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36-939: In the Spring of 2013, their franchise rights were sold to the ownership group of the Minnesota Wilderness . The franchise joined the North American Hockey League for the 2003–04 season as the Texarkana Bandits . The team played in Texarkana from 2003 until the summer of 2006 when the team moved to the Greater St. Louis Metro Area. The team moved to the Hardees Ice Complex in Chesterfield, Missouri , filling

72-686: A 3–2 overtime loss to the British Columbia Hockey League 's Burnaby Express led by eventual NHL player Kyle Turris . The presence of the SIJHL in Northwestern Ontario marks the first time since the 1970s that the region has effectively supported a junior hockey league. In 2007, the SIJHL expanded east of Thunder Bay with the Schreiber Diesels and Marathon Renegades . A Wawa, Ontario , franchise

108-540: A USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II league. The Wilderness finished fourth in the National Championship round-robin, earning a berth into the semi-final. Despite leading 4–2 in the third, the Wilderness took too many penalties and lost their lead with seconds to go in the third period. The Alberta Junior Hockey League 's Brooks Bandits scored in overtime to win the game 5–4 eliminating the Wilderness. With

144-616: A full member of the SIJHL, on the road, against the Sioux Lookout Flyers , winning the game 3–2. On September 24, 2010, the Wilderness became the first American-based full membership SIJHL team to host a regular season game in the United States. The Wilderness defeated the Fort Frances Lakers 4–3. In 2011, the Wilderness won the league championship in their inaugural SIJHL season. In the summer of 2012,

180-572: A national championship and was their final game as members of the Superior International Junior Hockey League . In 2013, the Wilderness bought the franchise rights of the dormant St. Louis Bandits franchise to obtain entry into the NAHL. In July 2022, the Wilderness fired assistant coach Brendan Phelps over allegations that he solicited a 16-year-old boy for sex online. He was also temporarily suspended by

216-482: A strong year from the Bearcats and the Schreiber Diesels , both teams elected to cease operation in the summer of 2009. The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres claimed that they would be back for 2009–10, but their owners sold the rights to their players to teams across Canada. In a last-ditch effort, the town of Fort Frances bought the team and renamed them the Fort Frances Lakers , but were forced to find all new players due to

252-732: Is not abundant information on the subject, the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League may date back to the War Veterans and existed until 1980. From 1980 until 2000, the region ( Hockey Northwestern Ontario ) was represented by a single team at the junior A level: the Thunder Bay Flyers . The Flyers played their regular season games in the United States Hockey League (USHL), a USA Hockey junior A league, and returned to Canada for

288-713: The Centennial Cup , the Canadian Junior A championship. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the winner of each tier 2 junior A league across Canada shows up to the national championship. Founded in 2001, the SIJHL is successor of several former Thunder Bay junior A hockey leagues and teams. The Fort William War Veterans were the first representatives of the Thunder Bay region, winning the 1922 Memorial Cup as Canadian National Junior A Champions. Although there

324-851: The Dudley Hewitt Cup , the Wilderness announced that the 2013 Royal Bank Cup would be their final foray in Canadian junior hockey as they joined the North American Hockey League (NAHL) at the beginning of the 2013–14 season. At the Royal Bank Cup, Minnesota finished fourth in the round-robin with a 1–3 record. In the semifinal, they surrendered a 4–2 third period lead to the Alberta Junior Hockey League 's Brooks Bandits to lose 5–4 in overtime. Their loss to Brooks ended their hopes of

360-707: The Thunder Bay Wolves . In 2006, the Fort William North Stars won the Dudley Hewitt Cup with a 7–6 overtime win over the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League 's Sudbury Jr. Wolves to earn the team and the league its first regional title and its first shot at the national title in the 2006 Royal Bank Cup . The North Stars were eliminated in the Royal Bank Cup semifinal in Brampton, Ontario , with

396-571: The United States Center for SafeSport . Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League ( SIJHL ) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada . The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan . Winners of the SIJHL playoffs compete for

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432-935: The Canada-based Junior A Superior International Junior Hockey League for three seasons and in the American-based Tier III Minnesota Junior Hockey League . Prior to the 2013–14 season, the Wilderness' owners bought the franchise rights to the St. Louis Bandits of the Tier II North American Hockey League , and began play for that season. In 2024, the Minnesota Loons of the NA3HL were sold and moved from Breezy Point, Minnesota to Eveleth, Minnesota and renamed to

468-652: The Knights changed their name to the Wisconsin Mustangs . In 2006, the MnJHL was promoted to Tier III Junior A status by USA Hockey . From 2001 until 2003, the Knights had an interleague relationship with the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) of Hockey Canada . The 2009–10 season saw them back in an interlock with the SIJHL. On May 17, 2010, the Mustangs announced they were officially leaving

504-849: The Minnesota Wilderness, putting them under the same umbrella as the NAHL 's Minnesota Wilderness. Their logo will be the same. They will play in the West Division in the 3HL, which will allow them to still be one of the 5 Minnesota-Located teams in that Division. The organization was founded in 2000 as the Northwest Wisconsin Knights in Spooner, Wisconsin , as a Junior B team in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL). In 2004,

540-496: The MnJHL, their players were released to a dispersal draft. Soon after they applied for entry into the SIJHL. After a couple months of petitioning USA Hockey to join a Hockey Canada-sanctioned league, they were allowed entry. The team dropped the Mustangs logo, colors, and name as the organization entered the new league as the Wisconsin Wilderness . On September 17, 2010, the Wilderness played their first game as

576-854: The North Division title. The Bandits moved back to the South Division for the 2008–09 season. They once again moved to the Central Division for the 2010–11 season. The team hosted the Robertson Cup Championships at the Hardee's IcePlex in May 2008 where they became back-to-back National Championships. The 2008–09 season the Bandits headed to Mason City, Iowa for the Robertson Cup Championships and yet again took home

612-489: The SIJHL. The league sat at four teams. The two teams appealed the decision and won, officially giving the league six teams and making the league an international league. The Fort William North Stars were dominant early in 2010–11, but due to financial difficulties, the team was sold to new ownership and became the Thunder Bay North Stars. The Wisconsin Wilderness jumped into the lead mid-season and won

648-669: The Wilderness and Clydesdales gone, the Minnesota Iron Rangers were the remaining American team with membership in the league. In the spring of 2013, the SIJHL announced expansion to Ear Falls, Ontario , with the English River Miners and on July 11, 2013, admitted a new team in Spooner, Wisconsin , also called the Wisconsin Wilderness . The new Wilderness lasted one season. In the summer of 2014, commissioner and president Ron Whitehead

684-635: The Wisconsin Lumberjacks for the 2019–20 season. After several seasons of ownership issues and lack of player recruitment, the Minnesota Iron Rangers ceased operations for the 2019–20 season, returning the league to six teams. The 2019–20 season was then curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic with one week left in the regular season and no postseason tournaments were held. The ongoing pandemic border-crossing restrictions caused

720-494: The actions of the previous ownership. The Thunder Bay Wolverines elected to apply for promotion to the SIJHL for 2009–10 fresh off of their silver medal performance at the Keystone Cup Canadian Jr. B Championships. Back up to five teams, the SIJHL also made a 20-game interleague setup with the Minnesota Junior Hockey League 's Wisconsin Mustangs to diversify the league's competition. The 2010–11 season

756-399: The final to beat the Fort Frances Lakers in seven games. The 2012–13 season was a season of decline for the league's American expansion. During the off-season, USA Hockey allowed the league to transfer Iron Range to new ownership and rename it the Minnesota Iron Rangers . Wisconsin was sold and relocated into the same market as Duluth and renamed the Minnesota Wilderness . Three games into

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792-455: The league the team was the only expansion team to make the playoffs and would continue to make the playoffs every season. In May 2007 the St. Louis Bandits became NAHL champions and Tier II Junior A Hockey National Champions. The Bandits remained strong for the 2007–08 season and won back-to-back Robertson Cup Champions when they hosted it at the Hardee's IcePlex in May 2008. In 2009, the Bandits kept

828-664: The league's second ever Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Canadian champions. Minnesota Wilderness became the first American team to win the Dudley Hewitt Cup and the first to gain berth into the Royal Bank Cup Canadian Junior A Championship. After winning the Central Canadian Championship, it was announced that the Wilderness would leave the SIJHL at the end of the Royal Bank Cup to join the North American Hockey League ,

864-474: The most coveted award in the NAHL. The three-peat was clinched with a 3–2 overtime win against the West Division Champion, Wenatchee Wild . After going dormant in 2012, the Bandits' franchise rights were sold to the ownership of the Minnesota Wilderness of Cloquet, Minnesota in the Spring of 2013. The team had seen many successes since the Bandits began in 2003. In their first season in

900-511: The playoffs. The Flyers won the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Canadian Junior Champions in 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1995. The Flyers were also National Champions in 1989 and 1992, winning the Centennial Cup . The Flyers folded after the 1999–2000 USHL Season. The Northwestern Ontario region has also been represented in the past in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League . From 1968 until 1982, the city of Kenora , Ontario,

936-605: The regular season and playoff titles in their first season in the league. In the summer of 2011, the SIJHL elected to expand with the Iron Range Ironheads awaiting the permission of USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey . USA Hockey again denied the league. The decision was appealed and on July 12, 2011, expansion was allowed by USA Hockey as well as the continuation of the Duluth and Spooner franchises. Wisconsin won their second straight league title, coming from behind in

972-568: The rest of its season citing a lack of players through injuries and player defections to other leagues. Al Cresswell, team president, claimed that the shortage of players had become a health risk. Although the 2008–09 season did not see a return to Marathon, the SIJHL did add the Sioux Lookout Flyers . In the 2008 off-season, the Thunder Bay Bulldogs elected to retract to embolden the Thunder Bay Bearcats . Despite

1008-484: The season, the Sioux Lookout Flyers ceased operations and eventually their franchise when a scandal over the carding of players by their new general manager and coach left them without enough players to continue. In early 2013, the league, after multiple cancelled games, stripped the Duluth Clydesdales of their franchise. Then, after clinching their third regular season and playoff crowns, the Wilderness won

1044-638: The team relocated to Cloquet, Minnesota , and changed their name to the Minnesota Wilderness . On May 4, 2013, the Wilderness became the first American team to win the Dudley Hewitt Cup by defeating the St. Michael's Buzzers 4–3 in overtime in the Central Canada final. They also became the first American team to participate in the Royal Bank Cup tournament, the Canadian National Junior A championship. After winning

1080-744: The two American teams to withdraw from the 2020–21 season while the league added a new team called the Kam River Fighting Walleye . The five Canadian teams would play a few games in November and December 2020 along with two U18 minor teams , the Kenora Thistles and Thunder Bay Kings, to fill in the schedule before the season was cancelled entirely. In 2024, the Wisconsin Lumberjacks relocated from Spooner, Wisconsin , to Ironwood, Michigan , and were renamed

1116-462: The void left when the St. Louis Heartland Eagles of the USHL ceased operations at the end of the 2005 season. In 2007 & 2008, head coach and general manager Jon Cooper coached the team to back-to-back Robertson Cup National Championships. The team has made appearances in the NAHL playoff rounds each of their five years in the NAHL. In 2007 they claimed the South Division title and in 2008 claimed

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1152-628: The winning tradition alive by capturing the Robertson Cup for a third consecutive season when St. Louis beat the Wenatchee Wild in the championship game by a score of 3-2 with an overtime goal by Clinton Bourbonais. Minnesota Wilderness The Minnesota Wilderness are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Cloquet, Minnesota , and play in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The organization formerly fielded teams in

1188-458: Was also in the works, but never came to fruition. On December 17, 2007, the Schreiber Diesels folded mid-season claiming lack of fan support. On December 21, the team was bought by a group of local fans in an effort to keep the Diesels alive. The Marathon Renegades at one point were as high as third place in the SIJHL during the 2007–08 season, but after 37 games played were forced to cancel

1224-637: Was relieved of his post. Whitehead held his position from 2005 until 2014 and had been a member of the league executive since its inception in 2001. In 2011, Hockey Northwestern Ontario named Whitehead their Central Zone volunteer of the year. The league added a second team in Minnesota and their sixth franchise for 2016–17 season with the Thief River Falls Norskies . In 2019, the league added another team in Spooner, Wisconsin, called

1260-726: Was represented by the Kenora Muskies/Thistles and in the mid-1980s, Thunder Bay had an entry with the Thunder Bay Hornets . The folding of the Thunder Bay Flyers led to the rebirth of junior A hockey in the Thunder Bay region. The league started under the "Superior International" label in 2001 with five teams, including the Dryden Ice Dogs , First Nation Featherman Hawks , Fort Frances Borderland Thunder , Thunder Bay Bulldogs , and

1296-426: Was the tenth season of the SIJHL. The SIJHL received applications for expansion by two American teams: the Duluth Clydesdales and Wisconsin Mustangs . In June, the Thunder Bay Wolverines pulled out of the SIJHL. A few days later USA Hockey rejected the transfer bid by the Wisconsin Mustangs to join the SIJHL and the expansion bid of the potential of Duluth, Minnesota , despite approval by Hockey Canada and

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