Airdrie Thunder
| Airdrie Thunder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Airdrie, Alberta |
| League | Heritage Junior B Hockey League |
| Division | North |
| Home arena | Ron Ebbesen Arena |
| Colours | Red, Black, White |
| General manager |  Larry Smith[when?][citation needed] |
| Head coach | Derek Stamp[when?][citation needed] |
| Website | Airdrie Thunder website |
| Franchise history | |
| ?-present | Airdrie Thunder |
The Airdrie Thunder are a Junior "B" Ice Hockey team based in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL). They play their home games at Ron Ebbesen Arena.
History
[edit]- Division titles won: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019
- League Championships won: 1997, 2000, 2019
- Alberta Provincial entries: 1997, 2000, 2005, 2019
- Alberta Provincial titles: 2019
- Keystone Cup titles: none
The Airdrie Thunder developed an intense rivalry with their former divisional counterparts, the Okotoks Bisons.[citation needed] The Thunder handed the Bisons their only two losses in the 2005–06 season, while the four victories for Okotoks were the only four games the Thunder lost. The Bisons eliminated the Thunder in the league semi-finals.
The two rivals also met in the 2005 HJHL finals, with Okotoks again coming out the victors in a tough five-game series. Despite losing the championship, the Thunder qualified for the Alberta Provincials, held in Calgary but failed to advance to the medal round.
Airdrie's best season to date[when?] was 1999–2000, when they captured their second league title in four years before going on to win the silver medal at the Alberta Provincial Junior B Hockey Championship, which was also hosted by the Thunder.
The Thunder have played in the North Division since 2011–12. In recent years[when?] the Thunder have developed a heated rivalry with the Red Deer Vipers.[citation needed] The Vipers and Thunder have now[when?] met in three consecutive playoff series. The Thunder knocked off Red Deer in seven games in the 2016 north semi-final. The Vipers have exacted revenge twice since, beating Airdrie in six games in the 2017 north semi-final and 2018 north final.
Season-by-season record
[edit]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs | ||||||||
| 2000-01 | 38 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 61 | 218 | 113 | 1st, North | --- | |||||||||
| 2002-03 | 36 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 181 | 100 | 2nd, South | Lost South Div. Finals | |||||||||
| 2004-05 | 40 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 238 | 125 | 3rd, North | Lost Finals | |||||||||
| 2005-06 | 38 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 310 | 93 | 1415 | 2nd, South | Lost Div. Finals, 0-4 (Bisons) | ||||||||
| 2006-07 | 36 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 53 | 204 | 116 | 1221 | 1st, Central | Lost Round Robin Finals, 2-2 (Wranglers) | ||||||||
| 2007-08 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 212 | 119 | 1781 | 1st, Foothills | Lost Div. Finals, 1-3 (Bisons) | ||||||||
| 2008-09 | 36 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 223 | 127 | 1775 | 2nd, South | Lost Div. Finals, 2-3 (Bisons) | ||||||||
| 2009-10 | 36 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 182 | 107 | 1478 | 1st, Central | Lost Semifinals, 2-3 (Wranglers) | ||||||||
| 2010-11 | 36 | 23 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 181 | 136 | 974 | 3rd, Central | Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-3 (Thrashers) | ||||||||
| 2011-12 | 38 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 179 | 128 | - | 4th, North | Lost First Round, ?-? (Colts) | ||||||||
| 2012-13 | 38 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 145 | 125 | - | 3rd, North | Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-3 (Red Deer Vipers) | ||||||||
| 2013-14 | 36 | 15 | 19 | - | 2 | 32 | 141 | 145 | - | 6th, North | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2014-15 | 38 | 23 | 13 | - | 2 | 48 | 152 | 125 | - | 2nd, North | Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-4 (Mountainview Colts) | ||||||||
| 2015-16 | 38 | 26 | 10 | - | 2 | 54 | 193 | 120 | - | 2nd, North | Won Div. Semifinals, 4-3 (Vipers) Lost Div. Finals 0-4 (Colts) | ||||||||
| 2016-17 | 38 | 27 | 8 | - | 3 | 57 | 213 | 131 | - | 2nd of 7, Nor 3 of 14 HJHL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-4 (Vipers) | ||||||||
| 2017-18 | 38 | 23 | 9 | - | 4 | 50 | 193 | 131 | - | 2nd of 7, Nor 4 of 13 HJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 3-1 (Wranglers) Lost Div. Finals, 2-4 (Vipers) | ||||||||
| 2018-19 | 38 | 35 | 3 | - | 0 | 70 | - | - | - | 1st of 7, Nor 1st of 14 HJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 4-0 (Wranglers) Won Div. Finals, 4-2 (Colts) Won League Finals 3-0 (Copperheads) Heritage Jr B CHAMPIONS Advance to Alberta Championships (see below) | ||||||||
| 2019-20 | 38 | 29 | 7 | - | 2 | 60 | - | - | - | 1st of 7, Nor 2nd of 14 HJHL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 2-4 (Colts) | ||||||||
| 2020-21 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 0 | 6 | - | - | - | Season lost to covid-19 pandemic | |||||||||
| 2021-22 | 36 | 17 | 15 | - | 2 | 36 | - | - | - | 5th of 7, Nor 8th of 14 HJHL |
Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3-0 (Colts) Lost Div. Semifinals, 1-4 (Vipers) | ||||||||
| 2022-23 | 38 | 23 | 13 | - | 2 | 48 | 150 | 135 | - | 2nd of 6, Nor 5th of 12 HJHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 4-2 (Colts) Lost Div. Finals, 2-4 (Wranglers) | ||||||||
| 2023-24 | 38 | 11 | 23 | - | 4 | 26 | - | - | - | 5th of 7, Nor 11th of 13 HJHL |
Won Div. Play In, 2-0 (Thrashers) Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 0-3 (Wranglers) | ||||||||
Russ Barnes Trophy
[edit]Alberta Jr B Provincial Championships
| Year | Round Robin | Record | Standing | SemiFinal | Bronze Medal Game | Gold Medal Game |
| 2019* | W, Beverly Warriors 4–2 W, Grande Prairie Kings 5-2 W, Won CRAA Gold 7-4 |
3–0–0 | 1st of 4 Pool | W, Wetaskiwin Icemen 8-0 | n/a | W, Wainwright Bisons 4-3 OT Russ Barnes Champions |
- Alberta withdrew from Keystone Cup - Western Canada Jr. B Championships