Soo Thunderbirds

For the defunct EPHL team, see Sault Thunderbirds.

Soo Thunderbirds
City	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
League	Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
Division	Western
Founded	1999;25 years ago (1999)
Home arena	John Rhodes Community Centre
Colours	Orange, blue, and white
Owner(s)	Trevor Daley Cole Jarrett Lee-Anne Jarrett
General manager	Jamie Henderson & Cole Clouthier
Head coach	Cole Jarrett
Affiliate	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
Franchise history
1999–2002	Soo Thunderbirds
2002–2003	Sault Ste. Marie Jr. Greyhounds
2003–present	Soo Thunderbirds
Championships
Playoff championships	5: 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2022

The Soo Thunderbirds are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL).

History

Soo Thunderbirds first came into being as a junior hockey program in from 1978 to 1982 through a group started by the late Zoltan Kovacs, Sr. ^[1] Zoltan, who emigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1956, started the Thunderbirds of the former International Junior B Hockey League to keep more young hockey players at home. ^{[2] [3]} Abbie Carricato coached the Thunderbirds during Zoltan's ownership period (1978-1982). ^[4] The Thunderbirds won three IJHL championships during Zoltan's ownership. The IJHL later folded.

The Soo Thunderbirds announced they would become the Soo Jr. Greyhounds for 2002–03 to establish closer relations with the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. This only lasted one season and became the Soo Thunderbirds once again.

In 2012, the Thunderbirds won the NOJHL League Championship as well as the coveted Dudley Hewitt Cup. They went on to play at the Royal Bank Cup in Humboldt, Saskatchewan where they lost in the semifinals. The Thunderbirds won NOJHL titles back-to-back in 2014–15 and 2015–16. In 2015, the Thunderbirds would again win the Dudley Hewitt Cup but lose in the finals in 2016.

Following the 2015–16 season and Dudley Hewitt Cup campaign, it was announced that owner, Albert Giommi, had sold the organization to a group called The Tech 921 Ltd., led by former National Hockey League player and Ontario Hockey League coach, Denny Lambert. ^[5] Following the sale, general manager Jamie Henderson and team president Kevin Cain both resigned. ^[6] Head coach Jordan Smith was later also assigned the general manager position. ^[7]

In 2017, the team was struggling financially and the ownership had not committed playing the 2017–18 season. ^[8] On March 17, local businessman Darren Smyl took over operations of the Thunderbirds in order to keep the team from leaving. ^[9] However, general manager and head coach Jordan Smith would move on to become the associate coach of the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League. ^[10] Smith would be replaced by John Parco, a local who played most of his professional career in Europe and had been coaching SG Cortina in Italy. The Thunderbirds also changed rinks and moved into the John Rhodes Community Centre after playing at the Essar Centre. With the ownership change, the Thunderbirds updated to a new color scheme and logo in blue, orange, and white.

In 2021, Smyl sold the team to an ownership composed of former NHL player Trevor Daley, longtime professional player Cole Jarrett, and Lee-Anne Jarrett. Cole took over as head coach of the team and Jamie Henderson was brought back as general manager. ^{[11] [12]}

Season-by-season results

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts	Result	Playoffs
Soo Thunderbirds
1999–00	40	22	15	3	—	184	145	47	3rd NOJHL
2000–01	40	33	4	1	2	240	95	69	2nd NOJHL	Lost final
2001–02	42	35	5	0	2	347	122	72	2nd NOJHL	Lost final
Sault Ste. Marie Jr. Greyhounds
2002–03	48	35	11	2	—	305	161	72	2nd NOJHL	Lost final
Soo Thunderbirds
2003–04	48	31	9	7	1	266	155	70	2nd NOJHL	Lost final
2004–05	48	26	17	2	3	206	175	57	5th NOJHL	Lost semi-final
2005–06	48	31	16	0	1	220	165	63	2nd NOJHL	Lost semi-final
2006–07	48	22	22	0	4	170	184	48	5th NOJHL	Lost semi-final
2007–08	50	33	9	—	8	206	145	101	1st NOJHL	Lost final
2008–09	50	35	14	—	1	244	153	71	2nd NOJHL	Won League
2009–10	50	33	14	—	3	253	154	69	3rd NOJHL	Lost final
2010–11	50	38	9	—	3	244	144	79	1st NOJHL	Lost semi-final
2011–12	50	38	7	1	6	245	156	83	1st NOJHL	Won League Won Dudley Hewitt Cup
2012–13	48	33	9	3	3	223	123	72	2nd NOJHL	Lost final
2013–14	56	48	5	1	2	245	102	99	1st NOJHL	Lost final
2014–15	52	48	7	1	6	271	130	83	1st of 4, West 1st of 9, NOJHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–0 vs. Blind River Beavers Won Div. Finals, 4–1 vs. Elliot Lake Wildcats Won League Finals, 4–1 vs. Cochrane Crunch LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
2015–16	54	47	6	0	1	245	93	95	1st of 6, West 1st of 12, NOJHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–0 vs. Soo Eagles Won Div. Finals, 4–1 vs. Elliot Lake Wildcats Won League Finals, 4–0 vs. Kirkland Lake Gold Miners LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
2016–17	56	43	11	1	1	232	134	88	1st of 6, West 2nd of 12, NOJHL	Lost div. semi-finals, 0–4 vs. Soo Eagles
2017–18	56	36	16	1	2	195	134	76	2nd of 6, West 3rd of 12, NOJHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–3 vs. Soo Eagles Lost Div. Finals, 2–4 vs. Rayside-Balfour Canadians
2018–19	56	44	11	—	1	221	145	89	1st of 6, West 1st of 12, NOJHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–2 vs. Blind River Beavers Won Div. Finals, 4–2 vs. Rayside-Balfour Canadians Lost League Finals, 3–4 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks
2019–20	56	30	19	—	7	220	166	67	3rd of 6, West 6th of 12, NOJHL	Postseason cancelled
2020–21	21	13	6	—	2	99	71	28	1st of 5, West 2nd of 9, NOJHL	No playoffs were held
2021–22	48	38	5	2	3	189	101	81	1st of 6, West 1st of 12, NOJHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–0 vs. Blind River Beavers Won Div. Finals, 4–0 Soo Eagles Won League Finals, 4-3 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
2022–23	57	36	15	3	3	229	161	78	3rd of 6, West 5th of 12, NOJHL	Won Div. Semifinals, 4–1 Blind River Beavers Won Div. Finals, 4–1 Greater Sudbury Cubs Lost League Finals, 2-4 vs. Timmins Rock
2023–24	57	39	14	4	1	265	148	83	3rd of 6, West 4th of 12, NOJHL	Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-4 Greater Sudbury Cubs

Dudley Hewitt Cup

Central Canada Championships
Winners of the NOJHL, OJHL, SIJHL, and Host
Round robin play with 2nd vs 3rd in semi-final to advance against 1st in the finals.

Year	Round Robin	Record	Standing	Semifinal	Gold Medal Game
2009	L, Fort William North Stars (SIJHL) 0-2 L, Schreiber Diesels (SIJHL/Host) 0-2 L, Kingston Voyageurs (OJHL) 0-3	0-0-3	4th of 4	Did not advance
2012	OTW, Wisconsin Wilderness (SIJHL) 4-3 W, Thunder Bay North Stars (Host) 4-3 L, Stouffville Spirit (OJHL) 2-10	2-1-0	2nd of 4	W, Thunder Bay North Stars 8-5	W, Stouffville Spirit 5-3 Dudley Hewitt Cup Champions
2015	W, Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL) 8-1 W, Fort Frances Lakers (Host) 6-3 OTL, Toronto Patriots (OJHL) 3-4	2-0-1	1st of 4	n/a	W, Fort Frances Lakers 6-3 Dudley Hewitt Cup Champions
2016	L, Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) 2-4 W, Fort Frances Lakers 6-5 W, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners (Host) 3-2	2-1-0	2nd of 4	W, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 4-1	L, Trenton Golden Hawks 0-4

Royal Bank Cup / Centennial Cup

CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dudley Hewitt Champions - Central, Fred Page Champions - Eastern, Western Canada Cup Champions - Western, Western Canada Cup - Runners Up and Host
Round robin play with top 4 in semi-final and winners to finals.

Year	Round Robin	Record	Standing	Semifinal	Gold Medal Game
2012	W, Penticton Vees 2-1 2OTL, Portage Terriers 3-4 L, Humboldt Broncos 0-3 W, Woodstock Slammers 7-4	2-2	2nd of 5	L, Penticton Vees 0-3	n/a
2015	L, Carleton Place Canadians 0-4 L, Melfort Mustangs 3-5 L, Portage Terriers 2-7 L, Penticton Vees 2-5	0-4-0	5th of 5	Did not advance

Revised Format 2022
Maritime Junior Hockey League, Quebec Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Host. The BCHL declared itself an independent league and there is no BC representative.
Round-robin play in two 5-team pools with top three in pool advancing to determine a Champion.

Year	Round-robin	Record	Standing	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Championship
2022	L, Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL), 1-6 L, Summerside Western Capitals (MarJHL), 1-4 L, Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL), 0-4 L, Dauphin Kings (ManHL), 1-6	0-0-4-0	5th of 5 Pool B	did not qualified	did not qualified	did not qualified

References

1. "ThunderBirds look to restore the lore". Sault This Week. 1 May 2012.
2. "Former Thunderbird, Dave Antonello, Walks Down Memory Land; Team Holding Alumni Night March 9". NOJHL. 14 February 2013.
3. "Thunderbirds Alumni Profile: Carlo DiCandia". EUPnews. 21 February 2013.
4. "New Horizons". Junior Hockey News. 26 May 2013.
5. "What is next for Soo Thunderbirds hockey staff?". Sault This Week. 10 May 2016.
6. "Big changes in Soo Thunderbirds organization". Sault Star . 18 May 2016.
7. "Double Duty for Smith". Junior Hockey News. 1 June 2016.
8. "First place, uncertain future for Soo Thunderbirds". Sault This Week. February 27, 2017.
9. "New Thunderbirds ownership in place". Soo Today. March 17, 2017.
10. "Former head coach/GM of the NOJHL's Soo Thunderbirds happy to stay North". Sault Star . 5 July 2017.
11. "NOJHL approves sale of Soo Thunderbirds franchise". NOJHL. April 30, 2021.
12. "New Thunderbirds ownership group has NHL connection". Soo Today. April 30, 2021.

External links

• Soo Thunderbirds