Dunedin Thunder

Last updated
Dunedin Thunder
Dunedin Thunder logo.png
City Dunedin
League New Zealand Ice Hockey League
Founded2008
Operated2008–present
Home arena Dunedin Ice Stadium
ColoursGreen, yellow, white, black
    
General managerRichard Audas
Head coachJeff Avery
CaptainGints Leitis
Website www.dunedinthunder.co.nz
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2013)
NZIHL Champion0

The Dunedin Thunder, currently the Phoenix Thunder for sponsorship reasons, is an ice hockey team based in Dunedin, New Zealand and are members of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. The club plays their home games at the Dunedin Ice Stadium. The Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the league as an expansion team. The clubs won their first regular season title in 2013 and have finished as runner-up in the playoffs in 2013 and 2014, losing on both occasions to the Canterbury Red Devils.

Contents

History

The Dunedin Thunder playing against the West Auckland Admirals, July 2021 Dunedin Thunder v West Auckland Admirals, 03 July 2021 (1).jpg
The Dunedin Thunder playing against the West Auckland Admirals, July 2021

The Dunedin Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the New Zealand Ice Hockey League, expanding the league to five teams. [1] In their debut season the Thunder finished the regular season in last place, managing only one win from their 12 games. [2] The team repeated their last place finish in the 2009 season, again finishing the season with only a single win. [3] The Thunder improved from 2010 to 2012, finishing the regular season in fourth on two occasions and third in the 2012 season. [4] [5] [6] In 2013 the Thunder claimed their first regular season title after finishing on 32 points and edging out the Canterbury Red Devils only on win percentage. [7] The team advanced to the final against the Red Devils however lost the game 3–7. [7] The following season the Thunder returned to the finals after finishing the regular season in second place. [8] The team however went on to lose for the second year in a row to the Red Devils. [8] In the 2015 season the Thunder finished the regular season in fourth place and failed to qualify for the playoffs. [9]

Season by season results

SeasonGPWOTWTOTLLGFGAPTSFinishPlayoffRef
2008 121–0–11309145thDid not qualify [2]
2009 161–0–154214225thDid not qualify [3]
2010 1634–187184184thDid not qualify [4]
2011 1632–01178108134thDid not qualify [5]
2012 1681–257765283rdDid not qualify [6]
2013 1684–048766321stLost final (Canterbury Red Devils) [7]
2014 16100–157267312ndLost final (Canterbury Red Devils) [8]
2015 1650–01166108154thDid not qualify [9]
2016 1620–014449465thDid not qualify [10]
2017 1663–077360243rdDid not qualify [11]
2018 1661–187273213rdDid not qualify [12]
2019 1642–0104575164thDid not qualify [13]
2020 830–05355092ndPlayoffs not held [14]
20211431–28507113–Playoffs cancelled [15]

Players and personnel

Current roster

Team roster for the 2016 NZIHL season [16]

# Nat Name Pos S/G AgeAcquiredBirthplace
Flag of New Zealand.svg Felipe Aguirre F R252016
88 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jonas Barakauskas G L282015
6 Flag of New Zealand.svg Matas Barakauskas D L322015
Flag of New Zealand.svg Monty Brown F R262016
Flag of New Zealand.svg Tom Carson-Pratt F L242016
Flag of the United States.svg Brandon Contratto F R322016 West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States
12 Flag of New Zealand.svg Dylan Devlin D R272014 Dunedin, New Zealand
60 Flag of New Zealand.svg Kane Easterbrook G R352016
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Ferrari D R392016
Flag of New Zealand.svg Lachlan Frear F R262016
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ryan Gruszka F R272016 Belle River, Ontario, Canada
Flag of New Zealand.svg Connor Harrison F R302013 Arrowtown, New Zealand
22 Flag of New Zealand.svg Shaun Harrison F R292013 Auckland, New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand.svg George Hopkins D L252016
Flag of New Zealand.svg Liam Kinney F R252015
35 Flag of New Zealand.svg Noah Leahy D L252013 Dunedin, New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand.svg Seamus Leahy F L242015
25 Flag of France.svg Guillaume Leclancher D L342013 Maisons-Alfort, France
Flag of New Zealand.svg Daniel Lee G L262016
Flag of Latvia.svg Gints Leitis F L312016 Riga, Latvia
Flag of New Zealand.svg Gareth Lloyd F R302016
Flag of New Zealand.svg Jaime Meeuws F L2016
Flag of New Zealand.svg Joe Orr F L272012 Dunedin, New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand.svg Joel Scott F L272015
Flag of Finland.svg Otto Sillanpää F L282016 Säkylä, Finland
Flag of New Zealand.svg Jaan Turia F 2016
29 Flag of New Zealand.svg Hunter Waugh G L272016 Dunedin, New Zealand
19 Flag of New Zealand.svg Regan Wilson D R302009 Dunedin, New Zealand

Team captains

  • Andre Robichaud, 2013–2014 [17]
  • Gino Heyd, 2015 [18]
  • Gints Leitis, Ryan Gruszka, Connor Harrison, Regan Wilson 2016


Head coaches

General managers

Richard Audas

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References

  1. ↑ Zielger, Claire (2012-08-23). "Distinction for all seasons". Hewitt Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  2. 1 2 "NZIHL Team Standings 2007 - 2008". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  3. 1 2 "NZIHL Team Standings 2008 - 2009". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  4. 1 2 "NZIHL Team Standings 2009 - 2010". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  5. 1 2 "NZIHL Team Standings 2010 - 2011". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  6. 1 2 "NZIHL Team Standings 2011 - 2012". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  7. 1 2 3 "2013 New Zealand Ice Hockey League". New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  8. 1 2 3 "NZIHL Team Standings 2013 - 2014". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  9. 1 2 "NZIHL Team Standings 2014 - 2015". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  10. ↑ "New Zealand Ice Hockey League Final Ranking" (PDF). IIHF. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  11. ↑ "New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin" (PDF). IIHF. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  12. ↑ "New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin" (PDF). IIHF. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  13. ↑ "New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin" (PDF). IIHF. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  14. ↑ "New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin" (PDF). IIHF. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  15. ↑ "2021 New Zealand Ice Hockey League Div I". stats.iihf.com. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  16. ↑ "Dunedin Thunder". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  17. ↑ "Andre Robichaud". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  18. ↑ "Gino Heyd". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  19. ↑ "James van Leeuwen". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  20. ↑ "János Kaszala". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  21. 1 2 "Team Roster" (PDF). New Zealand Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  22. ↑ "Drew McMillian". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  23. ↑ "Pete Hurring". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  24. ↑ "Guillaume Leclancher". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
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