Front row: Rod Manty; Danny Gruen; Albert Cava (head coach); Bill McDonald; Ron Charbonneau; Dr. George Gwozdecky; Dennis Owchar; Dan Prokopchuk
Middle row: Terry Talarico; Steve Rubenick; Kent Clark; Lee Fogolin Jr.; Doug Adams; Willie Trognitz; Bob DePiero; Rick Adduono; Ken Bazaluk
Back row: Gary Cook; Bill Goldthorpe; George Gwozdecky; Tom Milani; Dan Tomlak; Joe Kompon; Paul Sandberg; Jim Mitchell; Rory Cava
Missing: Doug Long
DESPITE playing just one season as the Thunder Bay Vulcans, this junior hockey club formed 50 years ago left a lasting memory for fans in the Lakehead.
Sporting black jerseys with gold stripe and numbers, or the white with gold and black, their uniforms stood out.
Add in a whose who of local hockey standouts, the Vulcans were a team of exceptional talent mixed in with a combination of toughness and brawn that became a staple of teams from Thunder Bay.
After initially being formed as the Port Arthur Marrs, including the side that advanced to the Memorial Cup final in 1967, a change in team sponsorship saw the Vulcans born in 1971.
Coached by the legendary Albert ‘Ab’ Cava, and having another local icon in Gary Cook on the staff, the squad went on to win the local Jr. A title in 1972.
Up front, it was led by captain Bill McDonald, who later went on to win five Allan Cups as a player and coach with the Thunder Bay Twins before being behind the bench for a trio of Colonial Cup championships.
They also boasted the likes of skilled forwards Danny Gruen, Rick Adduono, Tom Milani, Bob Depiero, Joe Kompon and George Gwozdecky along with the ruggedness of Bill ‘Goldie’ Goldthorpe and Willie Trognitz.
A stalwart defensive corps featured Lee Fogolin Jr., Dennis Owchar, Kent Clark, Steve Rubenick and Doug Adams on the blueline.
They also had goaltender Doug Long, who they acquired later in the season from Minnesota.
Also, in net were netminders Ron Charbonneau, who later went on to serve as president of the Thunder Bay Kings during their glory years of the 1990s, Dan Prokopcuk and Rod Manty.
After claiming league honours, the Vulcans went on the Centennial Cup trail that saw them face the Smiths Falls Bears in the quarter-finals.
There, they went on to bounce the Bears in five games, outscoring them 36-19 in the process.
Moving on to the Eastern semifinal vs. the Guelph CMCs, this hotly contested best-of-seven featured plenty of action, both on and off the ice.
Guelph pulled out a pair narrow 5-4 triumphs on home ice before the match-up headed to Thunder Bay for the next three outings.
There, the Vulcans proceeded to blast the CMCs twice, by scores of 7-3 and 7-0, before Guelph rebounded to take Game 5.
Facing a hostile crowd in the southern Ontario the local players were taunted and pelted with debris by the Guelph fans.
Game 6 itself only lasted 90 seconds before a number of fights broke out, coach Cava was ejected from the contest, and the Vulcans opted to leave the ice until order was restored in the stands so that play could resume.
However, cooler heads did not prevail, the team wouldn’t return and officials awarded Guelph a 1-0 win by forfeit, thus giving them the series.
Those two defeats the local squad handed the GMCs were the only losses they had in the postseason as Guelph swept the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the quarters and did likewise to the Charlottetown Islanders in the final to win the Centennial Cup.
Notable achievements made by members of that Vulcans team saw Fogolin taken first overall that summer in the Ontario Hockey Association Jr. A draft by the Hamilton Red Wings.
He was then acquired by Oshawa Generals before eventually being tabbed by the Buffalo Sabres, 11th overall, in the 1974 NHL Draft.
From there Fogolin went on to a 13-year NHL career and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.
As for Adduono, he was taken sixth overall by the Ottawa 67s in the ’72 OHA Draft, but was picked up by the St. Catharines Blackhawks where he led that side in scoring with 109 points in 55 games.
Following a successful playing career, he also achieved success as a coach in both North America and Europe.
Meanwhile, Gruen played 230 games in the NHL and WHA and Owchar had 288 NHL contests to his credit.
As for Gwozdecky, he’s the only person in history to win an NCAA championship as a player (Wisconsin-1977), assistant coach (Michigan State-1986) and head coach (Denver-2004/2005).
You also have Milani still holding the University of Minnesota-Duluth school record for career goals with 100.