The Westfort Hurricanes were a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

club from Fort William,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The Herks were members of the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League and were

Abbott Cup The Abbott Memorial Cup, commonly referred to as the Abbott Cup, was awarded annually from 1919 through 1999 to the Junior "A" ice hockey Champion for Western Canada. The Cup was named after Captain E.L. (Hick) Abbott who was a noted hockey ...

finalists once.

History

In 1972, the Hurricanes broke away from the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League to join the

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

-based Can-Am Junior Hockey League. A year later, that league became the Midwest Junior Hockey League. The Herks stayed on board for one Midwest Junior season before returning to the TBJHL.

Dave Siciliano David John Siciliano (born July 7, 1946) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and player. He played university hockey for the Lakehead Thunderwolves, Lakehead Nor'Westers, and led them to the International Collegiate Hockey Association champio ...

coached the Hurricanes during the 1973–74 season. His team completed the regular season in first place with 45 wins in 60 games. In the 1974 Centennial Cup playoffs, the Hurricanes defeated the

Wexford Raiders The Toronto Jr. Canadiens are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based in the Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were known as the Wexford Raiders until the end of the 2005–06 season and are a part of Ontario Junior Hockey Lea ...

four games to three in the first round, then were defeated four games to three by the Smiths Falls Bears in the second round. The MWJHL later merged and solidified the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

. The Buccaneers folded on July 6, 1980, when the TBAHA left them with no league to play in.

Season-by-season standings

Playoffs

*1971 ''Lost final'' :Westfort Hurricanes defeated Fort William Canadians ''3-games-to-2'' : Thunder Bay Marrs defeated Westfort Hurricanes ''4-games-to-1'' *1972 ''Lost semi-final'' : Minnesota Jr. Stars defeated Westfort Hurricanes ''2-games-to-none'' *1973 ''Lost quarter-final/Canadian TBAHA Semi-final'' : Thunder Bay Centennials defeated Westfort Hurricanes ''4-games-to-2'' *1974 ''Won TBAHA Jack Adams Trophy final, lost Hewitt-Dudley Memorial Trophy final'' :Thunder Bay Hurricanes defeated Thunder Bay Eagles ( TBJHL) ''3-games-to-none'' :Thunder Bay Hurricanes defeated Fort William Canadians ( TBJHL) ''4-games-to-none'' JACK ADAMS TROPHY CHAMPIONS :Thunder Bay Hurricanes defeated

(

OPJHL The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league dates back to 1954 where i ...

) ''4-games-to-3'' : Smiths Falls Bears ( CJHL) defeated Thunder Bay Hurricanes ''4-games-to-3'' *1975 ''Lost final'' :Thunder Bay Hurricanes defeated Thunder Bay Beavers ''4-games-to-2'' : Thunder Bay Eagles defeated Thunder Bay Hurricanes ''4-games-to-1'' *1976 ''Lost semi-final'' : Thunder Bay Beavers defeated Thunder Bay Hurricanes ''4-games-to-2'' *1977 ''Lost final'' :Degagne Hurricanes defeated Thunder Bay Beavers ''3-games-to-none and 1 tie'' : Thunder Bay Eagles defeated Degagne Hurricanes ''4-games-to-1'' *1978 ''Won League, lost Hewitt-Dudley Memorial Trophy Quarter-final'' :Degagne Hurricanes defeated Thunder Bay Beavers ''3-games-to-none'' :Degagne Hurricanes defeated Atikokan Voyageurs ''4-games-to-none'' TBJHL CHAMPIONS :

Guelph Platers The Guelph Platers were a junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. They were originally known as the CMC's un ...

(

) defeated Degagne Hurricanes ''4-games-to-none'' *1979 ''Lost final'' :

Thunder Bay North Stars The Thunder Bay North Stars are a Junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. They are a member of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. History After the fall of the Thunder Bay Flyers in 200 ...

defeated Degagne Buccaneers ''4-games-to-1'' *1980 ''Lost final'' :

defeated Degagne Buccaneers ''4-games-to-none with 1 tie''

Championships

'' TBJHL Champions'': :1942, 1943, 1952, 1960, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974*, 1978 ''

Finalists'': :1970 ''

Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League ...

/Eastern Centennial Cup Semi-final Champion'' :1974 ''(*) denotes: Herks played in MWJHL, rejoined TBJHL for playoffs.''

Notable alumni

''Fort William Hurricane-Rangers'' * Gus Bodnar *

Alex Delvecchio Alexander Peter "Fats" Delvecchio (born December 4, 1931) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager who spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings. In a playing career tha ...

* Bill Johansen *

Bud Poile Norman Robert "Bud" Poile (February 10, 1924 – January 4, 2005) was a professional ice hockey player, coach, general manager, and league executive. Bud was the brother of Don Poile, and the father of David Poile. Overview Poile was born in ...

''Fort William Hurricanes'' * Mike Busniuk *

Larry Cahan Lawrence Louis Henry Cahan (December 25, 1933 – June 25, 1992), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Oakland Seals, L ...

* Dave Gatherum * Eddie Kachur * Dennis Owchar * Don Poile * Vic Venasky * Tommy Williams * Gord Wilson ''Westfort Hurricanes'' * Lou Nistico * Murray Wing * Benny Woit ''Thunder Bay Westfort Hurricanes'' * Mike Hordy * Trevor Johansen

References

{{Reflist Defunct junior ice hockey teams in Canada Hockey Northwestern Ontario