Toronto ThunderHawks were an
indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...
team based in
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
that competed in the defunct
NPSL. The team began play in the 2000–2001 season, with home games at the
Hershey Centre.
The team was owned by businessman
Neil Jamieson and
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
defenseman
Paul Coffey
Paul Patrick Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time ...
. The owners also purchased the
Montreal Impact of the NPSL and suspended the club, transferring many of the Impact players to the ThunderHawks.
The head coach was
Gary Hindley, who had led the Cleveland Crunch to the NPSL championship in 1993–94.
When the NPSL disbanded in the summer of 2001 and reorganized as the
MISL
Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues:
*Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League
*Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...
, the ThunderHawks were admitted to the new league under the condition that they would suspend operations for the 2001–2002 season to work on the business side of the franchise and return to active competition for the 2002–2003 season.
However, the team never returned from this temporary suspension of operations.
Year-by-year record
Year by year attendance
*2000-2001: 1,985
References
Defunct soccer clubs in Canada
Soccer clubs in Mississauga
Defunct indoor soccer teams
National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) teams
Canadian indoor soccer teams
2000 establishments in Ontario
2001 disestablishments in Ontario
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