Thunder Bay Twins
| Thunder Bay Twins | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| League |
USHL 1970-1975 OHA Sr. A 1975-1979 Manitoba Sr. A 1979-1986 OHA Sr. A 1986-1987 Manitoba Sr. A 1987-1991 |
| Operated | 1970-1991 |
| Home arena | Fort William Gardens |
| Colours | Green, Yellow, and White |
| Head coach | Joe Wirkkunen, Lee Fogolin, Dave Siciliano, Bill McDonald |
| Previous franchise history | |
| 19xx-1970 | Fort William Beavers |
| 1915-1970 | Port Arthur Bearcats |
The Thunder Bay Twins were a Canadian Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991.
On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder Bay was formed through the merger of the neighbouring cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, along with portions of smaller townships.
Fort William and Port Arthur had a long history of teams competing in Senior "A" hockey, dating back to at least the Port Arthur Bearcats's loss in a 1911 challenge for the Stanley Cup. In 1916 a team from Fort William was the first area team to challenge for the Allan Cup, emblematic of the amateur senior hockey championship. Teams from the two cities played for the Allan Cup 13 times from 1916 through 1955, winning 4 Allan Cup championships – all by the Bearcats – in 1925, 1926, 1929 and 1939. The Fort William Beavers would be the last area team, pre-merger, to be a finalist for the Allan Cup when they were the runnerup in 1955.
When the city of Thunder Bay was formed, the Port Arthur Bearcats and the Fort William Beavers, longtime teams playing in the Thunder Bay Senior A Hockey League (TBSHL), merged to form the Thunder Bay Twins for the 1970-71 season.
The newly created Thunder Bay Twins started in the American United States Hockey League (USHL) in 1970, when the USHL was operating as a semi-professional senior ice hockey league.
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Wikipedia