Thunder Bay Flyers The Thunder Bay Flyers were a Tier II Junior " A " ice hockey team from Thunder Bay , Ontario , Canada . History . In 1980 , Junior A hockey was resurrect for the first time since 1978 with the birth of the Thunder Bay Kings . From 1980 until 1982 , the Kings played in the Thunder Bay Hockey League with the Allan Cup - contending Senior " A " Thunder Bay Twins , the Hardy Cup - contending Intermediate " A " Thunder Bay Blazers , and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union ' s Lakehead University Nor ' westers . Their first season saw them finish in second and meet the Intermediate Blazers in the league semi - final , which the Kings won 3 - games - to - 2 . In the finals , they were swept by the Senior Twins 4 - games - to - none . In the second year , the Flyers finished in third and drew the Blazers again . The defeated the Intermediates 3 - games - to - 1 , to meet Lakehead University in the final . Lakehead shockingly upset the Twins 3 - games - to - 1 in the other semi . The Kings won the final in seven games to win the City Championship . In 1982 , the Thunder Bay Hockey League was disbanded . The Blazers folded into the Twins , and the Twins joined Manitoba ' s Central Senior A Hockey League . The Kings , with the newly formed Thunder Bay Hornets and the Schreiber North Stars Junior " B " hockey teams , the formed the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League . The Kings won the league in 1983 . In the 1983 - 84 season , the North Stars were replaced by the Jr . B Thunder Bay Maple Leafs . The Kings celebrated an 18 - game perfect season before winning the city championship for the third straight year . In 1984 , the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded . The Kings changed their name to the Thunder Bay Flyers and jumped to the United States Hockey League . The Hornets and Maple Leafs merged under the Thunder Bay Hornets banner and jumped to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League . After the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded in 1984 , hockey players of the Hockey Northwestern Ontario region were left with few choices on where to play . Many players made the jump to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League or the current version of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League , some even made the jump to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League . Due to the region where Thunder Bay is , the league is closer to Manitoba and Minnesota than the closest franchises in the other Ontario Tier II Junior " A " Leagues . With no leagues for the abundancy of top level players in Northwestern Ontario , to help stop the exporting of players to other regions , the Thunder Bay Flyers of the dead Thunder Bay League were kept alive . With no cost effective regional leagues to travel to play in , the closest being in Manitoba , the Flyers jumped the border - - they played in the top tier of American junior hockey , the United States Hockey League , with great success . From entering the league in 1984 - 85 to their exit after the 1999 - 2000 season , the Flyers are credited with four Anderson Cup regular - season titles in five years ( 1988 , 1989 , 1991 , 1992 ) and two straight Clark Cup playoff championships in 1988 and 1989 . No team under the leadership of Dave Siciliano ( who coached in Thunder Bay from 1986 - 1993 ) finished lower than fourth or won less than 31 games out of a 48 - game season . Although their regular season were in the USHL , they came back to Canada for the playoffs to compete against the OPJHL and the NOJHL for the right to represent Ontario at the Centennial Cup . The Flyers won the Dudley Hewitt Cup in 1989 , 1991 , 1992 , and 1995 to compete for the National title , they also made the 1988 Centennial Cup by default . The Flyers have also won 2 National titles . They won the 1989 Centennial Cup , defeating the Summerside Western Capitals then of the Island Junior Hockey League 4 - 1 in the final game , and they won the 1992 Cup , destroying the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League 10 - 1 in the Cup final after smoking the Halifax Mooseheads ( Maritime Junior A Hockey League ) 8 - 1 in the semi - final . The Flyers played their last game in 2000 . The end of the Flyers sparked the creation of the Superior International Junior Hockey League . The SIJHL was created in 2001 to continue the tradition of the old Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League - - a multiple team , self - dependent , local Junior " A " hockey League . The league has been successful since its founding with its top team being the Fort William North Stars . Season - by - Season Records . Thunder Bay Hockey League 1980 - 1984 < br > See also . < br > < br >