The Thunder Bay Flyers were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Thunder Bay , Ontario, Canada.
41-716: 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 was 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
82-674: A junior A ice hockey team from Thunder Bay , Ontario, Canada. They are a member of the Superior International Junior Hockey League . 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
123-428: A 2021 interview that, Winkler was "a bigger and more physical team and wanted to wear their black sweaters" as an intimidation tactic. As the home team with the first choice of colours, Siciliano's Flyers wore dark red jerseys and forced Winkler to change into light-coloured jerseys. Siciliano felt that worked in his team's favour as Winkler took penalties early in the game, and his team won by a 10-1 score giving Siciliano
164-618: A Junior "A" ice hockey team from Pembroke , Ontario , Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League and are the winningest team in CCHL (formerly CJHL) history as well as 2011 Royal Bank Cup National Junior A Champions. The Pembroke Lumber Kings are the oldest member of the CCHL, having begun operations in 1961. However, in 1979–80 the Lumber Kings were suspended for one season and replaced with
205-519: A berth in the cup finals based on goal difference among three teams tied for first place, then defeated Summerside by a 4–1 score in the final game to win the Centennial Cup. Siciliano summarized the game by saying, "our team speed and skill over powered Summerside and we were unfazed by the full house and their physical play"; and "believe[d] that team was one of the best junior teams to ever represent Thunder Bay". The Centennial Cup championship
246-701: A second Centennial Cup championship. The Flyers placed fourth overall in the 1992–93 season, defeated the St. Paul Vulcans by three games to two in the first round of the playoffs, then were defeated three games to one by the Omaha Lancers in the second round. In the Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs, the Flyers reached the semifinals but lost to the Chateauguay Elites . Siciliano resigned as coach of
287-486: Is titled Go Kings Go! A Century of Pembroke Lumber Kings Hockey . Sheldon Keefe wrote the afterword for Bramburger's book. Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points (*) denotes the removal of 9 points from Pembroke's totals by the CJHL for disciplinary reasons. The Lumber Kings lost their franchise prior to
328-768: 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
369-739: The Clark Cup as USHL playoffs champions. The Flyers then participated in the Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs to determine the Central Canada "Junior A" champion, and lost to the Pembroke Lumber Kings in four consecutive games in the final series. Since the Lumber Kings hosted the 1988 Centennial Cup tournament to determine the Canadian Junior A champion and received an automatic berth, the Flyers advanced to
410-706: The Eastern Canada Junior A championships (2006 as hosts), winning in 2007 and 2011, and finishing as finalists in 2006, 2008, and 2010. In 2011, the Pembroke Lumber Kings became only the second team since the 1976 Rockland Nationals to win the National Junior A championship. The team was led by owner, coach and general manager Sheldon Keefe , who had purchased the Kings in June 2006. Keefe announced on May 29, 2013, that he had sold
451-660: The Manitoba Junior Hockey League . However, due to Thunder Bay's location, the league was closer to Minnesota than the closest franchises in the other Ontario Junior "A" Leagues, and the Thunder Bay Flyers of the defunct Thunder Bay League survived by jumping the border to play in the top tier of American junior hockey, the United States Hockey League , and with some success. Dave Siciliano served as head coach of
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#1732786919819492-758: 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,
533-831: The Portage la Prairie Terriers . Under coach Bryan Murray the Kings won consecutive titles in 1977 and 1978. The 1977 team made it to the Centennial Cup Final, losing to the Prince Albert Raiders . Murray was fired by the Lumber Kings after the 1978 season. Three years later he was starting a long NHL coaching/general manager career as coach of the Washington Capitals . The Lumber Kings broke their own (shared) league record by winning five consecutive Art Bogart Cup championships from 2007 to 2011, appearing in five Fred Page Cup tournaments for
574-802: 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
615-634: The Art Bogart Cup championship series eight consecutive years, winning six titles. This included three consecutive championships from 1987 to 1989, tying the record for longest streak set by the Cornwall Royals (1966–1968). The Kings had previously won three Art Bogart Cups in the 1970s. The 1972–73 team was coached by Mac MacLean and made it to the Centennial Cup Canadian Junior A Final, losing 4 games to 1 to
656-525: The Centennial Cup tournament as the Dudley Hewitt Cup finalists. The tournament was the first appearance for the Flyers at the Centennial Cup, which saw them lose all three games played and finish in fourth place. Siciliano led the Flyers to 40 wins and placed first overall in the 1988–89 season, to win his second Anderson Cup. In the USHL playoffs, the Flyers defeated the Omaha Lancers in three games in
697-490: The Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs versus the Sudbury Cubs, which guaranteed them a berth in the 1991 Centennial Cup tournament since Sudbury was scheduled to host the upcoming national finals. Despite missing four players including their goaltender due to suspensions, the Flyers defeated Sudbury by a 5–1 score to give Siciliano his second Dudley Hewitt Cup championship. In his third appearance at the Centennial Cup tournament,
738-470: The Flyers after the 1992–93 season, but remained as the team's general manager for the next two seasons. The Flyers placed sixth overall in the 1993–94 season, lost in the first round of the USHL playoffs in six games to the Omaha Lancers, and were runners-up to the Chateauguay Elites in the Dudley Hewitt Cup finals. The Flyers placed fifth overall in the 1994–95 season, and lost in six games to
779-612: The Flyers from 1986 to 1993. He led the team to 35 wins and a second-place finish during the 1986–87 season. After defeating the Sioux City Musketeers in the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers lost three games to two versus the Madison Capitols in the second round. The Flyers won 40 games and placed first overall in the 1987–88 season, which gave Siciliano his first Anderson Cup as the USHL's regular season champion. Despite that his team had 13 rookies ,
820-536: The Flyers had the highest scoring offence in the league and the second best goals against average . The Ottawa Citizen credited the team's success to its skating ability, puck control and aggressive forechecking . The Flyers defeated the Madison Capitols by three games to one in the first round of the playoffs, then defeated the Rochester Mustangs by three games to one in the finals to win
861-644: The Flyers placed fifth with one win in four games. The Flyers won 36 games and placed first overall in the 1991–92 season to give Siciliano his fourth Anderson Cup. In the playoffs, the Flyers defeated the Rochester Mustangs in three consecutive games, then lost by three games to one versus the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the semifinals. The Flyers hosted the 1992 Dudley Hewitt Cup tournament in Thunder Bay. They placed second during
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#1732786919819902-575: The Flyers were not given respect in advance of the 1989 Centennial Cup , and said that "the host Summerside team commented at the coaches press conference that Thunder Bay couldn't be very strong since they played in an American-based league". During the round-robin stage of the tournament, the Flyers earned wins versus the Vernon Lakers and Moncton Hawks , and lost to the Summerside Western Capitals . The Flyers earned
943-643: 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. 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
984-598: 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
1025-400: The Pembroke Lumber Kings to former Calgary Flames player (9 games) and Eganville native Dale McTavish . With Keefe no longer in charge of ownership, general management and coaching duties, the Lumber Kings' success began to fade away, despite making the league finals in 2015, losing to Carleton Place ; and failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 13 years in 2017. The team
1066-466: The Pembroke Royals. The Pembroke Lumber Kings were approved to rejoin the league for 1980–81. The Pembroke Lumber Kings won a total of 14 Art Bogart Cup league championships between 1973 and 2011. Six of those championships came in the 1980s when the Kings were coached by Jim Farelli. Farelli coached 420 games for the Kings, the most of any coach in Lumber Kings history. His teams advanced to
1107-635: The Sioux City Musketeers in the first round of the playoffs. After Siciliano won his fourth Dudley Hewitt Cup when the Flyers defeated the Brampton Capitals in the championship game, his team lost to the Calgary Canucks in the 1995 Centennial Cup semifinals. The Flyers played their last game in 2000. The end of the Flyers resulted in the creation of the Superior International Junior Hockey League in 2001 to continue
1148-517: The Thunder Bay Flyers and jumped to the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Hornets and Maple Leafs merged under the Thunder Bay Hornets banner and jumped to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League . The Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded in 1984. Many former players made the jump to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League ; some went to the then existing version of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League ; and others to
1189-538: 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. 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
1230-639: The first round, then defeated the North Iowa Huskies in four games in the second round, then defeated the St. Paul Vulcans in five games to give Siciliano his second Clark Cup championship. The Flyers began the Canadian playoffs undefeated in eight games with series victories versus the Sudbury Cubs and the Pembroke Lumber Kings to give Siciliano his first Dudley Hewitt Cup. Siciliano recalled that
1271-496: 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,
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1312-525: 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
1353-687: The newly formed Thunder Bay Hornets and the Schreiber North Stars Junior "B" hockey teams, 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
1394-698: The round-robin, defeated the Joliette Nationals by a 5–2 score in the semifinals, then defeated the Kanata Valley Lasers by a 5–1 score in the finals, which gave Siciliano his third Dudley Hewitt Cup. At the 1992 Centennial Cup , the Flyers completed the round-robin with two wins and two losses, then defeated the Halifax Mooseheads by an 8–1 score to reach the finals versus the Winkler Flyers . Siciliano recalled in
1435-690: The second year, the Flyers finished in third and drew the Blazers again. They defeated the Intermediates 3-games-to-1, to meet Lakehead University in the final. Lakehead upset the Twins 3-games-to-1 in the other semi-final. 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, who joined Manitoba 's Central Senior A Hockey League. The Kings,
1476-613: The semifinals. Siciliano won his third Anderson Cup when the Flyers placed first overall in the 1990–91 season with 36 wins. In the playoffs, the Flyers defeated the North Iowa Huskies in three games in the quarterfinals, defeated the Dubuque Fighting Saints in three games in the semifinals, then lost by three games to one versus the Omaha Lancers in the Clark Cup finals. The Flyers reached the finals of
1517-571: The team ownership was sold to Scott and Kris Kellaway. Central Canada Jr. A Championships NOJHL – OJHL – SIJHL – Host Round-robin play with 2nd vs. 3rd in semifinal to advance against 1st in the championship game. 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. Pembroke Lumber Kings The Pembroke Lumber Kings are
1558-425: The tournament favourite 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
1599-732: The tradition of the old Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League as a purely local organization. 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). Thunder Bay North Stars The Thunder Bay North Stars are
1640-456: Was sold to Alex Armstrong in June 2019. Three books have been written about the history of the Pembroke Lumber Kings, two by author Harold Garton which primarily cover senior hockey in Pembroke until senior hockey ended in the early 1960s, and one by Jamie Bramburger which covers both junior and senior Lumber Kings hockey from 1905 to 2018. Garton's books are called Hockey Town Canada and Hockey Town Canada: The Golden Years ; Bramburger's book
1681-411: Was the first for both Siciliano and for any team from Northwestern Ontario . The Flyers won 31 games and placed third overall in the 1989–90 season. They defeated the St. Paul Vulcans in three games in the first round of the playoffs then were defeated three games to two by the Rochester Mustangs in the semifinals. In the Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs, the Flyers lost 4 games to 2 versus the Sudbury Cubs in