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
General manager	Jim Franseze
Head coach	John Romu

The Thunder Bay Northern Hawks are a Junior "B" ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They play in the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League. The Northern Hawks are three time Thunder Bay Junior B and Northern Ontario Junior B champions.

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 were Western Canadian Keystone Cup Bronze Medal finalists. 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.

Season-by-Season Standings

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	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
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

External links

• Official Site