FOR the past century, junior hockey has been a staple in the Lakehead for much of that time.
Be it the intense on-ice rivalries between clubs from Fort William and Port Arthur, to teams representing Thunder Bay that have vied for championships over the decades, the competition remains engrained in the minds of long-standing local fans.
Of course, there were the memorable sides, such as the Fort William War Veterans (1922) and Port Arthur West End Bruins (1948), who won the Memorial Cup.
Port Arthur was also a finalist in the event in 1927 as were the Port Arthur Marrs in 1967.
Then there were the Dave Siciliano-led Thunder Bay Flyers’ sides who hoisted the Centennial Cup as Canadian Jr. A champions in 1989 and 1992.
In all, the Flyers made five appearances at the national tournament at various locales across the country: 1988; 1989; 1982; 1991 & 1995.
You also had the Fort William North Stars, who like the five-time recipient Flyers, won the Dudley-Hewitt Cup and advanced all the way to the semifinal of the 2006 Royal Bank Cup before they fell in overtime to the eventual winner from Burnaby, B.C.
While the West End Bruins (2), and the Marrs (1) took home the Abbott Cup as Western Canadian Jr. title holders, 11 other locals teams finished as runner-up as the top squad in the West from 1921 through 1970.
One of the more prevalent teams over that period was the Fort William Canadiens. No more so than during a 12-year run under the guidance of local icon, Mickey Hennessy.
Arriving in the Lakehead in 1952, Hennessy stood behind the Canadiens bench for a dozen seasons.
He led the local Habs to a Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League crown in 1953 and did likewise in 1954 and ’55.
That was followed by three straight TBJHL wins from 1957-59 along with one more in 1961.
In his tenure, his teams advanced to two Abbott Cup Finals, but fell just short in their quest, losing to strong Edmonton Oil Kings (1954) and Flin Flon Bombers (1957) squads. Flin Flon also won the Memorial Cup in ’57.
During his time, Hennessy also served as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens, a position he held right up to 1978.
The last local side to compete for the Abbott Cup was the Fort William Hurricanes in 1970, but were edged out by the Memorial Cup-finalist Weyburn Red Wings.
With the Centennial Cup being presented, starting in 1971, TBJHL clubs would go that route and saw teams such as the Thunder Bay Vulcans, Hurricanes, Case Eagles and Port Arthur North Stars all have championship success locally.
A controversial finish to the fabled Vulcans run in the 1972 East final shelved their Centennial Cup hopes against Guelph, who went on to win it all.
Two years later, Herks won the city playoffs before edging the Wexford Raiders four games to three in East semifinal action.
They weren’t as fortunate in the Eastern finale though as they were defeated by the Smiths Falls Bears in another best-of-seven affair that went the distance.
After that, the Albert (Ab) Cava-coached Case Eagles claimed a trio of city titles from 1975-77 before being clipped on the Centennial Cup playdown trail.
In all, many junior teams from the Lakehead achieved national, regional, district and local success over the past 100 years and remain etched in our fabled on-ice memories.
The same can be said for the multitude of standout players from Fort William and Port Arthur, who made their mark locally before going on to achieve great success at the highest level, including the National Hockey League.
Be it the likes of Alex Delvecchio, Larry Cahan, Lee Fogolin Sr., and Jr., etc., to Greg Johnson and Patrick Sharp, one thing rings true; the plethora of those local products all began their hockey journey on home ice.