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Carolina Thunderbirds

The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. The team played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1981 to 1987, the All-American Hockey League during 1987–88 and finally moved into the newly created East Coast Hockey League in 1988.[2]

Carolina Thunderbirds
CityWinston-Salem, North Carolina
LeagueAtlantic Coast Hockey League
1981–1987
All-American Hockey League
1987–1988
East Coast Hockey League
1988–1992
Founded1981
Home arenaWinston-Salem Memorial Coliseum
Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex
ColorsBlack, red, white, gold
       
Owner(s)Dave Gusky (1981-82)
Rick Dudley (1982–84)
Bill Coffey (1984–88)
John Baker, Phil Barber, and David Redmond[1] (1986–90)
Ed Broyhill (1989–98)
Jamie Koufman (1991)
John Redmond
Franchise history
1981–1982Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
1982–1989Carolina Thunderbirds
1989–1992Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
1992–1996Wheeling Thunderbirds
1996–presentWheeling Nailers
Championships
Regular season titles5 (1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1989–90)
Playoff championships5 (1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989)

The Carolina Thunderbirds were one of five teams that played during the inaugural season of East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). The Thunderbirds won the first ever ECHL championship and were awarded the Riley Cup for the 1988–89 ECHL season.

The team changed its name to the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds before the start of 1989–90 season and the team remained in the ECHL until the end of the 1991–92 season when it was announced by co-owner Ed Broyhill that Winston-Salem would move to West Virginia to play as the Wheeling Thunderbirds.[3]

Team history edit

The new franchise in Winston-Salem was awarded to a Cincinnati group headed by businessman Dave Gusky in 1981.[4] The team was named the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds and were the second professional hockey team to be based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina,[5] after the Winston-Salem Polar Twins, who played in the Southern Hockey League from 1973 to 1977. The Thunderbirds began in the inaugural 1981–82 season of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) and played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum, with capacity of 5,500 for hockey games. During the season, Gusky called recently retired former Buffalo Sabres' player Rick Dudley and asked for help with the struggling team. Dudley originally planned on staying for a few weeks to evaluate the team but realized the team would fold if he left. Dudley proposed that he would stay with the team and try to sell the franchise for Gusky and if that did not work, he would buy the team himself.[6] After three of the seven teams had folded during the season, the league decided to end early and set the playoffs with the four remaining teams by geographical area to save on travel expenses.[citation needed] In their inaugural season, the team would finished 14–33–3 under head coach Curry Whittaker. The Salem Raiders defeated the Thunderbirds in five games in the playoffs.

After the first season, Dudley bought the team from Gusky and replaced Whittaker as the head coach. Dudley then rebranded the team as the Carolina Thunderbirds.[7] Former Colorado Rockies player Dave Watson also joined the team and led the league in scoring with 102 points, 53 goals, and 49 assists. Starting in 1982 the team won four consecutive ACHL regular-season championships. The team improved to finish with a league-best 51–10–7 record in their second season. The team allowed only 208 goals (3.06 per game), the lowest per game average in team history, while also leading the league in scoring. Defenseman Rory Cava led the league with 60 assists during the season and was awarded with the ACHL Most Valuable Player (MVP) after the season. Watson and Michel Lanouette earned first team selections to the ACHL All-Star team, while Brian Carroll and Randy Irving had second team selections for their performances. Watson continued to lead the team in the postseason, leading the league in scoring with 14 points. They won their first Bob Payne Trophy, awarded to the playoff champion, in 1983 after defeating the Mohawk Valley Stars in four games, going 8–0 through the playoffs.

The following season, Watson was limited to 29 games during the regular season, but he was healthy again for the playoffs. Goaltender Pierre Hamel and Irving became first team selections to the ACHL All-Star team following the regular season. The Thunderbirds beat the Mohawk Valley Stars in the playoffs to return to the finals. In the finals, against the Erie Golden Blades, the Thunderbirds lost the championship in five games. Bill Coffey assumed team ownership from Rick Dudley in 1984.[8][9] The team had their best regular season during the 1984–85 season with a 53–10–1 record with Watson again leading the team with 85 points. John Torchetti began his professional hockey career with the Thunderbirds, while Irving and Bob Hagan were named first team ACHL All-Stars for the season. After defeating the Virginia Lancers, they met the Blades again in the 1985 finals with the Thunderbirds defeating them in six games to win their second league championship. Watson led the league in assists during the playoffs with 14 while Brian Carroll was awarded the ACHL Playoff MVP award for his 11 goals and 9 assists. In the 1985–86 season, the team had a 49–14–0 record. Center Joe Curran, scored 42 goals and league best 82 assists for a total of 124 points, was awarded the team's second ACHL MVP after the season. Goaltender Ray LeBlanc was a first team selection to the ACHL All-Star team and Irving was a second team selection. Dave Watson, who only played in nine games during the season, played in his last playoffs as he would retire after the season. In the 1986 finals, the Thunderbirds and Blades faced off for the third time, with the Thunderbirds winning in five games to become the only team to win consecutive ACHL championships. Bob Doré was awarded the ACHL Playoff MVP award.

After winning three championships in four years, Dudley moved up to become the head coach of the Flint Spirits in the International Hockey League and former Thunderbird player Mark Huglen was hired as the new coach. Huglen was unable to get the same results and after a poor 12–16 record to start the season, including 11 straight losses, he was replaced by another former Thunderbird player, Pierre Hamel.[10] The team finished the season 23–31–2 with 48 points, enough for the fourth seed in the playoffs. The team lost in the semifinals to the Virginia Lancers in five games. Despite the team's down year, the Thunderbird's Doug McCarthy led the league in both assists and points and Scott Knutson was awarded with the ACHL Rookie Of The Year.

In 1987, the ACHL merged into the All-American Hockey League (AAHL). Hamel started the season as head coach but was replaced by another former Thunderbird player, Brian Carroll, mid-season. The Thunderbirds went on to finish second in the standings with a 34–15–0 record, 68 points, and seven points behind the first place Virginia Lancers. John Torchetti set season records with 63 goals scored and 134 points and was a first team AAHL All-Star. Torchetti also was named the AAHL MVP after the season. In the AAHL playoffs, the Thunderbirds won the championship series over the Lancers in their only season in the AAHL.

The team was one of the founding five teams to form the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in the 1988.[2] Bill Coffey sold the team to minority owner John Baker during the season.[11] On October 28, 1988, the Thunderbirds played at the Johnstown Chiefs in the first game in ECHL history.[12] The team's 1988–89 regular season was mediocre and the team went through four different head coaches. Incumbent head coach Brian Carroll was replaced early in the season by Joe Selenski. Keith McAdams then filled in as head coach for one game before the team hired Brendon Watson as head coach on February 19 with only 13 games left in the season. Watson coached the team to 8 wins in the final 13 games before the playoffs. The team struggled on defense during the regular season, with a 5.48 goals against average (GAA) per game.[13] With a 27–32–1 record, the team finished in fourth place in the five team league. As the fourth seed, the Thunderbirds swept the regular season champion Erie Panthers in four games. In the inaugural ECHL championships, the Thunderbirds faced the Johnstown Chiefs. The Thunderbirds lost game one at the Chiefs 8–1 as the Chiefs scored four power play goals during the game.[14] After losing the first two games by a combined score of 14–2 in Johnstown, the Thunderbirds won the next three games to take a series lead 3–2, putting the Thunderbirds one win away from the title. Game two had a combined 186 penalty minutes between the teams. During the series, the ice at Winston-Salem Coliseum melted prior to game four because a compressor shut down during the night. The originally scheduled game five in Johnstown became game four and the Thunderbirds hosted game five back at home.[15] The Chiefs' Tom Sasso scored two shorthand goals[16] to help his team even the series in game six by defeating the Thunderbirds 7–4, a game that included several fights. After the game, in an effort to protect the league's image, ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly suspended three (Steve Plakson, Bill Huard and Michael Lanouette) of the Thunderbirds' players. As a result, the Thunderbirds were forced to face the Chiefs in the seventh and deciding game with just 11 skaters.[2] Coach Watson used a plan of changing personal on every whistle during game seven to slow down the pace of the game and buy as much rest for the few players he had available as possible. In spite of this set back, in the final game of the series, The Thunderbirds beat the Chiefs 7–4 to win the first ECHL Championship,[17] and were awarded the Riley Cup for the season. Goaltender Nick Vitucci was named the Most Valuable Player for the playoffs. In the series, John Devereaux and E.J. Sauer lead the Thunderbirds in goals with five each, Bob Wensley lead the team with eight assists, and Randy Irving lead the team with nine points from three goals and six assists. As of 2018, three Thunderbirds' players still held the top three spots for the ECHL record for the most penalty minutes in a finals series from that year; Steve Plaskon with 95, Michel Lanouette with 68 and Bill Huard with 58. Six Thunderbirds scored one power play goal each and Sauer scored the team's only short–handed goal, during game three, of the series.[18]

In 1989, the team name changed back to the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds. The team also began playing at the new Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex after the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum was demolished. Chris McSorley was hired to replace Brendon Watson as head coach before the season, McSorley's first experience as head coach. McSorley led the Thunderbirds to the top of the ECHL standings before a power struggle between him and general manager Jay Fraser led to Fraser replacing McSorley as head coach for the remainder of the season.[19] Len Soccio, Joe Ferras and Trent Kaese all finished in the top four of the league scoring, while goaltenders Paul Cohen and Kenton Rein both finished the season in the top five for goals against average (GAA) in the league. The team finished as regular season champions with a 38–16–7 record and 82 points. The team was awarded the Henry Brabham Cup trophy, given regular season champions. The team defeated the Nashville Knights in five games to reach the finals. In the finals, the team faced their in-state rival Greensboro Monarchs. The teams split the first two games in Winston-Salem, with a 5–3 Greensboro win in game one and a 6–3 win for the Thunderbirds in game two. Game two had a combined 226 penalty minutes between the teams breaking the record from the year before. Greensboro won 5–1 at home in game three. Game four, also in Greensboro, went into double overtime time with the Monarchs winning. Game four was the longest game in ECHL finals history up to that point, but has since been surpassed.[20] Each team had 67 shots on goal in the game for a 134 total, all of which are ECHL finals records as of 2018. Monarchs' goaltender, Wade Flaherty, made 64 saves as the Thunderbird's goaltender, Kenton Rein, had 63 saves. The series returned to Winston-Salem, but the Thunderbirds lost game five and the championship four-games-to-one. During the finals series, the Thunderbirds were led by Troy Vollhoffer with four goals, Dave Doucette and Len Soccio with five assists each, while Soccio also lead the team with seven points. John Torchetti scored the team's only power play goal (during game four) and Vollhoffer had two of the team's three short-handed goals.[21] Soccio was the ECHL playoffs scoring leader with 17 points. Irving retired after the season as the team leader in seasons with the team, all-time games played and all-time postseason assists, and as one of the only two players with the Thunderbirds to play in all five playoffs championships.

The following 1990–91 season, the league was aligned to include two separate divisions, East and West. The Thunderbirds were placed in the West Division, posted a record of 20–41–3 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time. Fraser stepped down as head coach mid-season to return to only general manager duties and Marcel Comeau, previously the head coach of the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League before being let go earlier in the season, was named as his replacement. The team placed in the East Division the following season. Doug Sauter was hired as the new head coach before the 1991–92 season and improved the team to a third-place finish in the East Division with a 36–24–4 record, winning the ECHL Coach of the Year award. Goaltender Frédéric Chabot led the league with the best goals against average (GAA) during the season at 2.94 per game.[22] In the playoffs, the Thunderbirds lost to the Richmond Renegades in the first round in five games.

After the end of the 1991–92 season, it was announced by co-owner Ed Broyhill that Winston-Salem would move to West Virginia to play as the Wheeling Thunderbirds.

Season-by-season results edit

Regular Season Playoffs
Season League GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA Standing Year 1st round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
1981–82 ACHL 50 14 33 3 31 179 265 5th 1982 L, 1–4, SAL
Carolina Thunderbirds
1982–83 ACHL 68 51 10 7 111 376 208 1st 1983 W, 4–0, VIR W, 4–0, MV
1983–84 ACHL 72 43 24 5 92 381 300 1st 1984 W, 4–1, MV L, 1–4, ERI
1984–85 ACHL 64 53 10 1 107 374 220 1st 1985 W, 4–0, VIR W, 4–2, ERI
1985–86 ACHL 63 49 14 0 104 397 227 1st 1986 W, 4–2, MV W, 4–1, ERI
1986–87 ACHL 56 23 31 2 48 252 278 4th 1987 L, 1–4, VIR
1987–88 AAHL 49 34 15 0 68 355 182 2nd 1988 Won championship vs. Virginia Lancers
1988–89 ECHL 60 27 32 1 55 266 329 4th 1989 W, 4–0, ERI W, 4–3, JOH
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
1989–90 ECHL 60 38 16 7 82 312 257 1st 1990 W, 4–1, NAS BYE L, 1–4, GRE
1990–91 ECHL 64 20 41 3 43 228 323 6th, West 1991 Did not qualify
1991–92 ECHL 64 36 24 4 76 270 245 3rd, East 1992 L, 2–3, RIC

[23][24]

Head coaches edit

  • Curry Whittaker 1981–82
  • Rick Dudley 1982–86
  • Mark Huglen 1986–87
  • Pierre Hamel 1986–88 (midseason replacement of Huglen)
  • Brian Carroll 1987–89 (midseason replacement of Hamel)
  • Joe Selenski 1988–89 (midseason replacement of Carroll)
  • Keith McAdams 1988–89 (midseason one game replacement of Selenski)
  • Brendon Watson 1988–89 (midseason replacement of McAdams)
  • Chris McSorley 1989–90
  • Jay Fraser 1989–91 (midseason replacement of McSorley)
  • Marcel Comeau 1990–91 (midseason replacement of Fraser)
  • Doug Sauter 1991–92

Championships edit

  • 1982–83: ACHL regular season champions
  • 1982–83: ACHL playoff champions
  • 1983–84: ACHL regular season champions
  • 1984–85: ACHL regular season champions
  • 1984–85: ACHL playoff champions
  • 1985–86: ACHL regular season champions
  • 1985–86: ACHL playoff champions
  • 1987–88: AAHL playoff champions[25]
  • 1988–89: ECHL playoff champions (Riley Cup)
  • 1989–90: ECHL regular season champions

Awards edit

All-Stars edit

ACHL All-Stars
  • 1982–83: Dave Watson (1st team)[26]
  • 1982–83: Michel Lanouette, Forward (1st team)
  • 1982–83: Brian Carroll, Forward (2nd team)
  • 1982–83: Randy Irving, Defense (2nd team)
  • 1983–84: Pierre Hamel, Goaltender (1st team)
  • 1983–84: Randy Irving, Defense (1st team)
  • 1984–85: Bob Hagan (1st team)[27]
  • 1984–85: Randy Irving, Defense (1st team)
  • 1985–86: Ray LeBlanc, Goaltender (1st team)[28]
  • 1985–86: Randy Irving, Defense (2nd team)
AAHL All-Stars
  • 1987-88: John Torchetti (1st team)
ECHL All-Stars
  • 1988-89: Frank Lattuca, Defense
  • 1989–90: Trent Kaese, Forward (1st team)
  • 1989–90: Len Soccio, Forward (1st team)
  • 1989–90: Dave Doucette, Defense (1st team)
  • 1989–90: Joe Ferras, Forward (2nd team)
  • 1991–92: Marc Laniel, Defense (2nd team)

MVP edit

ACHL MVP
  • 1982–83: Rory Cava
  • 1985–86: Joe Curran
AAHL MVP
  • 1987-88: John Torchetti
ACHL Playoff MVP
  • 1984–85: Brian Carroll
  • 1985–86: Bob Doré
Riley Cup Playoffs MVP

Rookie Of The Year edit

ACHL Rookie Of The Year
  • 1986–87: Scott Knutson

Coach of the Year edit

ECHL John Brophy Award

ECHL Player of the Week edit

1988–89[29]
  • 11/16–11/22: John Devereaux
  • 11/29-12/6: Brian Hannon
  • 3/1–3/7: Bill Huard
  • 3/15–3/21: Nick Vitucci
  • 3/15–3/21: Steve Plaskon
  • 3/15–3/21: Scott Rettew
  • 3/15–3/21: John Torchetti
  • 3/22–3/27: Nick Vitucci
  • 3/22–3/27: John Torchetti
  • 4/5–4/14: Nick Vitucci

Regular season champions edit

  • 1982–1983: Carolina Thunderbirds
  • 1983–1984: Carolina Thunderbirds
  • 1984–1985: Carolina Thunderbirds
  • 1985–1986: Carolina Thunderbirds
  • 1989–1990: Winston-Salem Thunderbirds

Bob Payne Trophy winners edit

  • 1982–83: Carolina Thunderbirds
  • 1984–85: Carolina Thunderbirds
  • 1985–86: Carolina Thunderbirds

Jack Riley Cup winners edit

  • 1989: Carolina Thunderbirds

Henry Brabham Cup winners edit

  • 1989–90: Winston-Salem Thunderbirds

Notable NHL alumni edit

List of Carolina Thunderbirds/Winston-Salem Thunderbirds alumni who played more than 25 games in Carolina and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Franchise leaders edit

All-time and season leaders:[23][24]

All-time regular season edit

  • Games played: Randy Irving, 357
  • Goals scored: John Torchetti, 237
  • Assists: John Torchetti, 254
  • Points: John Torchetti, 491
  • Penalty minutes: Michel Lanouette, 945
  • Seasons played: Randy Irving, 9 (1981–82 season to 1989–90 season)

All-time postseason edit

  • Games played: Randy Irving, 71
  • Goals scored: Brian Carroll, 27
  • Assists: Randy Irving, 45
  • Points: Brian Carroll, 59
  • Penalty minutes: Michel Lanouette, 235
  • Playoff seasons played: Randy Irving, 8 (1982–1986, 1988–1990 playoffs)
  • Consecutive playoff seasons: Brian Carroll, 5 (1982–1986 playoffs); Randy Irving, 5 (1982–1986 playoffs); and John Torchetti, 5 (1985–1990 playoffs)
  • Postseason Championships as a player: Randy Irving and Michel Lanouette, 5 (1983, 1985, and 1986 ACHL champions; 1988 AAHL champions; 1989 ECHL champions)
  • Postseason Championships as head coach: Rick Dudley, 3 (1983, 1985, and 1986 ACHL champions)

All-time (including regular season & postseason) edit

  • Games played: Randy Irving, 428
  • Goals scored: John Torchetti, 261
  • Assists: John Torchetti, 284
  • Points: John Torchetti, 545
  • Penalty minutes: Michel Lanouette, 1,180

Season records edit

  • Goals scored: John Torchetti, 63 (1987–88)
  • Assists: Joe Curran, 82 (1985–86)
  • Points: John Torchetti, 134 (1987–88)
  • Penalty minutes: Brian Gustafson, 354 (1983–84)

Postseason records edit

  • Goals scored: Joe Curran, 12 (1986)
  • Assists: Dave Watson, 14 (1985)
  • Points: Andy Cozzi, 21 (1986)
  • Penalty minutes: Steve Plaskon, 132 (1989)

Attendance edit

Average per game:

  • 1981–82: 1,973
  • 1989–90: 2,620
  • 1990–91: 1,837
  • 1991–92: 2,114
Preceded by
Inaugural
ECHL Riley Cup Champions
1988–89
Succeeded by

References edit

  1. ^ "1988–89 Johnstown Chiefs Media Guide" (PDF). Chiefs Slapshot. Johnstown Chiefs. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Scott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. p. 138. ISBN 1-894974-21-2.
  3. ^ "Wheeling Thunderbirds Statistics". HockeyDB. from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "Bluefield Daily Telegraph Page 34 July 8, 1981". Newspaper Archive. Bluefield Daily Telegraph. July 8, 1981. from the original on 2018-07-09. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  5. ^ "History of WS Hockey". Carolina Thunderbirds. from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  6. ^ Russo, Michael (May 2, 2018). "Rick Dudley comes full circle in return to North Carolina". The Athletic. from the original on 2018-05-03. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  7. ^ Fischler, Stan & Shirley (2003). Who's who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 9780740719042. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Bill Coffey Team Staff". Elite Prospects. from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  9. ^ Vogel, Mike (March 25, 1990). "COFFEY FINDS HIS HOME ON GREENSBORO'S ICE OWNER OF HOCKEY TEAM IS SKATING TO SUCCESS". News & Record. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  10. ^ "Bill Coffey Replaces Huglen as Coach" (PDF). Fulton History. Associated Press. January 7, 1987. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  11. ^ . ECHL. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  12. ^ 2017-18 ECHL Media Guide. ECHL. 2017. p. 30.
  13. ^ . ECHL. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  14. ^ 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide. ECHL. 2015. p. 62.
  15. ^ Mastovich, Mike (March 30, 2010). "History of the Chiefs". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  16. ^ 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide. ECHL. 2015. p. 63.
  17. ^ "1988–89 ECHL season". HockeyDB. from the original on 2000-11-20. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  18. ^ 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide. ECHL. 2015. pp. 66–67.
  19. ^ Solano, Javier (December 28, 1990). "Renegades' Mcsorley Forging Another Winner". Daily Press. from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  20. ^ 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide. ECHL. 2015. p. 15.
  21. ^ 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide. ECHL. 2015. pp. 72–73.
  22. ^ "ECHL Best GAA". Elite Prospects. from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  23. ^ a b "Carolina Thunderbird Stats". Stats Crew. from the original on 2018-04-17. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Carolina Thunderbirds Stats". HockeyDB. from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  25. ^ "All American Hockey League history". Hockey League History. from the original on 2006-08-12. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  26. ^ . Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  27. ^ "Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York Page 30 September 14, 1985". Newspapers.com. Democrat and Chronicle. September 14, 1985. from the original on 2018-05-02. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  28. ^ . Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  29. ^ "ECHL Player of the week". Elite Prospects. from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved April 23, 2018.

carolina, thunderbirds, team, that, began, play, 2017, fphl, were, professional, hockey, team, located, winston, salem, north, carolina, united, states, thunderbirds, played, their, home, games, winston, salem, memorial, coliseum, before, arena, demolished, 19. For the team that began play in 2017 see Carolina Thunderbirds FPHL The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston Salem North Carolina United States The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989 The team played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1981 to 1987 the All American Hockey League during 1987 88 and finally moved into the newly created East Coast Hockey League in 1988 2 Carolina ThunderbirdsCityWinston Salem North CarolinaLeagueAtlantic Coast Hockey League1981 1987All American Hockey League1987 1988East Coast Hockey League1988 1992Founded1981Home arenaWinston Salem Memorial ColiseumWinston Salem Fairgrounds AnnexColorsBlack red white gold Owner s Dave Gusky 1981 82 Rick Dudley 1982 84 Bill Coffey 1984 88 John Baker Phil Barber and David Redmond 1 1986 90 Ed Broyhill 1989 98 Jamie Koufman 1991 John RedmondFranchise history1981 1982Winston Salem Thunderbirds1982 1989Carolina Thunderbirds1989 1992Winston Salem Thunderbirds1992 1996Wheeling Thunderbirds1996 presentWheeling NailersChampionshipsRegular season titles5 1982 83 1983 84 1984 85 1985 86 1989 90 Playoff championships5 1983 1985 1986 1988 1989 The Carolina Thunderbirds were one of five teams that played during the inaugural season of East Coast Hockey League ECHL The Thunderbirds won the first ever ECHL championship and were awarded the Riley Cup for the 1988 89 ECHL season The team changed its name to the Winston Salem Thunderbirds before the start of 1989 90 season and the team remained in the ECHL until the end of the 1991 92 season when it was announced by co owner Ed Broyhill that Winston Salem would move to West Virginia to play as the Wheeling Thunderbirds 3 Contents 1 Team history 2 Season by season results 3 Head coaches 4 Championships 5 Awards 5 1 All Stars 5 2 MVP 5 3 Rookie Of The Year 5 4 Coach of the Year 5 5 ECHL Player of the Week 5 6 Regular season champions 5 7 Bob Payne Trophy winners 5 8 Jack Riley Cup winners 5 9 Henry Brabham Cup winners 6 Notable NHL alumni 7 Franchise leaders 7 1 All time regular season 7 2 All time postseason 7 3 All time including regular season amp postseason 7 4 Season records 7 5 Postseason records 8 Attendance 9 ReferencesTeam history editThe new franchise in Winston Salem was awarded to a Cincinnati group headed by businessman Dave Gusky in 1981 4 The team was named the Winston Salem Thunderbirds and were the second professional hockey team to be based in Winston Salem North Carolina 5 after the Winston Salem Polar Twins who played in the Southern Hockey League from 1973 to 1977 The Thunderbirds began in the inaugural 1981 82 season of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League ACHL and played their home games at the old Winston Salem Memorial Coliseum with capacity of 5 500 for hockey games During the season Gusky called recently retired former Buffalo Sabres player Rick Dudley and asked for help with the struggling team Dudley originally planned on staying for a few weeks to evaluate the team but realized the team would fold if he left Dudley proposed that he would stay with the team and try to sell the franchise for Gusky and if that did not work he would buy the team himself 6 After three of the seven teams had folded during the season the league decided to end early and set the playoffs with the four remaining teams by geographical area to save on travel expenses citation needed In their inaugural season the team would finished 14 33 3 under head coach Curry Whittaker The Salem Raiders defeated the Thunderbirds in five games in the playoffs After the first season Dudley bought the team from Gusky and replaced Whittaker as the head coach Dudley then rebranded the team as the Carolina Thunderbirds 7 Former Colorado Rockies player Dave Watson also joined the team and led the league in scoring with 102 points 53 goals and 49 assists Starting in 1982 the team won four consecutive ACHL regular season championships The team improved to finish with a league best 51 10 7 record in their second season The team allowed only 208 goals 3 06 per game the lowest per game average in team history while also leading the league in scoring Defenseman Rory Cava led the league with 60 assists during the season and was awarded with the ACHL Most Valuable Player MVP after the season Watson and Michel Lanouette earned first team selections to the ACHL All Star team while Brian Carroll and Randy Irving had second team selections for their performances Watson continued to lead the team in the postseason leading the league in scoring with 14 points They won their first Bob Payne Trophy awarded to the playoff champion in 1983 after defeating the Mohawk Valley Stars in four games going 8 0 through the playoffs The following season Watson was limited to 29 games during the regular season but he was healthy again for the playoffs Goaltender Pierre Hamel and Irving became first team selections to the ACHL All Star team following the regular season The Thunderbirds beat the Mohawk Valley Stars in the playoffs to return to the finals In the finals against the Erie Golden Blades the Thunderbirds lost the championship in five games Bill Coffey assumed team ownership from Rick Dudley in 1984 8 9 The team had their best regular season during the 1984 85 season with a 53 10 1 record with Watson again leading the team with 85 points John Torchetti began his professional hockey career with the Thunderbirds while Irving and Bob Hagan were named first team ACHL All Stars for the season After defeating the Virginia Lancers they met the Blades again in the 1985 finals with the Thunderbirds defeating them in six games to win their second league championship Watson led the league in assists during the playoffs with 14 while Brian Carroll was awarded the ACHL Playoff MVP award for his 11 goals and 9 assists In the 1985 86 season the team had a 49 14 0 record Center Joe Curran scored 42 goals and league best 82 assists for a total of 124 points was awarded the team s second ACHL MVP after the season Goaltender Ray LeBlanc was a first team selection to the ACHL All Star team and Irving was a second team selection Dave Watson who only played in nine games during the season played in his last playoffs as he would retire after the season In the 1986 finals the Thunderbirds and Blades faced off for the third time with the Thunderbirds winning in five games to become the only team to win consecutive ACHL championships Bob Dore was awarded the ACHL Playoff MVP award After winning three championships in four years Dudley moved up to become the head coach of the Flint Spirits in the International Hockey League and former Thunderbird player Mark Huglen was hired as the new coach Huglen was unable to get the same results and after a poor 12 16 record to start the season including 11 straight losses he was replaced by another former Thunderbird player Pierre Hamel 10 The team finished the season 23 31 2 with 48 points enough for the fourth seed in the playoffs The team lost in the semifinals to the Virginia Lancers in five games Despite the team s down year the Thunderbird s Doug McCarthy led the league in both assists and points and Scott Knutson was awarded with the ACHL Rookie Of The Year In 1987 the ACHL merged into the All American Hockey League AAHL Hamel started the season as head coach but was replaced by another former Thunderbird player Brian Carroll mid season The Thunderbirds went on to finish second in the standings with a 34 15 0 record 68 points and seven points behind the first place Virginia Lancers John Torchetti set season records with 63 goals scored and 134 points and was a first team AAHL All Star Torchetti also was named the AAHL MVP after the season In the AAHL playoffs the Thunderbirds won the championship series over the Lancers in their only season in the AAHL The team was one of the founding five teams to form the East Coast Hockey League ECHL in the 1988 2 Bill Coffey sold the team to minority owner John Baker during the season 11 On October 28 1988 the Thunderbirds played at the Johnstown Chiefs in the first game in ECHL history 12 The team s 1988 89 regular season was mediocre and the team went through four different head coaches Incumbent head coach Brian Carroll was replaced early in the season by Joe Selenski Keith McAdams then filled in as head coach for one game before the team hired Brendon Watson as head coach on February 19 with only 13 games left in the season Watson coached the team to 8 wins in the final 13 games before the playoffs The team struggled on defense during the regular season with a 5 48 goals against average GAA per game 13 With a 27 32 1 record the team finished in fourth place in the five team league As the fourth seed the Thunderbirds swept the regular season champion Erie Panthers in four games In the inaugural ECHL championships the Thunderbirds faced the Johnstown Chiefs The Thunderbirds lost game one at the Chiefs 8 1 as the Chiefs scored four power play goals during the game 14 After losing the first two games by a combined score of 14 2 in Johnstown the Thunderbirds won the next three games to take a series lead 3 2 putting the Thunderbirds one win away from the title Game two had a combined 186 penalty minutes between the teams During the series the ice at Winston Salem Coliseum melted prior to game four because a compressor shut down during the night The originally scheduled game five in Johnstown became game four and the Thunderbirds hosted game five back at home 15 The Chiefs Tom Sasso scored two shorthand goals 16 to help his team even the series in game six by defeating the Thunderbirds 7 4 a game that included several fights After the game in an effort to protect the league s image ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly suspended three Steve Plakson Bill Huard and Michael Lanouette of the Thunderbirds players As a result the Thunderbirds were forced to face the Chiefs in the seventh and deciding game with just 11 skaters 2 Coach Watson used a plan of changing personal on every whistle during game seven to slow down the pace of the game and buy as much rest for the few players he had available as possible In spite of this set back in the final game of the series The Thunderbirds beat the Chiefs 7 4 to win the first ECHL Championship 17 and were awarded the Riley Cup for the season Goaltender Nick Vitucci was named the Most Valuable Player for the playoffs In the series John Devereaux and E J Sauer lead the Thunderbirds in goals with five each Bob Wensley lead the team with eight assists and Randy Irving lead the team with nine points from three goals and six assists As of 2018 update three Thunderbirds players still held the top three spots for the ECHL record for the most penalty minutes in a finals series from that year Steve Plaskon with 95 Michel Lanouette with 68 and Bill Huard with 58 Six Thunderbirds scored one power play goal each and Sauer scored the team s only short handed goal during game three of the series 18 In 1989 the team name changed back to the Winston Salem Thunderbirds The team also began playing at the new Winston Salem Fairgrounds Annex after the old Winston Salem Memorial Coliseum was demolished Chris McSorley was hired to replace Brendon Watson as head coach before the season McSorley s first experience as head coach McSorley led the Thunderbirds to the top of the ECHL standings before a power struggle between him and general manager Jay Fraser led to Fraser replacing McSorley as head coach for the remainder of the season 19 Len Soccio Joe Ferras and Trent Kaese all finished in the top four of the league scoring while goaltenders Paul Cohen and Kenton Rein both finished the season in the top five for goals against average GAA in the league The team finished as regular season champions with a 38 16 7 record and 82 points The team was awarded the Henry Brabham Cup trophy given regular season champions The team defeated the Nashville Knights in five games to reach the finals In the finals the team faced their in state rival Greensboro Monarchs The teams split the first two games in Winston Salem with a 5 3 Greensboro win in game one and a 6 3 win for the Thunderbirds in game two Game two had a combined 226 penalty minutes between the teams breaking the record from the year before Greensboro won 5 1 at home in game three Game four also in Greensboro went into double overtime time with the Monarchs winning Game four was the longest game in ECHL finals history up to that point but has since been surpassed 20 Each team had 67 shots on goal in the game for a 134 total all of which are ECHL finals records as of 2018 update Monarchs goaltender Wade Flaherty made 64 saves as the Thunderbird s goaltender Kenton Rein had 63 saves The series returned to Winston Salem but the Thunderbirds lost game five and the championship four games to one During the finals series the Thunderbirds were led by Troy Vollhoffer with four goals Dave Doucette and Len Soccio with five assists each while Soccio also lead the team with seven points John Torchetti scored the team s only power play goal during game four and Vollhoffer had two of the team s three short handed goals 21 Soccio was the ECHL playoffs scoring leader with 17 points Irving retired after the season as the team leader in seasons with the team all time games played and all time postseason assists and as one of the only two players with the Thunderbirds to play in all five playoffs championships The following 1990 91 season the league was aligned to include two separate divisions East and West The Thunderbirds were placed in the West Division posted a record of 20 41 3 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time Fraser stepped down as head coach mid season to return to only general manager duties and Marcel Comeau previously the head coach of the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League before being let go earlier in the season was named as his replacement The team placed in the East Division the following season Doug Sauter was hired as the new head coach before the 1991 92 season and improved the team to a third place finish in the East Division with a 36 24 4 record winning the ECHL Coach of the Year award Goaltender Frederic Chabot led the league with the best goals against average GAA during the season at 2 94 per game 22 In the playoffs the Thunderbirds lost to the Richmond Renegades in the first round in five games After the end of the 1991 92 season it was announced by co owner Ed Broyhill that Winston Salem would move to West Virginia to play as the Wheeling Thunderbirds Season by season results editRegular Season Playoffs Season League GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA Standing Year 1st round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Winston Salem Thunderbirds 1981 82 ACHL 50 14 33 3 31 179 265 5th 1982 L 1 4 SAL Carolina Thunderbirds 1982 83 ACHL 68 51 10 7 111 376 208 1st 1983 W 4 0 VIR W 4 0 MV 1983 84 ACHL 72 43 24 5 92 381 300 1st 1984 W 4 1 MV L 1 4 ERI 1984 85 ACHL 64 53 10 1 107 374 220 1st 1985 W 4 0 VIR W 4 2 ERI 1985 86 ACHL 63 49 14 0 104 397 227 1st 1986 W 4 2 MV W 4 1 ERI 1986 87 ACHL 56 23 31 2 48 252 278 4th 1987 L 1 4 VIR 1987 88 AAHL 49 34 15 0 68 355 182 2nd 1988 Won championship vs Virginia Lancers 1988 89 ECHL 60 27 32 1 55 266 329 4th 1989 W 4 0 ERI W 4 3 JOH Winston Salem Thunderbirds 1989 90 ECHL 60 38 16 7 82 312 257 1st 1990 W 4 1 NAS BYE L 1 4 GRE 1990 91 ECHL 64 20 41 3 43 228 323 6th West 1991 Did not qualify 1991 92 ECHL 64 36 24 4 76 270 245 3rd East 1992 L 2 3 RIC 23 24 Head coaches editCurry Whittaker 1981 82 Rick Dudley 1982 86 Mark Huglen 1986 87 Pierre Hamel 1986 88 midseason replacement of Huglen Brian Carroll 1987 89 midseason replacement of Hamel Joe Selenski 1988 89 midseason replacement of Carroll Keith McAdams 1988 89 midseason one game replacement of Selenski Brendon Watson 1988 89 midseason replacement of McAdams Chris McSorley 1989 90 Jay Fraser 1989 91 midseason replacement of McSorley Marcel Comeau 1990 91 midseason replacement of Fraser Doug Sauter 1991 92Championships edit1982 83 ACHL regular season champions 1982 83 ACHL playoff champions 1983 84 ACHL regular season champions 1984 85 ACHL regular season champions 1984 85 ACHL playoff champions 1985 86 ACHL regular season champions 1985 86 ACHL playoff champions 1987 88 AAHL playoff champions 25 1988 89 ECHL playoff champions Riley Cup 1989 90 ECHL regular season championsAwards editAll Stars edit ACHL All Stars 1982 83 Dave Watson 1st team 26 1982 83 Michel Lanouette Forward 1st team 1982 83 Brian Carroll Forward 2nd team 1982 83 Randy Irving Defense 2nd team 1983 84 Pierre Hamel Goaltender 1st team 1983 84 Randy Irving Defense 1st team 1984 85 Bob Hagan 1st team 27 1984 85 Randy Irving Defense 1st team 1985 86 Ray LeBlanc Goaltender 1st team 28 1985 86 Randy Irving Defense 2nd team AAHL All Stars 1987 88 John Torchetti 1st team ECHL All Stars 1988 89 Frank Lattuca Defense 1989 90 Trent Kaese Forward 1st team 1989 90 Len Soccio Forward 1st team 1989 90 Dave Doucette Defense 1st team 1989 90 Joe Ferras Forward 2nd team 1991 92 Marc Laniel Defense 2nd team MVP edit ACHL MVP 1982 83 Rory Cava 1985 86 Joe Curran AAHL MVP 1987 88 John Torchetti ACHL Playoff MVP 1984 85 Brian Carroll 1985 86 Bob Dore Riley Cup Playoffs MVP 1989 Nick Vitucci Goaltender Rookie Of The Year edit ACHL Rookie Of The Year 1986 87 Scott Knutson Coach of the Year edit ECHL John Brophy Award 1991 92 Doug Sauter ECHL Player of the Week edit 1988 89 29 11 16 11 22 John Devereaux 11 29 12 6 Brian Hannon 3 1 3 7 Bill Huard 3 15 3 21 Nick Vitucci 3 15 3 21 Steve Plaskon 3 15 3 21 Scott Rettew 3 15 3 21 John Torchetti 3 22 3 27 Nick Vitucci 3 22 3 27 John Torchetti 4 5 4 14 Nick Vitucci Regular season champions edit 1982 1983 Carolina Thunderbirds 1983 1984 Carolina Thunderbirds 1984 1985 Carolina Thunderbirds 1985 1986 Carolina Thunderbirds 1989 1990 Winston Salem Thunderbirds Bob Payne Trophy winners edit 1982 83 Carolina Thunderbirds 1984 85 Carolina Thunderbirds 1985 86 Carolina Thunderbirds Jack Riley Cup winners edit 1989 Carolina Thunderbirds Henry Brabham Cup winners edit 1989 90 Winston Salem ThunderbirdsNotable NHL alumni editList of Carolina Thunderbirds Winston Salem Thunderbirds alumni who played more than 25 games in Carolina and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League Frederic Chabot Kevin Dahl Bill HuardFranchise leaders editAll time and season leaders 23 24 All time regular season edit Games played Randy Irving 357 Goals scored John Torchetti 237 Assists John Torchetti 254 Points John Torchetti 491 Penalty minutes Michel Lanouette 945 Seasons played Randy Irving 9 1981 82 season to 1989 90 season All time postseason edit Games played Randy Irving 71 Goals scored Brian Carroll 27 Assists Randy Irving 45 Points Brian Carroll 59 Penalty minutes Michel Lanouette 235 Playoff seasons played Randy Irving 8 1982 1986 1988 1990 playoffs Consecutive playoff seasons Brian Carroll 5 1982 1986 playoffs Randy Irving 5 1982 1986 playoffs and John Torchetti 5 1985 1990 playoffs Postseason Championships as a player Randy Irving and Michel Lanouette 5 1983 1985 and 1986 ACHL champions 1988 AAHL champions 1989 ECHL champions Postseason Championships as head coach Rick Dudley 3 1983 1985 and 1986 ACHL champions All time including regular season amp postseason edit Games played Randy Irving 428 Goals scored John Torchetti 261 Assists John Torchetti 284 Points John Torchetti 545 Penalty minutes Michel Lanouette 1 180 Season records edit Goals scored John Torchetti 63 1987 88 Assists Joe Curran 82 1985 86 Points John Torchetti 134 1987 88 Penalty minutes Brian Gustafson 354 1983 84 Postseason records edit Goals scored Joe Curran 12 1986 Assists Dave Watson 14 1985 Points Andy Cozzi 21 1986 Penalty minutes Steve Plaskon 132 1989 Attendance editAverage per game 1981 82 1 973 1989 90 2 620 1990 91 1 837 1991 92 2 114 Preceded byInaugural ECHL Riley Cup Champions1988 89 Succeeded byGreensboro MonarchsReferences edit 1988 89 Johnstown Chiefs Media Guide PDF Chiefs Slapshot Johnstown Chiefs Retrieved May 6 2021 a b c Scott Jon C 2006 Hockey Night in Dixie Minor Pro Hockey in the American South Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd p 138 ISBN 1 894974 21 2 Wheeling Thunderbirds Statistics HockeyDB Archived from the original on 2010 06 05 Retrieved April 4 2018 Bluefield Daily Telegraph Page 34 July 8 1981 Newspaper Archive Bluefield Daily Telegraph July 8 1981 Archived from the original on 2018 07 09 Retrieved July 9 2018 History of WS Hockey Carolina Thunderbirds Archived from the original on 2017 10 28 Retrieved April 3 2018 Russo Michael May 2 2018 Rick Dudley comes full circle in return to North Carolina The Athletic Archived from the original on 2018 05 03 Retrieved July 9 2018 Fischler Stan amp Shirley 2003 Who s who in Hockey Andrews McMeel Publishing p 105 ISBN 9780740719042 Retrieved October 31 2021 Bill Coffey Team Staff Elite Prospects Archived from the original on 2018 05 01 Retrieved April 30 2018 Vogel Mike March 25 1990 COFFEY FINDS HIS HOME ON GREENSBORO S ICE OWNER OF HOCKEY TEAM IS SKATING TO SUCCESS News amp Record Retrieved May 1 2018 Bill Coffey Replaces Huglen as Coach PDF Fulton History Associated Press January 7 1987 Retrieved April 30 2018 ECHL History ECHL Archived from the original on December 1 2017 Retrieved April 9 2018 2017 18 ECHL Media Guide ECHL 2017 p 30 ECHL Single Season Team Records ECHL Archived from the original on May 9 2018 Retrieved May 9 2018 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide ECHL 2015 p 62 Mastovich Mike March 30 2010 History of the Chiefs The Tribune Democrat Retrieved April 4 2018 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide ECHL 2015 p 63 1988 89 ECHL season HockeyDB Archived from the original on 2000 11 20 Retrieved April 4 2018 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide ECHL 2015 pp 66 67 Solano Javier December 28 1990 Renegades Mcsorley Forging Another Winner Daily Press Archived from the original on 2018 05 11 Retrieved May 10 2018 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide ECHL 2015 p 15 2015 Kelly Cup Media Guide ECHL 2015 pp 72 73 ECHL Best GAA Elite Prospects Archived from the original on 2013 09 01 Retrieved April 23 2018 a b Carolina Thunderbird Stats Stats Crew Archived from the original on 2018 04 17 Retrieved April 16 2018 a b Carolina Thunderbirds Stats HockeyDB Archived from the original on 2013 09 13 Retrieved April 16 2018 All American Hockey League history Hockey League History Archived from the original on 2006 08 12 Retrieved May 1 2018 Legends Of Hockey Dave Gerald Watson Hockey Hall of Fame Archived from the original on April 24 2018 Retrieved April 23 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester New York Page 30 September 14 1985 Newspapers com Democrat and Chronicle September 14 1985 Archived from the original on 2018 05 02 Retrieved May 1 2018 Legends Of Hockey Ray J LeBlanc Hockey Hall of Fame Archived from the original on April 27 2018 Retrieved April 26 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link ECHL Player of the week Elite Prospects Archived from the original on 2010 02 01 Retrieved April 23 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Carolina Thunderbirds amp oldid 1219562942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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