The Bill Salonen Cup Champions will represent the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) in the ten-team tournament for the first time since the format was introduced in 2022.
2006 marked the last time the North Stars franchise was on the national stage. They went 2-2 in the round robin portion of the five-team RBC Cup in Brampton, Ontario before falling to the Burnaby Express in overtime of the semifinals.
Fast forward twenty years and the team has been gathering what they can to prepare for the expanded field.
“We have had calls out all week to colleagues in other leagues in an attempt to gather as much information as possible on these teams,” said North Stars Head Coach and Assistant General Manager Matt Valley. “Everyone in Summerside is going to be very good, we know that. The more we know, the better we can prepare. Between those conversations and plenty of hours of video, I think we have done what we need to do in that department.”
Valley also cautioned against over coaching his players as the calendar turns to May.
“We can’t think too much or focus too intensely on what the other teams are doing. We need to stick to our identity and trust the work we’ve put in. The plan is to not deviate too much from our usual approach to the game and how we want to play. If we need to adjust as we go, we will but we made it this far so if it ain’t broke let’s not try and fix it.”
The Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) are the hosts of the event and will be joined by the eight other league champions:
Canmore Eagles (Alberta Junior Hockey League)
Flin Flon Bombers (Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League)
Niverville Nighthawks (Manitoba Junior Hockey League)
Greater Sudbury Cubs (Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League)
Toronto Patriots (Ontario Junior Hockey League)
Rockland Nationals (Central Canada Hockey League)
College Francais de Longueuil (Quebec Junior Hockey League)
Truro Bearcats (MHL)
The North Stars clinched their first league crown since 2019 with a 5-4 overtime victory in Game Seven on April 28th against the Fort Frances Lakers. They swept their quarterfinal against the Ironwood Lumberjacks and defeated the Dryden GM Ice Dogs in five games in the semifinals.
“Our coaches have been doing a really good job with making sure we’re prepared for the different styles we might see at the tournament,” confirmed North Stars defenceman Chance Loke. “As a team, we’ll be watching a lot of video, learning different tendencies, and picking up on little details that can help us once the games start. At the end of the day, every team has strengths, but if we focus on our structure and play our game, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to be successful.”
In 2019, the Thunder North Stars went to the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Cochrane, Ontario and did not advance to the semi-finals after losing all three round robin games.
The four team Dudley Hewitt Cup determined the Central representative under the previous format of the National Junior ‘A’ Championship.
Before the trip to Prince Edward Island, there’s a focus on getting rest before the games resume this week.
“The (SIJHL) playoffs definitely took a toll on all of our bodies,” Loke noted. “It was a long, hard battle and I think everyone is feeling it a little bit right now. That’s why these days off are huge for us and will pay off once we get to Summerside. It gives everyone a chance to recover, reset, and be ready to go again.”
The North Stars will travel out to Summerside on Tuesday, May 5th ahead of their first game against the Canmore Eagles at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday May 8th. Valley expects everyone will be available for the tournament opener.
The remainder of their round robin schedule is as follows:
Saturday May 9th
Thunder Bay North Stars vs. Niverville Nighthawks Noon ET
Monday May 11th
Rockland Nationals vs. Thunder Bay North Stars 3:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday May 12th
Thunder Bay North Stars vs. Summerside Western Capitals 6:30 p.m. ET
Since the creation of the Centennial Cup, the SIJHL representatives have won just a single round robin game and have not advanced to the Quarterfinals.
2022 Red Lake Miners (Estevan, Saskatchewan)
2023 Kam River Fighting Walleye (Portage la Prairie, Manitoba)
2024 Sioux Lookout Bombers (Oakville, Ontario)
2025 Kam River Fighting Walleye (Calgary, Alberta)
