Dunedin Thunder

The Dunedin Thunder is an ice hockey team based in Dunedin, New Zealand and are members of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. The club plays their home games at the Dunedin Ice Stadium. The Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the league as an expansion team. The clubs won their first regular season title in 2013 and have finished as runner-up in the playoffs in 2013 and 2014, losing on both occasions to the Canterbury Red Devils.

Dunedin Thunder
CityDunedin
LeagueNew Zealand Ice Hockey League
Founded2008
Operated2008–present
Home arenaDunedin Ice Stadium
Colours       
General manager Alexis Robin
Head coach Matt Hladun
CaptainGints Leitis
WebsiteDunedinthunder.co.nz
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2013)
NZIHL Champion0

History

The Dunedin Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the New Zealand Ice Hockey League, expanding the league to five teams.[1] In their debut season the Thunder finished the regular season in last place, managing only one win from their 12 games.[2] The team repeated their last place finish in the 2009 season, again finishing the season with only a single win.[3] The Thunder improved from 2010 to 2012, finishing the regular season in fourth on two occasions and third in the 2012 season.[4][5][6] In 2013 the Thunder claimed their first regular season title after finishing on 32 points and edging out the Canterbury Red Devils only on win percentage.[7] The team advanced to the final against the Red Devils however lost the game 3–7.[7] The following season the Thunder returned to the finals after finishing the regular season in second place.[8] The team however went on to lose for the second year in a row to the Red Devils.[8] In the 2015 season the Thunder finished the regular season in fourth place and failed to qualify for the playoffs.[9]

Season by season results

Season GP W OTW T OTL L GF GA PTS Finish Playoff Ref
2008121011309145thDid not qualify[2]
20091610154214225thDid not qualify[3]
20101634187184184thDid not qualify[4]
2011163201178108134thDid not qualify[5]
20121681257765283rdDid not qualify[6]
20131684048766321stLost final (Canterbury Red Devils)[7]
201416100157267312ndLost final (Canterbury Red Devils)[8]
2015165001166108154thDid not qualify[9]

Players and personnel

Current roster

Team roster for the 2016 NZIHL season[10]

#NatNamePosS/GAgeAcquiredBirthplace
Felipe AguirreFR222016
88Jonas BarakauskasGL262015
6Matas BarakauskasDL292015
Monty BrownFR242016
Tom Carson-PrattFL222016
Brandon ContrattoFR302016West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States
12Dylan DevlinDR252014Dunedin, New Zealand
60Kane EasterbrookGR322016
David FerrariDR372016
Lachlan FrearFR242016
Ryan GruszkaFR242016Belle River, Ontario, Canada
Connor HarrisonFR272013Arrowtown, New Zealand
22Shaun HarrisonFR262013Auckland, New Zealand
George HopkinsDL222016
Liam KinneyFR232015
35Noah LeahyDL232013Dunedin, New Zealand
Seamus LeahyFL222015
25Guillaume LeclancherDL312013Maisons-Alfort, France
Daniel LeeGL232016
Gints LeitisFL282016Riga, Latvia
Gareth LloydFR282016
Jaime MeeuwsFL2016
Joe OrrFL242012Dunedin, New Zealand
Joel ScottFL252015
Otto SillanpääFL262016Säkylä, Finland
Jaan TuriaF2016
29Hunter WaughGL242016Dunedin, New Zealand
19Regan WilsonDR272009Dunedin, New Zealand

Team captains

  • Andre Robichaud, 2013–2014[11]
  • Gino Heyd, 2015[12]
  • Gints Leitis, Ryan Gruszka, Connor Harrison, Regan Wilson 2016


Head coaches

  • James van Leeuwen, 2010–2011[13]
  • János Kaszala, 2012–2016[14]
  • Matt Hladun, 2017–present[15]

General managers

  • Drew McMillian, 2014[16]
  • Pete Hurring, 2015[17]
  • Guillaume Leclancher, 2016[18]
  • Alexis Robin, 2017–present[15]

References

  1. Zielger, Claire (2012-08-23). "Distinction for all seasons". Hewitt Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  2. "NZIHL Team Standings 2007 - 2008". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  3. "NZIHL Team Standings 2008 - 2009". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  4. "NZIHL Team Standings 2009 - 2010". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  5. "NZIHL Team Standings 2010 - 2011". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  6. "NZIHL Team Standings 2011 - 2012". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  7. "2013 New Zealand Ice Hockey League". New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  8. "NZIHL Team Standings 2013 - 2014". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  9. "NZIHL Team Standings 2014 - 2015". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  10. "Dunedin Thunder". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  11. "Andre Robichaud". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  12. "Gino Heyd". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  13. "James van Leeuwen". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  14. "János Kaszala". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  15. "Team Roster" (PDF). New Zealand Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  16. "Drew McMillian". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  17. "Pete Hurring". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  18. "Guillaume Leclancher". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
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