Thunder Bay Northern Hawks
| Thunder Bay Northern Hawks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Home arena | Thunder Bay Tournament Centre |
| Colors | Black, Green, and White |
| Owner(s) | Frank Filice |
| General manager | John Saasto |
| Head coach | Josh Gribben |
The Thunder Bay Northern Hawks are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They play in the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League. The Northern Hawks are seven-time Thunder Bay Junior B and Northern Ontario Junior B champions and 2012 Keystone Cup Western Canadian Junior B silver medalists.
History
The Northern Hawks joined the Thunder Bay Junior B/Juvenile/AAA league in the fall of 1999 playing out of Norwest Arena. The team lost in the league Juvenile AAA final to the Thunder Bay Wolves that first season. The 2000-01 season saw the Northern Hawks win the Juvenile AAA Championship and move onto the Ontario Hockey Federation Juvenile AAA championship in Newmarket, Ontario. The Northern Hawks would capture a silver medal at the OHF event, this was one of Thunder Bay's strongest showings ever at the Juvenile AAA event.
With the creation of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL), the Northern Hawks moved up to Junior B for the 2001-02 season. The Northern Hawks are one-time Western Canadian Brewers Cup champions. They won the Junior C tournament in 2003 against comparable teams from across Western Canada.
In 2004 and 2005, the Hawks stepped up and won the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League championship and the Northern Ontario Regional Junior B Hockey Championship.
In 2004, the Northern Hawks played in the Western Canadian Keystone Cup Bronze Medal game. The Northern Hawks missed the Gold Medal Game by taking a tie to the Richmond Sockeyes in their final round robin game.
2003-04
The Thunder Bay Northern Hawks finished off the 2003-04 season with one of the best records in Thunder Bay junior hockey history, finishing an undefeated season with 22 wins and 2 ties. They went on to win the 2004 playoff championship as well as defeated the Wawa Travellers of the North of Superior Junior B Hockey League to win the Northern Ontario Regional Junior B Hockey Championship and earn the right to compete for the Keystone Cup.
The 2004 Keystone Cup was hosted by the Aguasabon River Rats of the North of Superior League and Schreiber, Ontario. In the first game, the Northern Hawks throttled Aguasabon 9-3. In the second game, the Hawks tied the Regina Capitals 4-4. Next, the Hawks lost to the Norway House North Stars 6-4, but returned the next game with a 3-1 win over the Red Deer Vipers. The fifth game of the round robin, for the Northern Hawks, was against the Richmond Sockeyes. The game resulted in a tie, but if Thunder Bay had of won they would have instantly been playing for the Gold Medal. The Northern Hawks faced Red Deer again in their final game, this time for the tournament's Bronze Medal. The Thunder Bay Northern Hawks lost the game 7-5. From this loss to the end of the 2008 Keystone Cup, no Thunder Bay League team had won a game at the Keystone Cup tournament.
2004-05
The Northern Hawks finished second overall in the 2004-05 season to the Aguasabon River Rats. The River Rats defected from the folding North of Superior League. In the league semi-final, the Northern Hawks defeated the Nipigon Elks 3-games-to-1. This set up a final between the Hawks and River Rats. The Northern Hawks defeated the River Rats 4-games-to-1 to win the league championship. With no other leagues in the region, the Northern Hawks were crowned Northern Ontario Jr. B champions and went on to the 2005 Keystone Cup in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
At the tournament, the first game for the Northern Hawks was a 4-1 loss to the Selkirk Fishermen. Next, the Hawks lost 8-5 to the Medicine Hat Cubs. In the third game, the Hawks were defeated by the Osoyoos Storm 6-2. After that, the Northern Hawks lost to both the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatoon Royals to close out their tournament winless.
2008-09
The Northern Hawks finished the 2008-09 season in second place in the Thunder Bay Junior B league. With a 14-15-1 record, the Northern Hawks had to begin the 2009 playoffs with a semi-final against the Nip-Rock Elks. The Hawks swept the series in 3 games. In the league final, the Northern Hawks were swept in 4 games by the K&A Wolverines. Because the Wolverines were hosting the Keystone Cup in 2009, the Northern Hawks were allowed to participate as the Hockey Northwestern Ontario branch representative.
At the Keystone Cup, the Hawks faced the Wolverines again in the first game. The Wolverines won 6-1. Later that night, the Norther Hawks lost 5-2 to the Prairie Junior Hockey League's Saskatoon Royals. The next day, the Northern Hawks lost to the Keystone Junior Hockey League's St. Malo Warriors 6-2. On the third day, the Northern Hawks lost 6-1 to the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League's Lloydminster Bandits, which eliminated them from medal contention. In the final round robin game, the Hawks lost 4-2 to the Pacific International Junior Hockey League's Richmond Sockeyes, who would eventually win the Keystone Cup in double overtime over the K&A Wolverines.
2011-12
The Northern Hawks finished first in the league with a 30-2-0 record in 2011-12. They blasted the Schreiber Falcons 3-games-to-none in a lopsided semi-final and then defeated the Nipigon Elks 4-games-to-1 to win the Thunder Bay championship in a very tight-fought series. The Northern Hawks shipped out to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the 2012 Keystone Cup. Despite leading 3-1 at one point, the Northern Hawks lost their first game to the Abbotsford Pilots of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League 7-4. The Northern Hawks then went on a tear, defeating the Host Saskatoon Royals 6-3, Keystone Junior Hockey League's Arborg Ice Dawgs 7-5, North West Junior Hockey League's Whitecourt Wolverines 7-4, and the Prairie Junior Hockey League's Pilot Butte Storm 3-1 to earn a berth into the gold medal game with a 4-1-0 record. After four hard fought victories, the Northern Hawks fell to the Pilots in the gold medal game 9-1. The Northern Hawks' silver medal is the league's second in four seasons after nothing from the 2000 Keystone Cup until the Wolverines won silver in 2009.
2013-14
The Northern Hawks finished first in the league again with only 1 regular season loss and one playoff loss. They took out the Schreiber Falcons 4 games to none in the semi finals. They then went on to demolish the stars in the finals, 4 games to 1, earning a berth into the Keystone Cup in Abbotsford BC. They started off beating the Manitoba branch champion, Selkirk Fisherman 2-1. They defeated the Saskatoon Quakers 4-3, with a nasty goal by rookie allstar Morgan Mckay, who single handedly walked their team and buried the game winning goal for the Hawks. The Hawks would fall to the Abbotsford Pilots, Beaver Valley Nite Hawks, and Blackfalds Wranglers in the rest of the round robin. They were granted a berth into the bronze medal game, where they almost had a late game comeback miracle, but came up short and lost 4-3, ending the tournament in 4th place.
Season-by-Season Standings
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Results | Playoffs |
| 2000-01 | 30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | - | - | - | 23 | 4th, TBJBHL | |
| 2001-02 | 22 | 2 | 19 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | 3rd, TBJBHL | |
| 2002-03 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | - | - | - | 24 | 3rd, TBJBHL | |
| 2003-04 | 24 | 22 | 0 | 2 | - | 196 | 52 | 46 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won league, 4th at Keystone Cup |
| 2004-05 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | - | 126 | 83 | 30 | 2nd, TBJBHL | Won league |
| 2005-06 | 30 | 14 | 13 | 3 | - | 178 | 130 | 31 | 3rd, TBJBHL | Lost Final |
| 2006-07 | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | - | 212 | 101 | 46 | 2nd, TBJBHL | Lost Final |
| 2007-08 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | - | 197 | 98 | 44 | 2nd, TBJBHL | Lost Final |
| 2008-09 | 30 | 14 | 15 | 1 | - | 120 | 115 | 29 | 2nd, TBJBHL | Lost Final |
| 2009-10 | 30 | 27 | 3 | 0 | - | 222 | 81 | 54 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won league |
| 2010-11 | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | - | 196 | 81 | 52 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won league |
| 2011-12 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 0 | - | 258 | 65 | 60 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won league, Silver at Keystone Cup |
| 2012-13 | 32 | 27 | 4 | 1 | - | 270 | 65 | 55 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won league |
| 2013-14 | 30 | 27 | 1 | 2 | - | 186 | 31 | 56 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won league, 4th at KC |
| 2014-15 | 30 | 28 | 1 | 1 | - | 189 | 51 | 57 | 1st, TBJBHL | Won semifinals, 4-0 (Falcons) Won League Finals, 4-0 (Stars) |
Keystone Cup
Western Canadian Jr. B Championships(Northern Ontario to British Columbia)
Six teams in round robin play. 1st vs 2nd for gold/silver & 3rd vs. 4th for bronze.
| Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | Bronze Medal Game | Gold Medal Game |
| 2014 | W, Selkirk 2-1 L, Abbotsford 1-5 W, Saskatoon 4-3 L, Blackfalds 4-8 L, Beaver Valley 0-4 |
2-3-0 | 4th of 6 | L, Blackfalds 3-4 | n/a |
| 2015 | ?, Man ?-? ?, Cold Lake Alb ?-? ?, Saskatoon Sask ?-? ?, Campbell River BC ?-? L, N Edmonton Alb ?-? |
?-?-? | tbd of 6 | n/a | n/a |