Carolina Thunderbirds

The Winston-Salem Thunderbirds were an ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. The team played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1982 to 1987, the All-American Hockey League during 1987-88 and finally moved to the East Coast Hockey League in 1988. The franchise used the name Carolina Thunderbirds prior to the 1989-90 season. The franchise was noted for its heated, often violent rivalry with the neighboring Greensboro Monarchs.
The team moved to Wheeling, West Virginia in 1992, playing as the . In 1995 the team changed its name to the Wheeling Nailers.
==Season-by-season record==
===Atlantic Coast Hockey League===
Season 	GP	W 	L 	T	OL	SL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Place	Playoffs
1981-82	50	14	33	3	- 	- 	31 	184	265	5th 	Lost Semifinals
1982-83	66	51	10	7	- 	- 	111	376	208	1st 	Won Championship
1983-84	72	43	24	5	- 	- 	92 	381	300	1st 	Lost Final
1984-85	64	53	10	1	- 	- 	107	374	220	1st 	Won Championship
1985-86	63	49	14	0	- 	- 	104	397	227	1st 	Won Championship
1986-87	56	23	31	2	- 	- 	48 	252	278	4th 	Lost Semifinals
===All-American Hockey League===
Season 	GP	W 	L 	T	OL	SL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Place	Playoffs
1987-88	49	34	15	-	0 	- 	68 	355	182	2nd 	
===East Coast Hockey League===
Season 	GP	W 	L 	T	OL	SL	Pts	GF 	GA 	Place 	Playoffs
1988-89	60	27	32	-	1 	- 	55 	266	329	4th 	Won Championship
1989-90	60	38	16	-	6 	- 	82 	312	257	T-1st 	Lost Final
1990-91	64	20	41	-	3 	- 	43 	228	323	6th West	Did not qualify
1991-92	64	36	24	-	4 	- 	76 	270	245	3rd East	Lost First Round
For a continuation of this franchise please see Wheeling Nailers
== Head coaches ==
* Rick Dudley 1981-86
* Brendon Watson 1988-89
== Championships ==
* East Coast Hockey League play-off champions (Riley Cup), 1989
* Atlantic Coast Hockey League play-off champions, 1983 and 1985
* Atlantic Coast Hockey League regular season champions, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85 & 1985-86
* All-American Hockey League play-off champions, 1988
==See also==
* Wheeling Nailers
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:ECHL team
Category:Southern Professional Hockey League teams
Category:All-American Hockey League teams