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Thunder Bay Thunder Cats (CoHL, 1996-97)

1996-97 Regular Season
Thunder Cats vs. Saginaw Lumber Kings

      The northwestern Ontario town of Thunder Bay was home to one of the original Colonial Hockey League franchises. Established in 1991 as the Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks, the team appeared in four of the first five Colonial Cup Finals, winning it all in 1992, 1994 and 1995. The team was also a Double-A farm club of the Ottawa Senators from 1993-96, switching their name to Thunder Bay Senators. 

     By 1996, the team renamed itself again, now going by Thunder Bay Thunder Cats. The team wore jerseys similar to the style the Washington Capitals wore at the time (same colors and striping pattern). Tom Warden was brought back as head coach, as was GM Gary Cook. The core of the team's successful run was intact as well: Jason Firth, Bruce Ramsay, Barry McKinlay, Mel Angelstad and Brant Blackned. 

     Despite dropping to third in the Western Division, the Thunder Cats improved on last season's record, finishing with a 43-23-8 record, 11 points behind first place Quad City and fourth overall. They scored the third most goals in the league with 333. Jason Firth, a 1991 10th Round Draft Pick by the Detroit Red Wings, continued his stellar run in Thunder Bay, scoring 37 goals and 120 points in 56 games. Brant Blackned was the top goal scorer with 49 goals, with Forbes McPherson right behind at 42. Longtime Thunder Bay vet Barry McKinlay was the other 30-goal scorer with 32.

     On defense, Thunder Bay allowed the fifth-fewest goals in the league with 266. The Thunder Cats used just two netminders that year, unusual for a low minor-pro team. Former ECHL goalie Bob Bell and rookie Jean-Francois Rivard almost split the netminding duties 50/50. Bell played in 41 games, with a 22-11-4 record and 3.49 GAA. In 37 games, Rivard had a near-identical record of 21-12-4 with a 3.29 GAA. Rivard drew the lions-share of the starts in the playoffs.

   


 Thunder Bay made the Colonial Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season and would attempt to reach the Colonial Cup Finals for the fourth straight time. The Thunder Cats opened the playoffs with the Madison Monsters, who finished second in the West with a 46-21-7 record (3rd overall in the league). In the best-of-five series, Madison jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, only to see Thunder Bay come back and win three straight and take the series. They then faced the Quad City Mallards in the semifinals. The Thunder Cats took a 2-1 series lead before falling to the Mallards in six games. Thunder Bay's run of dominance in the Colonial Hockey League ended, as the city would never again reach the Colonial Cup Finals.

     This is a nice program, at 56 pages, all black-and-white. This program is from a November 5, 1996, game vs. the Saginaw Lumber Kings. Thunder Bay was in first place at the time, with a 7-2 record, while Saginaw had stumbled out to a 2-5 record, fourth in the East Division at the time, and on their way to the cellar at 21-48-5. Despite the contrasting records, the Thunder Cats only beat Saginaw, 3-2. The preview of that night's game is included on page 30, and right winger David Andre is the "Bio of the Week" (page 29).

     The usual stats, records and advertisements are included in this one. A review of the 1995-96 season is included on pages 18-20. Steve Brown (Thunder Bay Radio) describes other Colonial League arenas, noting how "there are few places noiser than the IMA Sports Arena", thanks to size of the crowd and the spectacle that even player introductions were. 

     Page 32 features a map and mileage chart of the 1996-97 Colonial Hockey League. If you aren't sure where Thunder Bay is about 3/4 of the way around Canadian shore of Lake Superior. It was quite a hike for the rest of the league. The closest team to Thunder Bay was the Madison Monsters, and that was a 525 mile bus ride in itself. The farthest trip was to Utica, New York, to play the Blizzard: 1059 miles! The insane distances is likely the big reason why teams played back-to-back nights in Thunder Bay before moving on. 

     Local ads include Alan Dickson Photography, Champion Trophy, Ziggy's Sports Exchange, Bannon's Gas Bar and the Prospector Restaurant.

Aftermath: The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats would continue play through the 1998-99 season, making the playoffs each year, but not advancing past the second round. Declining attendance and the long travel schedule eventually became too much, as the team was sold to investors in Rockford, Illinois and rebranded as the Rockford Icehogs in 1999. 

References:

Colonial Hockey League Season Statistics: 1996-97, fromhockeydb.com

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