Tillsonburg Thunder

Tillsonburg Thunder
City:	Tillsonburg, Ontario
League:	Western Ontario Super Hockey League
Founded:	2001 (2001)
Home Arena:	Tillsonburg Community Centre
Colors:	Black and Gold
Head Coach:	TBA
General Manager:	Dan Hambleton
Franchise history
2001-2008:	Tillsonburg Vipers
2008-Pres:	Tillsonburg Thunder

The Tillsonburg Thunder are a Senior ice hockey team based in Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada.

Tillsonburg Vipers player in 2007-08 season.

History

logo at Tillsonburg Vipers

The Tillsonburg Vipers were founded in 2001 as a Senior "AAA" team in the Ontario Hockey Association's Major League Hockey.

In 2003-04, the Vipers made the league final, but lost to the Aylmer Blues 4-games-to-2.

Tillsonburg's best season was the 2005-06 season. After finishing the regular season in second place with 17 wins in 30 games, the Vipers knocked off the Cambridge Hornets 4-games-to-3 to make the league finals. In the league final, the Vipers fell to the Dundas Real McCoys 4-games-to-3.

The MLH fell apart in 2008, just after the Brantford Blast won the league's first ever Allan Cup. The team filled the gap when the disgruntled Cambridge Hornets left the MLH, the collegiate Windsor St. Clair Saints, walked away from the league. The Vipers decided it was their time to leave as well and applied to join the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League. The WOAA is an independent league with no connections to the Ontario Hockey Association. It classifies itself as Senior "AA", and allows for both a Senior "AA" and Senior "A" championship come playoff time. On May 14, 2008, the WOAA granted expansion to the Tillsonburg Vipers.

The first ever Tillsonburg WOAA game took place on October 4, 2008, as the Thunder defeated the Goderich Pirates 6-5 in overtime in Tillsonburg. The Thunder had a successful first season in the WOAA, earning a record of 11-7-2, registering 24 points, and fifth place in the South Division. Tillsonburg would lose to the Clinton Radars in the "AA" qualifying round, being sent to the "A" playoffs. In the "A" quarter-finals, the Thunder were upset by the Exeter Mohawks in six games, ending their season.

They played in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League until 2020 with the 2020-21 season being cancelled. The team was announced as a founding member of the Western Ontario Super Hockey League for the 2021-22 season.

Season-by-Season Standings

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts	Results	Playoffs
2001-02	32	6	23	2	1	128	241	15	5th SWSHL
2002-03	32	11	18	2	1	150	174	25	4th OHA Sr. A	Lost Semifinals
2003-04	32	17	11	2	2	159	129	38	4th OHA Sr. A	Lost Final
2004-05	32	16	15	0	1	141	129	34	4th MLH	Lost Semifinals
2005-06	30	17	9	0	4	135	129	38	2nd MLH	Lost Final
2006-07	30	14	12	-	4	149	146	32	4th MLH	Lost Semifinals
2007-08	30	11	17	-	2	108	147	24	4th MLH	Lost Semifinals
2008-09	20	11	7	-	2	100	84	24	5th WOAA South	Lost "A" Quarterfinals
2009-10	20	16	4	-	0	97	62	32	1st South	Lost "A" Quarterfinals
2010-11	26	16	9	-	1	134	114	33	4th South	Lost Division Final
2011-12	24	16	7	-	1	130	95	33	2nd South	Lost Division Final
2012-13	24	14	6	-	4	127	96	32	4th South	Lost Division Quarterfinals
2013-14	24	21	3	-	0	128	70	42	1st South	Lost Division Semifinals
2014-15	24	18	5	-	1	152	92	37	1st South	Won "AA" Championship
2015-16	24	9	12	-	3	95	137	21	5th South	Won "A" Championship
Season	GP	W	L	OL	SL	GF	GA	Pts	Finish	Playoffs
2016-17	20	11	8	0	1	95	76	23	T-7th	Lost "AA" Quarterfinals
2017-18	20	14	3	0	3	113	73	31	4th	Lost "AA" Semifinals
2018-19	22	10	11	0	0	94	101	20	10th	Lost "A" Semifinals
2018-19	22	11	10	0	0	98	82	22	8th	Lost "AA" Quarterfinals
2019-20	22	13	7	1	1	112	88	28	6th	Semifinal series suspended with team trailing 3-1
2020-21	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Western Ontario Super Hockey League
Season	GP	W	L	T	OL	GF	GA	PTS	Finish	Playoffs
2021-22	20	20	10	10	0	109	83	20	3rd	Lost Final
2022-23	24	17	7	-	0	154	99	34	4th	Lost Final Championship
2023-24	24	16	6	-	2	132	94	34	T-1st	Won Championship

External links

• Thunder Homepage