Soo Eagles

Soo Eagles
City	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States
League	North American Hockey League
Division	North
Founded	1962
Home arena	Pullar Stadium
Colors	Black, Yellow, and White
General manager	Bruno Bragagnolo
Head coach	Bruno Bragagnolo
Franchise history
1962-2003	Espanola Eagles
2003-2006	Northern Michigan Black Bears
2006-2007	Soo Indians
2008-Present	Soo Eagles

The Soo Eagles are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. They are a part of the North American Hockey League.

History

Eagles era(s)

The Eagles existed four different times. From 1962 until 1971, Espanola joined the NOJHL as it was formed and stayed until a year before it folded due to lack of enough competition. They joined the local NOHA Junior "B" league. In 1972, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves walked away from the league to join the Ontario Hockey League. They reemerged in 1978 and stayed until 1988. They came back from 1991 until 1995. Their last stint in the league lasted from 1998 until 2003. Espanola, a very small Northern town, always struggled to keep the team viable and competitive. They were never an overly successful team, but they did win the 1963 McNamara Trophy as league champions. In their last season (2002–03), they won only 5 games the whole season. Their last win was against the Sudbury Northern Wolves. At the end of that season, the Screaming Eagles were bought and were relocated to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Most players did not follow, and moved on to other teams.

Black Bears era

As the Northern Michigan Black Bears, the franchise celebrated some of its most successful hockey in years. After 3 winning seasons and a trip to the league finals in 2004-05, the ownership group decided to sell the financially unstable team.

Indians era

In late summer of 2006, New York Land developer Charles Perdicaro bought and renamed the black bears the Soo Indians. Perdicaro hired Jim Capy to coach the Indians. The Indians are made up of players from all over the United States, including players from Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Illinois. Over Christmas break Perdicaro fired Capy and his staff due to "philosophical differences" and hired Kevin Cain to take over.

The Soo Indians went on to win the NOJHL's McNamara Trophy as 2007 playoff champions but were not successful at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.

In Spring 2007, Perdicaro put the Indians up for sale. Perdicaro failed to find a buyer and were not able to ice a team for the 2007-08 season.

Eagles era

The Indians were sold in early 2008, and changed their name to the Soo Eagles. They began play in 2008-09.

Capping the 2010-2011 season, the Soo Eagles finished with a 37-10-3 record, 2nd in the West Division behind the Soo Thunderbirds; 2nd overall in the NOJHL. Brian Depp, a native of Fenton, Michigan, led the Eagles in scoring with 73 points, tied for 3rd in the NOJHL.

The Eagles began the 2010-11 playoffs with a matchup against the Blind River Beavers. The Eagles disposed of the Beavers in 5 games, gliding to the West Division Final against their rivals, the Soo Thunderbirds. The Eagles upset the regular-season champion Soo Thunderbirds winning in 6 games in a hard fought series.

The Eagles faced off in a best-of-seven playoff series against the Sudbury Jr. Wolves for the 2010-11 NOJHL title. They won the title in six games. This win put them into the Dudley Hewitt Cup Championship, finishing third.

On March 2, 2012, the Soo Eagles announced that they were leaving the NOJHL for the North American Hockey League. The Eagles bought the franchise rights of the Traverse City North Stars to make the move possible.

Season-by-season results

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1962-63	40	25	14	1	-	197	143	51	2nd NOJHA	Won League
1963-64	40	25	14	1	-	216	157	51	3rd NOJHA	Lost Semi-final
1964-65	40	22	17	1	-	185	195	45	3rd NOJHA	Lost Semi-final
1965-66	40	21	19	0	-	227	221	42	4th NOJHA	Lost Semi-final
1966-67	40	3	37	0	-	121	355	6	5th NOJHA	DNQ
1967-68	40	9	30	1	-	139	226	19	5th NOJHA	DNQ
1968-69	48	9	37	2	-	147	285	20	5th NOJHA	DNQ
1969-70	48	16	30	2	-	215	265	34	4th NOJHA	Lost Semi-final
1970-71	48	10	36	2	-	154	317	22	5th NOJHA	DNQ
1971-78	NOHA Jr. B Standing Not Available
1978-79	40	5	35	0	-	--	--	10	6th NOJHL
1979-80	40	4	34	2	-	203	383	10	6th NOJHL
1980-81	40	15	20	5	-	222	282	35	4th NOJHL
1981-82	42	14	27	1	-	207	251	29	7th NOJHL
1982-83	42	21	19	2	-	234	250	44	4th NOJHL
1983-84	40	4	32	4	-	211	430	10	6th NOJHL
1984-85	40	8	28	4	-	221	377	20	6th NOJHL
1985-86	41	8	33	0	-	211	446	16	7th NOJHL
1986-87	37	4	31	2	-	169	316	10	4th NOJHL
1987-88	39	6	31	2	-	172	315	14	5th NOJHL
1988-91	Franchise on Hiatus
1991-92	48	10	37	1	-	177	371	21	6th NOJHL
1992-93	48	11	37	0	-	163	345	22	6th NOJHL
1993-94	40	23	16	1	-	272	206	47	2nd NOJHL
1994-95	48	6	39	3	-	173	389	15	7th NOJHL
1995-98	Franchise on Hiatus
1998-99	40	8	30	2	-	150	281	18	6th NOJHL
1999-00	40	4	34	2	-	128	329	10	5th NOJHL
2000-01	40	8	29	1	2	99	200	19	6th NOJHL
2001-02	42	13	27	0	2	168	294	28	6th NOJHL
2002-03	48	5	43	0	-	140	404	10	7th NOJHL
2003-04	48	25	17	5	1	199	170	56	5th NOJHL
2004-05	48	28	13	4	3	174	126	63	3rd NOJHL	Lost Final
2005-06	48	27	15	3	3	180	142	60	4th NOJHL	Lost Semi-final
2006-07	48	31	15	-	2	193	145	64	1st NOJHL	Won League
2007-08	Did Not Participate
2008-09	50	26	21	-	3	257	209	55	4th NOJHL
2009-10	50	27	18	-	5	224	213	59	5th NOJHL	Lost Semi-final
2010-11	50	37	10	-	3	256	159	77	2nd NOJHL	Won League
2011-12	50	35	11	-	4	290	171	74	2nd NOJHL

External links

• Eagles New Webpage