The Kenora Thistles were a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

senior ice hockey club from

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The club most recently played in the 2015–16 season in the

Hockey Northwestern Ontario Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) is the governing body of all ice hockey in Northern Ontario, Canada. Hockey Northwestern Ontario is a branch of Hockey Canada. Jurisdiction Empowered by Hockey Canada, Hockey Northwestern Ontario has control of ...

and were hosts of the

2011 Allan Cup The 2011 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey. This was the 103rd year the Allan Cup was awarded. The 2011 Allan Cup was contended in Kenora, Ontario, hosted by the Kenora Thistles of Hockey Northwestern Ontario from ...

History

Founded in 2006, the Kenora Thistles were one of only two teams in their area, the other being the

Thunder Bay Twins The Thunder Bay Twins were an Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991. Origin On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder Bay w ...

. Both the Thistles and Twins played a series of exhibition games against

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

senior clubs to stay ready during the winter as they have no official league play until the playoffs. In the spring, the Thistles and Thunder Bay traditionally met in a best-of-3 series to determine the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

champion for the

Renwick Cup Renwick may refer to: ;Places * Renwick, Cumbria, England * Renwick, Iowa, United States * Renwick, New South Wales, Australia * Renwick, New York, United States, see List of places in New York: R * Renwick, New Zealand ;People * Sir Arthur Renw ...

. In the 2007 playoffs, the

Thunder Bay Bombers The Thunder Bay Bombers were a Canadian Senior ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario. They played an independent schedule under the supervision of Hockey Northwestern Ontario. They were 2005 Allan Cup Canadian National Champions. History T ...

defaulted due to lack of money despite winning the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

in 2005 and traveling Europe in 2006 to play against professional European clubs. Taking up an old, forgotten tradition of the Allan Cup champion. With no

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

competition, the Kenora earned the right to compete in the Renwick Cup and as well to host it. But, the Thistles did not book ice time in time and the Town of Kenora would not alter their schedule, so

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

stripped Kenora of hosting rights and awarded them to the eventual OHA champion, who ended up being the

Whitby Dunlops The Whitby Dunlops are a Canadian senior ice hockey team in the team in the Allan Cup Hockey league. The team began play in 2004, and is on a leave of absence as of the 2020-21 season. Two previous teams have also played as the Whitby Dunlops. ...

of the

Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League The Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League, or EOSHL, is a top Senior ice hockey league in Eastern Ontario that operated from 2003 to 2008, merged into the Major Hockey League in 2008 and resumed its operations from 2019 onwards. The EOSHL is gov ...

. Kenora led the first game of the best-of-3 1–0 and 2–1. Whitby stormed back and led 3–2. Kenora tied the game in the third just to have the Dunlops score a late one to take game one 4–3. Kenora was outshot 50–29. In game two, the Dunlops taught the Thistles a lesson, crushing them 11–0 to take the series 2–games-to-none. In 2008, the Thistles returned for more playoff action after an extensive exhibition schedule. Thunder Bay was back under the name Thunder Bay Hawks HC. The Hawks won both games of the Northern final: 7–4 and 5–1 to advance to the Renwick Cup. The 2008–09 season was spent with a short exhibition schedule against other Senior teams in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. These games included a pair against

Theoren Fleury Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author, and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of the ...

's Steinbach North Stars, hosts of the

2009 Allan Cup The 2009 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey. This tournament marked the 101st year that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The 2009 tournament was hosted by the City of Steinbach, Manitoba and the Steinbach North Stars ...

. The playoffs began for the Thistles on March 13 against the

. Two victories would take the Thistles directly to the

round robin for the first time ever. Playing in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, the Thistles struck first with a 5–4 double-overtime victory. The next evening the Twins struck back, taking Game 2 by a 7–2 score. The Thistles dominated early and took a 3–2 lead into the third period. Late in the game the Twins tied the score at 3 and forced overtime. In the second overtime period, the Twins scored to win 4–3 and ended the Thistles third season of play. From March 11 to 14, 2010, the Thistles hosted the HNO Gary Cook Cup senior hockey championship. The Thistles tied their first game against the

Fort Frances Thunderhawks The Fort Frances Thunderhawks were a Canadian Senior ice hockey club from Fort Frances, Ontario. They were eligible to compete for the Allan Cup. History The Thunderhawks were founded in 2009 and are the namesake of the Fort Frances Borderland ...

3–3, a result that would later be overturned and awarded to the Thistles. Their second game was a 5–1 drubbing of their rival

Thunder Bay K&A Twins The Thunder Bay Twins were a Canadian Senior ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario. They played an independent schedule under the supervision of Hockey Northwestern Ontario. They competed for the Allan Cup, the Grand Championship of Canadi ...

. Due to the same protest that changed the result of their game against the Thunderhawks, the Thistles met the Twins again in the tournament final. The Thistles were victorious, taking the Twins 3-1. The will move on to the

in April against the winners of

Major League Hockey Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), formerly Major League Hockey until 2011, is the top tier Canadian senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1990, as the Southwestern Senior "A" Hockey League, the ACH is a member of the Ontario Hock ...

. The Thistles and the City of

hosted the

on behalf of

. They lost the quarter-final to the

. The Thunderhawks were awarded the branch championship Gary Cook Cup for the victory. In June 2011, the team officially folded, but were resurrected by a new owner before the month was out. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, the Thistles won the Renwick Cup in Dundas, defeating the Dundas Real McCoys two games to none and advanced to the Allan Cup in

Lloydminster, Alberta Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city ...

. The Thistles went 3 and 0, losing in the quarter-final to

Rosetown, Saskatchewan Rosetown is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, at the junction of provincial Highway 7 and Highway 4, approximately 115 km southwest of Saskatoon. The town's motto, "The Heart of the Wheat Belt" reflects its history of being ...

. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, the Thistles won the Renwick cup for a second straight year defeated the

Brantford Blast Brantford Blast are a Canadian senior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association's Allan Cup Hockey, from Brantford, Ontario. The team was established in 2000, and play their games at the Brantford Civic Centre. The Blast were the winners ...

two games to none in Kenora and advanced to the Allan Cup in

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...

, losing in the semi-final 3–2 to the eventual Allan Cup Champions,

Bentley Generals The Lacombe Generals were a Senior AAA ice hockey team from Lacombe, Alberta, Canada that played in the Chinook Hockey League. The Generals are four-time national champions, having won the Allan Cup in 2009 and 2016 in Steinbach, Manitoba, an ...

. The Thistles were to host the

2017 Allan Cup The 2017 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey and the 109th year the Allan Cup was awarded. The tournament was played at the J.K. Irving Centre in Bouctouche, New Brunswick from April 10 to 15, 2017 and won by the Grand ...

in Kenora; however the tournament was moved after the hockey club ceased operations on January 10, 2016. With the demise of the Thistles, Northwestern Ontario has no senior hockey clubs left competing for the Renwick Cup.

Season-by-season standings

Allan Cup results

References

External links

Official Kenora Senior Thistles websiteOfficial Allan Cup Website
{{OHA Senior 2006 establishments in Ontario 2016 disestablishments in Ontario Senior ice hockey teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey teams in Ontario Sport in Kenora Hockey Northwestern Ontario

History

Season-by-season standings

Allan Cup results

See also

References

External links