AS fans, we all have recollections of watching hockey locally.
My earliest memories were that of the Thunder Bay Twins, seeing them play at the Fort William Gardens, competing in the United States Hockey League against such opponents as the Green Bay Bobcats, Marquette Iron Rangers and the Calumet Copper Chiefs.
This is when the USHL ran as a semi-professional/senior league before it eventually transformed into the junior loop it is today.
The newly-minted Twins joined the USHL in 1970 and played there for five seasons.
In all, they played 213 regular season contests over those five years, winning a league-high 142 of them, while losing 66 and registering five ties.
Their initial campaign, they were coached by Joe Wirkunen and finished third in the league standings, behind the second place Waterloo Black Hawks and the eventual champions, Marquette.
Rick Yeo led the league in assists with 40 and was second in points with 61.
Meanwhile, Gary Mork and Dwight Stirrett paced the club with 27 tallies apiece and were among the top point getters overall.
For the next three years, former NHLer Lee Fogolin Jr., took over the coaching reigns of the Twins and led them to a trio of league titles in 1972, ’73 and ’74.
Back in 1971-72, Thunder Bay finished tied for second with Waterloo, but the Twins found their stride in the playoffs and won it all.
Pacing the Twins offensively that year was veteran forward Barry Hogan, who went on to captain the Twins during their 1975 Allan Cup run.
In ’71-’72 though, Hogan led all USHL skaters in goals (29), assists (32) and points (61).
Fellow forward Bill McEwan finished sixth in league offensive numbers with 40, including 16 goals, and also racked up 88 penalty minutes to lead the way there.
In winning their second USHL championship, Thunder Bay finished in first place in the eight-team league with an impressive 37-7-1 regular season record in 1972-73 before they eventually dumped the Chicago Warriors in the final. This included wrapping it up in front of a boisterous Gardens crowd with a 6-2 win in the finale.
Of note, the head coach of the Chicago squad was a future Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss, Gene Ubriaco.
That year Fogolin put together a line of Hogan along with the Geraldton duo of Jack Byerly and Chuck Kelner, who clicked instantly and finished one-two-three in league scoring.
Byerly led the USHL, playing well over a two point-per-game clip, racking up 105 while topping the league in markers and helpers with 42 and 63 respectively.
Kelner was next with 95 points as he scored 39 times and helped set-up 56 more while Hogan provided 75 points of his own.
A year later in a nine-team USHL, the Twins once again finished in top spot, going 35-12-1 before winning a third straight title.
That campaign saw Hogan collect 103 points to lead the way offensively, highlighted by 47 goals.
Byerly tied for eighth in tallies with 34 while David Bragnalo’s 47 assists saw him end up seventh overall.
Taking over the club as player-coach in their final USHL season of 1974-75, Dave Siciliano guided the squad to a second place finish in their division in regular season play, then swept front-running Green Bay as they went 36-10-2 on the year before knocking off Waterloo, three games to one, to take claim a fourth-straight championship on Gardens ie.
That campaign Gary Linquist led the team in goals, with 35, Bragnalo and Brian DePiero were tops in helpers with 53 apiece, with DePiero leading the team in scoring with 85 points while Bylerly was close by with 81.
After claiming that fourth USHL crown, the Twins focus on bringing the Lakehead it’s first Allan Cup crown since 1939 was clearly on track.
Thunder Bay found their stride in their quest to win a Canadian senior championship.
There they swept the Spokane Flyers to claim the Patton Cup Western Canada senior crown before clipping the Barrie Flyers in six games to win their first of a record-setting five Allan Cups.
The Twins road to glory began over 50 years ago in the USHL and still resonates proudly among local hockey fans today.