Kenora Thistles (intermediate)
| Kenora Thistles | |
|---|---|
 |
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| City | Kenora, Ontario |
| League | Thunder Bay Intermediate Hockey League |
| Operated | 1950s-1970s |
| Home arena | Kenora Arena |
| Colours | Maroon and White |
The Kenora Thistles were a Canadian Senior/Intermediate ice hockey club from Kenora, Ontario. They were eligible to compete for the Edmonton Journal Trophy as Western Canadian Intermediate A Champions.
In the 1950s the Kenora Thistles moniker was resurrected by a team that participated in the Thunder Bay Intermediate Hockey League. They also spent time in Manitoba's Big Six Intermediate Hockey League. Kenora is more local to the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Senior Leagues, but were constantly snubbed when applying to join. In with Marathon, Keewatin, Fort Frances, Fort William, and Port Arthur, the Thistles did quite well winning the league in 1953, 1955, 1957, and 1958 and winning the Edmonton Journal Trophy as the top Intermediate team in Western Canada in 1953.
In the 1952-53 season, the Thistles won their first ever Thunder Bay district championship and moved on to the Western Canadian championships. In the semi-final, the Thistles met the Manitoba champion Dauphin Kings who they defeated 3-games-to-none with 4-2, 7-3, and 5-4 victories. In the Edmonton Journal Trophy finals, the Thistles met the Alberta champion Ponoka Stampeders. Kenora won game on 7-4, but were blown out 8-1 in game two. The Thistles rebounded and took game three 5-3 and game four 8-4 before Ponoka could respond with a 3-2 win in game five to make the series 3-games-to-2 for Kenora. Game six was another do-or-die game for the Stampeders, but the Thistles were victorious winning the game 5-1 to take the series.
As 1953 Intermediate Champions, the Thistles were offered the privilege of competing in the 1954 World Championships but turned it down as they had already committed to a tour of Japan in 1954. From March 24 until April 3, the Kenora Thistles played off against the best Japan had to offer in Osaka and Tokyo. They defeated the Japan College All-Stars 23-1, the "All Japan" team 5 times (11-2, 4-2, 9-3, 8-2, 12-7), Nikko Electric 17-2, Hokkaido All-Stars 8-1, and the Kanto All-Stars 13-6.
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