The Marathon Renegades were a Junior "A"
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
team from
Marathon, Ontario
Marathon is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Thunder Bay District, on the north shore of Lake Superior north of Pukaskwa National Park, in the heart of the Canadian Shield.
Geography
Personal residences encompass an area st ...
. They were currently members of the
Superior International Junior Hockey League.
History
They were members of the
North of Superior Junior B Hockey League
The North of Superior Junior B Hockey League (NSHL) is a defunct Junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The league used to be a part of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association.
History
The North of Superior Jun ...
from 1996 until 2004. There was some speculation as to whether or not the team were known as the Marathon Renegades or the North Shore Renegades in the 2006-07 season. When reached for comment, the league stated that they are still currently known as the Marathon Renegades. The Renegades had their official "roll-out" on July 7 in Marathon. The Executive consists of Al Cresswell, President; John Moreau, Past President; Denis Leduc, General Manager; Don Savoie, Assistant General Manager; and John Hooper, Director of Sales/Voice of the Renegades. The Executive introduced the club as North Shore, due to the franchise being split between Marathon and Terrace Bay, however due to conflicts, the franchise now is based in Marathon, and may play some games in White River. The Renegades announced games would be played in Marathon at the Marathon Arena (capacity 680). Home and away jerseys are patterned after the Washington Capitals jerseys of the late 1990s and into the early 2000s.
2006-07
![Marathon Renegades Matt Marasco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Marathon_Renegades_Matt_Marasco.jpg)
The Renegades' historic first Junior "A" hockey game took place on September 22, 2006 against the
Schreiber Diesels
The Schreiber Diesels were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Schreiber, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
History
The Schreiber Diesels were coached by Bobby Spadoni, a life long resident of t ...
with Kyle Leblanc being named captain. The game was something of a nightmare, with the Renegades losing 20-0 to the Diesels and getting outshot 111-10. The only highlight for the Renegades was goalie Adam Guignard who stopped 91 of 111 shots, playing the entire 60 minutes.
Their first home game since the fall of the NSHL took place against the defending Central Canadian Champion
Fort William 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 ...
on September 30, 2006, with the result was lopsided 15-3 loss. On a high point, newly acquired Dave McDonald, formerly of the
Manitoba Junior Hockey League's
Waywayseecappo Wolverines
The Waywayseecappo Wolverines are a Junior A ice hockey team playing in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. They play their home games in the Waywayseecappo Community Complex in Waywayseecappo, Manitoba, Canada. The team played its first game on ...
, scored the Renegades' first ever Junior "A" goal in the loss. The goal came on the powerplay at 15:05 of the second period. In late September, the Renegades released backup goalie Jayms Lyon and picked up Charles Couture from the
Estevan Bruins of the
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
After 21 consecutive losses since their expansion, the Renegades gained their first ever SIJHL victory on December 3, 2006. After going up on the
Thunder Bay Bulldogs
The Thunder Bay Bulldogs were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from the Port Arthur section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
History
The Thunder Bay Bulldogs, sometimes referred to ...
by a score of 6-1 after the first period, the Bulldogs scored 5 straight goals to tie up the game by the early third period. At 14:32 of the third, Marathon's Justin Gaudreault scored to put the game away for good. Following an insurance marker, the Renegades defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 8-6. Adam Guignard stopped 45 of 51 shots to clinch the historic first victory. To prove it was not a fluke, the Renegades won their next game on December 8 against the
Dryden Ice Dogs 4-1. At the end of the season, Marathon goaltender Adam Guignard was awarded the Daniel Beardy Memorial Trophy as the SIJHL Top Goaltender in the 2006-07 season. Guignard led the league with a 0.916
save percentage
Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic.
In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...
.
2007-08
The Marathon Renegades at one point were as high as fourth place in the 2007-08 SIJHL season, but after 37 games played were forced to resign from the rest of the campaign. Their problems resulted from weeks of playing with just over two lines of players. Injuries and early defections were blamed for this. Al Cresswell, team president, claimed that the shortage of players had become a health risk. The Renegades have not suspended operations, but have pulled out of the season.
The Renegades got out to a great start with a record of six wins and seven losses at the start of November, leaving them sitting pretty in the SIJHL standings. The Renegades would not win again for another month and a half making their record 7-13-3-1. The Renegades started cleaning house in November, with Jim MacDonnell becoming the fourth head coach in Renegades history and forward Mike Ainsworth being selected as the new team captain in November 2007, following a string of losing games and a number of players deserting the team or demanding trades. After their seventh win, the Renegades who were very promising going into the season, never won again. After a thirteen game losing streak that would average roughly 10 goals against a game, played with a roster that was usually between 9 and 13 forwards and defensemen, the Renegades requested a leave from the rest of the 2007-08 season citing health concerns for their shortened bench. Their final 13 games will officially be listed as 1-0 forfeit losses.
Season-by-season results
Playoffs
*2007 ''DNQ''
*2008 ''Did Not Complete Season''
References
External links
Renegades WebpageSIJHL Website
{{SIJHL
Defunct Superior International Junior Hockey League teams
Sport in Northern Ontario
1996 establishments in Ontario
Ice hockey clubs established in 1996