Thunder Bay North Stars

The Thunder Bay North Stars are a junior A ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. They are a member of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

Thunder Bay North Stars
City	Thunder Bay, Ontario
League	Superior International Junior Hockey League
Founded	2000
Home arena	Fort William Gardens
Colours	Green, gold, black, and white
Owner(s)	Scott and Kris Kellaway
General manager	Kris Kellaway
Website	Official Website
Franchise history
2000–2002	Thunder Bay Wolves
2002–2003	Fort William Wolves
2003–2010	Fort William North Stars
2010–present	Thunder Bay North Stars
Championships
Playoff championships	6: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2019)

History

After the fall of the Thunder Bay Flyers in 2001, the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) was founded. The Thunder Bay Wolves, who had played for a short while in the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League, were a founding team, but after one season they changed their name to the Fort William Wolves. Fort William is one of the original names of the city of Thunder Bay. After two rather average seasons, the team rebranded as the North Stars. The team won both the regular season and the playoff titles from 2004 through 2006.

2011 North Stars in action

Their first trip to the Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Championship in 2004 saw them finish in third place. In the round-robin, the Stars lost to the North Bay Skyhawks of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) 5–4, lost again to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL)'s Aurora Tigers 4–0, and defeated the NOJHL's Soo Thunderbirds 7–4 to make the semifinal. In the semifinal, the Stars were defeated by the North Bay Skyhawks for the second time in the tournament, losing 3–2.

In their second Dudley Hewitt Cup in 2005, the North Stars finished second in the round-robin, defeating the OPJHL's St. Michael's Buzzers 6–4, losing to the host OPJHL Georgetown Raiders 4–0, and then beating the North Bay Skyhawks 8–2. The semifinal was a rematch with the Buzzers, who avenged their previous loss with a 6–2 victory.

After winning their third straight off league championship in 2006, the Stars competed in their third straight Dudley Hewitt Cup, which they had already qualified for after being selected as the host team. Going into the playoffs, the Stars finished the regular season with a 50–2–0–0 record and the best in the entire Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The Stars took out the K&A Golden Hawks four games to none and then swept the Dryden Ice Dogs in the four-game final for league title. Hosting the 2006 event, the team beat up the NOJHL's Sudbury Jr. Wolves 6–1, but were then defeated by the tournament favourite^{[citation needed]} St. Michael's Buzzers 7–1. In the final round-robin game, the Stars played the SIJHL runner-up Dryden Ice Dogs and beat them 3–0. Fort William and Sudbury both finished with 2–1 records, but the Stars received a bye to the championship game via tiebreaker. Sudbury then defeated Dryden 5–4 in the semifinal to face the North Stars again in the championship. The Stars and Wolves were tied 6–6 at the end of regulation time. The Stars scored quickly in overtime to win their first Dudley Hewitt Cup and a berth in the 2006 Royal Bank Cup national championship. The North Stars were the first team in SIJHL history to have ever won the Dudley Hewitt Cup or play in the Royal Bank Cup.

Captain Sean Bassingthwaite screens the net (2008)

The Stars began their first Royal Bank Cup with a loss to the host OPJHL Streetsville Derbys 3–2. The second game saw them defeat the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League's Joliette Action 4–3 in overtime. In the third game, the British Columbia Hockey League's Burnaby Express beat them 3–2. The Stars defeated the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Yorkton Terriers in a 2–1 victory to advance to a semifinal game. Up 2–0 with less than two minutes to go in the semifinal against the Burnaby Express, the Express scored two quick goals to send the game into overtime. Roughly a minute into the overtime, the Express eliminated the North Stars.

For the 2007–08 season, the North Stars switched to a black, silver, and white colour scheme as opposed to their traditional green, yellow, black, and white.

In October 2010, the North Stars were sold to a new ownership group, led by Doug Gunsinger. The team name was changed to the Thunder Bay North Stars. In 2015, the team ownership was sold to Scott and Kris Kellaway.^[1]

Rob DeGagne became head coach 2017–18 and was named SIJHL coach of the year in the same year. DeGagne led the team to win the league championship Bill Salonen Cup in 2018–19. DeGagned stepped down as coach in 2025 but remained with the North Stars as a "senior hockey advisor".^[2]

Season-by-season results

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts	Results	Playoffs
2000–01	30	7	20	3	0	—	—	14	5th TBJBHL	Did not qualify
2001–02	48	4	42	2	0	111	289	10	5th SIJHL	Did not qualify
2002–03	52	23	19	5	5	211	193	56	4th SIJHL	Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Bulldogs)
2003–04	48	40	6	1	1	270	119	82	1st SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Bulldogs) Won League Finals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs)
2004–05	48	42	2	4	0	322	66	88	1st SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Golden Hawks) Won League Finals, 4–0 (Borderland Thunder)
2005–06	52	50	2	0	0	353	101	100	1st SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Golden Hawks) Won League Finals, 4–0 (Dryden Ice Dogs) Won Dudley Hewitt Cup
2006–07	50	41	6	3	0	307	132	85	1st SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs) Lost League Finals, 3–4 (Diesels)
2007–08	50	35	11	1	3	218	134	74	2nd SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Bearcats) Lost League Finals, 3–4 (Ice Dogs)
2008–09	50	39	7	—	4	307	129	82	1st SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–3 (Diesels) Won League Finals, 4–1 (Bearcats)
2009–10	52	45	5	—	2	270	104	92	1st SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–0 (Flyers) Won League Finals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs)
2010–11	56	32	21	—	3	191	163	67	4th SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 4–1 (Flyers) Lost Semifinals, 0–4 (Wisconsin Wilderness)
2011–12	56	31	19	—	6	242	156	68	3rd SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 (Clydesdales) Lost Semifinals, 0–4 (Wisconsin Wilderness)
2012–13	56	28	27	—	1	165	206	57	4th SIJHL	Lost Quarterfinals, 1–2 (Iron Rangers)
2013–14	56	40	11	—	5	253	180	85	2nd SIJHL	Lost Seeding game, 6–4 (Lakers) Lost Semifinals, 2–4 (Iron Rangers)
2014–15	56	27	25	—	4	200	227	58	4th SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 3–0 (Miners) Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Lakers)
2015–16	56	28	24	—	4	186	209	60	3rd SIJHL	Lost Semifinals, 2–4 (Ice Dogs)
2016–17	56	31	19	—	6	202	183	68	2nd of 6 SIJHL	Lost Semifinals, 1–4 (Miners)
2017–18	56	38	13	—	5	253	164	81	3rd of 6 SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 3–0 (Iron Rangers) Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Norskies) Lost League Finals, 2–4 (Ice Dogs)
2018–19	56	49	5	—	2	363	122	100	1st of 6 SIJHL	Won Semifinals, 4–1 (Ice Dogs) Won League Finals, 4–1 (Miners)
2019–20	54	34	16	—	4	239	195	72	1st of 6 SIJHL	Season cancelled
2020–21	4	1	2	—	1	17	19	3	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3]
2021–22	41	21	16	3	1	153	147	46	4th of 7 SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 3-0 (Lumberjacks) Lost Semifinals, 0-4 (Fighting Walleye)
2022–23	54	27	20	3	1	179	159	61	4th of 7 SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Miners) won Semifinals, 4-3 (Ice Dogs) Lost final 3-4 fighting walleye
2023–24	49	32	12	3	2	221	153	69	3rd of 8 SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 4-0 (Lumberjacks) Lost Semifinals, 1-4 (Bombers)
2024–25	50	32	12	2	4	235	140	70	3rd of 8 SIJHL	Won Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Lakers) Lost Semifinals, 0-4 (Fighting Walleye)

Dudley Hewitt Cup

Central Canada Jr. A Championships
NOJHL – OJHL – SIJHL – Host
Round-robin play with 2nd vs. 3rd in semifinal to advance against 1st in the championship game.

Year	Round-robin	Record	Standing	Semifinal	Championship
2004	L, North Bay Skyhawks (NOJHL/Host), 5–6 L, Aurora Tigers (OPJHL), 0–4 W, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 2–1	1–2–0	3rd of 4	L, North Bay Skyhawks, 2–3	—
2005	W, St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL), 6–4 L, Georgetown Raiders (OPJHL/Host), 0–4 W, North Bay Skyhawks (NOJHL), 8–2	2–1–0	2nd of 4	L, St. Michael's Buzzers, 2–6	—
2006 Host	W, Sudbury Jr. Wolves (NOJHL), 6–1 L, St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL), 1–7 W, Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL), 3–0	2–1–0	1st of 4	—	W, Sudbury Jr. Wolves, 7–6 (OT) Dudley Hewitt Champions
2009	W, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 2–0 W, Kingston Voyageurs (OPJHL), 1–0 L, Schreiber Diesels (SIJHL/Host), 2–5	2–1–0	2nd of 4	W, Schreiber Diesels, 4–3	L, Kingston Voyageurs, 1–4
2010	OTW, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL/Host), 3–2 OTL, Abitibi Eskimos (NOJHL), 3–4 OTL, Oakville Blades (OPJHL), 1–2	1–0–2	2nd of 4	W, Soo Thunderbirds, 3–0	L, Oakville Blades, 1–2
2012 Host	OTL, Stouffville Spirit (OJPHL), 1–2 L, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 3–4 OTW, Wisconsin Wilderness (SIJHL), 3–4	1–1–1	3rd of 4	L, Soo Thunderbirds, 5–8	—
2018	W, Cochrane Crunch (NOJHL), 4–0 L, Wellington Dukes (OJHL), 1–4 W, Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL/Host), 2–1	2–1–0	2nd of 4	L, Wellington Dukes, 3–6	—
2019	L, Cochrane Crunch (NOJHL/Host), 1–4 L, Hearst Lumberjacks (NOJHL), 0–3 L, Oakville Blades (OJHL), 4–9	0–3–0	4th of 4	—	—

Royal Bank Cup

Canadian Jr. A National Championships
Dudley Hewitt Champions – Central, Fred Page Champions – Eastern, Doyle Cup Champion – Pacific, ANAVET Cup Champion – Western, and Host
Round-robin play with top four in semifinal games and winners to Championship.

Year	Round-robin	Record	Standing	Semifinal	Championship
2006	L, Streetsville Derbys (host), 2–3 2OTW, Joliette Action (Eastern), 4–3 L, Burnaby Express (Pacific), 2–3 W, Yorkton Terriers (Western), 2–1	2–2	3rd of 5	OTL, Burnaby Express, 2–3	—

Notable alumni

• Robert Bortuzzo (2005–2006)
• Carter Hutton (2003–2006)