The Kenora Muskies, known as the Kenora Thistles from 1975 to 1982, are a defunct Manitoba Junior Hockey League team that played in Kenora, Ontario between 1968 and 1982.
History The Kenora Muskies were granted expansion into the Memorial Cup-eligible Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 1968. Two season later, the league was relegated to Tier II Junior A and competed for the Manitoba Centennial Cup.
The Muskies best year in the league came in 1970-71 when they finished first place in the regular season but failed to win the Turnbull Cup as playoff champions.
In 1975, the Muskies were renamed to the traditional Kenora namesake, the Thistles. The original Kenora Thistles were 1906 Stanley Cup champions.
In 1982, the Thistles folded after three progressively worse losing seasons.
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs1968-69 34 13 21 0 - 177 190 26 6th MJHL1969-70 34 20 13 1 - 192 148 41 2nd MJHL1970-71 48 29 16 3 - 228 179 61 1st MJHL1971-72 47 25 22 0 - 230 223 50 4th MJHL1972-73 48 21 26 1 - 288 296 43 6th MJHL1973-74 48 10 38 0 - 199 343 20 9th MJHL1974-75 48 15 33 0 - 243 331 30 8th MJHL1975-76 52 16 32 4 - 253 217 36 9th MJHL1976-77 52 28 24 0 - 258 244 56 4th MJHL1977-78 52 32 18 2 - 312 233 66 4th MJHL1978-79 45 24 20 1 - 299 274 49 5th MJHL1979-80 46 20 25 1 - 252 278 41 6th MJHL1980-81 47 13 31 3 - 238 327 29 7th MJHL1981-82 48 12 35 1 - 193 297 25 8th MJHL
Playoffs 1969 Lost semi-final Kenora Muskies defeated Selkirk Steelers 4-games-to-1 Dauphin Kings defeated Kenora Muskies 4-games-to-2 1970 Lost semi-final Kenora Muskies defeated Portage Terriers 4-games-to-2 Dauphin Kings defeated Kenora Muskies 4-games-to-1 1971 Lost final Kenora Muskies defeated Dauphin Kings 4-games-to-3 Kenora Muskies defeated Selkirk Steelers 4-games-to-1 St. Boniface Saints defeated Kenora Muskies 4-games-to-none 1972 Lost quarter-final Portage Terriers defeated Kenora Muskies 4-games-to-1 1973 Lost semi-final Kenora Muskies defeated Selkirk Steelers 4-games-to-2 Portage Terriers defeated Kenora Muskies 4-games-to-none 1974 DNQ 1975 DNQ 1976 DNQ 1977 Lost semi-final Kenora Thistles defeated St. Boniface Saints 4-games-to-2 Kildonan North Stars defeated Kenora Thistles 4-games-to-3 1978 Lost semi-final Kenora Thistles defeated St. James Canadians 4-games-to-1 Kildonan North Stars defeated Kenora Thistles 4-games-to-2 1979 Lost quarter-final Kildonan North Stars defeated Kenora Thistles 4-games-to-3 1980 Lost quarter-final Selkirk Steelers defeated Kenora Thistles 4-games-to-none 1981 Lost quarter-final St. Boniface Saints defeated Kenora Thistles 4-games-to-none 1982 Lost quarter-final Fort Garry Blues defeated Kenora Thistles 4-games-to-none
Notable alumni Muskies Mitch Babin Charlie Luksa Charlie Simmer Rick St. Croix Thistles Mike Allison Ted Nolan
References
See also List of ice hockey teams in Ontario
External links Kenora Thistles