The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

History

Manitoulin

Founded in 2003 as the Manitoulin Wild, the franchise changed its name to the Manitoulin Islanders in 2005. They were eventually taken over by former NHLer Reggie Leach and the team started to split its time between Little Current, Ontario, and the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Reserve's Arena. With limited community support and win totals dwindling, volunteers were facing burnout and in 2011, direction was given to team president, Kevin Eshkawkogan to find a buyer for the team from off the Island.

Kirkland Lake After eight years on Manitoulin Island, the team had to either move or fold. In mid-May 2011, the NOJHL conditionally approved the move of the Manitoulin Islanders to Kirkland Lake, Ontario to become the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils. In their final four seasons in Little Current, the Islanders managed 17 wins in 200 games played.

The Blue Devils moniker was a long used traditional team name in Kirkland Lake, the most notable team to use the name was the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils who defeated the Calgary Stampeders 3-games-to-none to win the 1940 Allan Cup.

On September 9, 2011, the Blue Devils played their inaugural home game and regulation game in their history. The Blue Devils dropped a 9-2 decision to the North Bay Trappers. On October 12, 2011, the Blue Devils won their first game since relocation 3–2 in a shootout against the Sudbury Cubs. Two nights later, the Blue Devils scored their first ever home win, 5-4 in a shootout, against the Blind River Beavers.

On January 12, 2012, team owner, Robert Kasner, announced that he was folding the club mid-season. The folding of the team happened right after Kasner was suspended by the league for six months for multiple roster violations. Soon after the folding, the league announced that a new ownership group was to be brought in to run the team, keeping the team in Kirkland Lake. The team completed the 2011–12 season under the new name, the Gold Miners.

The Gold Miners won their first NOJHL championship in 2014 when they defeated the Soo Thunderbirds. The Gold Miners then traveled to Wellington, Ontario, to participate in the 2014 Dudley Hewitt Cup where they failed to record a win. In 2014–15, the Gold Miners and the Soo Thunderbirds were fighting for first place all season, but Kirkland Lake finished second and the Powassan Voodoos won the playoff series against Kirkland Lake.

The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners were awarded hosting duties for the 2016 Dudley Hewitt Cup, and lost to the Thunderbirds in the semifinal game. The 2022-23 season marked the first year that the Goldminers did not qualify for post season play. Season-by-season results Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts Results PlayoffsManitoulin Wild2003–04 48 15 32 0 1 179 245 31 6th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinal2004–05 48 14 30 1 3 164 266 32 6th NOJHL Lost QuarterfinalManitoulin Islanders2005–06 48 8 36 3 1 114 229 20 7th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinal2006–07 48 11 30 0 7 138 232 29 7th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinal2007–08 50 2 47 — 1 109 311 6 6th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinal2008–09 50 7 40 — 3 141 322 17 8th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinal2009–10 50 4 45 — 1 131 359 9 8th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinal2010–11 50 4 46 — 0 133 347 8 8th NOJHL Lost QuarterfinalKirkland Lake Blue Devils/Gold Miners2011–12 50 9 39 — 2 138 288 20 6th NOJHL Lost Quarterfinals, 0–4 vs. Sudbury CubsKirkland Lake Gold Miners2012–13 48 25 18 2 3 173 145 55 4th NOJHL Won Quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. Blind River BeaversLost Semifinals, 1–4 vs. North Bay Trappers2013–14 56 43 7 1 5 234 118 92 2nd overall Won quarterfinal against North Bay (4:0)Won semifinal against Elliot Lake (4:1)Won final against Soo Thunderbirds (4:2)2014–15 52 38 10 2 2 264 131 80 1st of 5, East2nd of 9, NOJHL Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–4 vs. Powassan Voodoos2015–16 54 39 12 1 2 247 135 81 3rd in division4th overall Won quarterfinal against Powassan (4:2)Won semifinal against Cochrane (4:1)Lost final against Soo Thunderbirds (4:0)2016–17 56 28 21 4 3 232 190 63 4th of 6, East6th of 12, NOJHL Won Div. Play-in series, 2–1 vs. Iroquois Falls EskisLost Div. Semifinals, 0–4 vs. Powassan Voodoos2017–18 56 24 21 4 7 163 180 59 3rd of 6, East7th of 12, NOJHL Lost Div. Semifinals, 1–4 vs. Cochrane Crunch2018–19 56 33 17 — 6 194 156 72 2nd of 6, East3rd of 12, NOJHL Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–4 vs. Powassan Voodoos2019–20 56 18 32 — 6 154 228 42 5th in division9th overall Lost first round against Cochrane (2:1)2020–21 5 3 2 — 0 20 15 6 Leave of absence2021–22 48 12 33 — 3 151 231 27 5th in division11th overall Lost first round against French River (2:0)2022–23 58 7 48 1 1 104 219 16 5th in division11th overall Did not qualify2023–24 58 10 41 5 2 145 294 27 5th in division10th overall Did not qualify2024–2552939131172842211th overallDid not qualify2025–26 52 17 28 0 7 147 226 41 8th overall Lost quarterfinal against Greater Sudbury (4:0)

Source:

Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canada Championships Winners of the NOJHL, OJHL, SIJHL, and Host Round robin play with 2nd vs 3rd in semifinal to advance against 1st in the finals. Year Round Robin Record Standing Semifinal Gold Medal Game 2014 L, Wellington Dukes (OJHL/Host) 1–4L, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL) 1–4L, Fort Frances Lakers (SIJHL) 3–6 0–3–0 4th of 4 Did not qualify 2016 HostW, Fort Frances Lakers (SIJHL) 8–5L, Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) 1–5L, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL) 2–3 1–2–0 3rd of 4 L, Soo Thunderbirds 1–4 —

References

Further reading

External links KL Gold Miners Webpage