Thunder Bay Wolves
2002–2003Fort William Wolves
2003–2010Fort William North Stars
2010–presentThunder Bay North Stars
Championships
Playoff championships6: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2019)

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

History

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After the fall of the Thunder Bay Flyers in 2001, the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) 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 team rebranded as the North Stars. The team won both the regular season and the playoff titles from 2004 through 2006.

2011 North Stars in action

Their first trip to the Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Championship in 2004 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 (NOJHL) 5–4, lost again to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL)'s Aurora Tigers 4–0, and defeated the NOJHL's Soo Thunderbirds 7–4 to make the semifinal. In the semifinal, the Stars were defeated by the North Bay Skyhawks for the second time in the tournament, losing 3–2.

In their second Dudley Hewitt Cup in 2005, the North Stars finished second in the round-robin, defeating the OPJHL's St. Michael's Buzzers 6–4, losing to the host OPJHL Georgetown Raiders 4–0, and then beating the North Bay Skyhawks 8–2. The semifinal was a rematch with the Buzzers, who avenged their previous loss with a 6–2 victory.

After winning their third straight off league championship in 2006, the Stars competed in their third straight Dudley Hewitt Cup, which they had already qualified for after being selected as the host team. Going into the playoffs, the Stars finished the regular season with a 50–2–0–0 record and the best in the entire Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The Stars took out the K&A Golden Hawks four games to none and then swept the Dryden Ice Dogs in the four-game final for league title. Hosting the 2006 event, the team beat up the NOJHL's Sudbury Jr. Wolves 6–1, but were then defeated by the tournament favourite[citation needed] St. Michael's Buzzers 7–1. In the final round-robin game, the Stars played the SIJHL runner-up Dryden Ice Dogs and beat them 3–0. Fort William and Sudbury both finished with 2–1 records, but the Stars received a bye to the championship game via tiebreaker. Sudbury then defeated Dryden 5–4 in the semifinal to face the North Stars again in the championship. The Stars and Wolves were tied 6–6 at the end of regulation time. The Stars scored quickly in overtime to win their first Dudley Hewitt Cup and a berth in the 2006 Royal Bank Cup national championship. 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.

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 Stars defeated the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Yorkton Terriers in a 2–1 victory to advance to a semifinal game. Up 2–0 with less than two minutes to go in the semifinal against the Burnaby Express, the Express scored two quick goals to send the game into overtime. Roughly a minute into the overtime, the Express eliminated the North Stars.

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 to a new ownership group, led by Doug Gunsinger. The team name was changed to the Thunder Bay North Stars. In 2015, the team ownership was sold to Scott and Kris Kellaway.[1]

Season-by-season results

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Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts Results Playoffs
2000–01 30 7 20 3 0 14 5th TBJBHL Did not qualify
2001–02 48 4 42 2 0 111 289 10 5th SIJHL Did not qualify
2002–03 52 23 19 5 5 211 193 56 4th SIJHL Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Bulldogs)
2003–04 48 40 6 1 1 270 119 82 1st SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Bulldogs)
Won League Finals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs)
2004–05 48 42 2 4 0 322 66 88 1st SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Golden Hawks)
Won League Finals, 4–0 (Borderland Thunder)
2005–06 52 50 2 0 0 353 101 100 1st SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Golden Hawks)
Won League Finals, 4–0 (Dryden Ice Dogs)
Won Dudley Hewitt Cup
2006–07 50 41 6 3 0 307 132 85 1st SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs)
Lost League Finals, 1–4 (Diesels)
2007–08 50 35 11 1 3 218 134 74 2nd SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Bearcats)
Lost League Finals, 3–4 (Ice Dogs)
2008–09 50 39 7 4 307 129 82 1st SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–3 (Diesels)
Won League Finals, 4–1 (Bearcats)
2009–10 52 45 5 2 270 104 92 1st SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Flyers)
Won League Finals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs)
2010–11 56 32 21 3 191 163 67 4th SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 4–1 (Flyers)
Lost Semifinals, 0–4 (Wisconsin Wilderness)
2011–12 56 31 19 6 242 156 68 3rd SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Clydesdales)
Lost Semifinals, 0–4 (Wisconsin Wilderness)
2012–13 56 28 27 1 165 206 57 4th SIJHL Lost Quarterfinals, 1–2 (Iron Rangers)
2013–14 56 40 11 5 253 180 85 2nd SIJHL Lost Seeding game, 6–4 (Lakers)
Lost Semifinals, 2–4 (Iron Rangers)
2014–15 56 27 25 4 200 227 58 4th SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 3–0 (Miners)
Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Lakers)
2015–16 56 28 24 4 186 209 60 3rd SIJHL Lost Semifinals, 2–4 (Ice Dogs)
2016–17 56 31 19 6 202 183 68 2nd of 6 SIJHL Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Miners)
2017–18 56 38 13 5 253 164 81 3rd of 6 SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 3–0 (Iron Rangers)
Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Norskies)
Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Ice Dogs)
2018–19 56 49 5 2 363 122 100 1st of 6 SIJHL Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs)
Won League Finals, 4–1 (Miners)
2019–20 54 34 16 4 239 195 72 1st of 6 SIJHL Season cancelled
2020–21 4 1 2 1 17 19 3 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2]
2021–22 41 21 16 3 1 153 147 46 4th of 7 SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 3-0 (Lumberjacks)
Lost Semiinals, 0-4 (Fighting Walleyes)
2022–23 54 27 20 3 1 179 159 61 4th of 7 SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Miners)
Lost Semiinals, 3-4 (Ice Dogs)
2023–24 49 32 12 3 2 221 153 69 3rd of 8 SIJHL Won Quarterfinals, 4-0 (Lumberjacks)
Lost Semiinals, 1-4 (Bombers)

Dudley Hewitt Cup

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Central Canada Jr. A Championships
NOJHLOJHLSIJHL – Host
Round-robin play with 2nd vs. 3rd in semifinal to advance against 1st in the championship game.

Year Round-robin Record Standing Semifinal Championship
2004 L, North Bay Skyhawks (NOJHL/Host), 5–6
L, Aurora Tigers (OPJHL), 0–4
W, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 2–1
1–2–0 3rd of 4 L, North Bay Skyhawks, 2–3
2005 W, St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL), 6–4
L, Georgetown Raiders (OPJHL/Host), 0–4
W, North Bay Skyhawks (NOJHL), 8–2
2–1–0 2nd of 4 L, St. Michael's Buzzers, 2–6
2006
Host
W, Sudbury Jr. Wolves (NOJHL), 6–1
L, St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL), 1–7
W, Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL), 3–0
2–1–0 1st of 4 W, Sudbury Jr. Wolves, 7–6 (OT)
Dudley Hewitt Champions
2009 W, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 2–0
W, Kingston Voyageurs (OPJHL), 1–0
L, Schreiber Diesels (SIJHL/Host), 2–5
2–1–0 2nd of 4 W, Schreiber Diesels, 4–3 L, Kingston Voyageurs, 1–4
2010 OTW, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL/Host), 3–2
OTL, Abitibi Eskimos (NOJHL), 3–4
OTL, Oakville Blades (OPJHL), 1–2
1–0–2 2nd of 4 W, Soo Thunderbirds, 3–0 L, Oakville Blades, 1–2
2012
Host
OTL, Stouffville Spirit (OJPHL), 1–2
L, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 3–4
OTW, Wisconsin Wilderness (SIJHL), 3–4
1–1–1 3rd of 4 L, Soo Thunderbirds, 5–8
2018 W, Cochrane Crunch (NOJHL), 4–0
L, Wellington Dukes (OJHL), 1–4
W, Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL/Host), 2–1
2–1–0 2nd of 4 L, Wellington Dukes, 3–6
2019 L, Cochrane Crunch (NOJHL/Host), 1–4
L, Hearst Lumberjacks (NOJHL), 0–3
L, Oakville Blades (OJHL), 4–9
0–3–0 4th of 4

Royal Bank Cup

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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 Championship.

Year Round-robin Record Standing Semifinal Championship
2006 L, Streetsville Derbys (host), 2–3
2OTW, Joliette Action (Eastern), 4–3
L, Burnaby Express (Pacific), 2–3
W, Yorkton Terriers (Western), 2–1
2–2 3rd of 5 OTL, Burnaby Express, 2–3

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "Father-and-son team take over North Stars ownership". TBNewswatch.com. 31 July 2015.
  2. ^ "SIJHL CANCELS 2020-21 SEASON". SIJHL. March 1, 2021.
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