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They are currently ranked sixth among teams in the Canadian Jr. Hockey League.
Considering that there are 123 teams in the 10 leagues that are a part of the CJHL, that's pretty damn good.
Success, though, is not new for the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
Since entering the NOJHL in 1999, the Thunderbirds have been to the championship round of the playoffs six times, winning it all once. They are also closing in on their second-successive, first-place, regular-season finish in the NOJHL.
From owner Albert Giommi to general manager Kevin Cain on down, the Thunderbirds are the epitome of a franchise that is a tidy operation on and off the ice.
The Thunderbirds aren't the big game in Sault Ste. Marie. That distinction belongs to the Soo Greyhounds of the high-stakes, big-business, take-no-prisoners, Ontario Hockey League.
While the Greyhounds draw an average of 4,500 fans per game to the Essar Centre, the Thunderbirds play in front of crowds in the 300 range, while splitting their home games at the Essar and the popcorn box that is the rink at John Rhodes Community Centre.
Still, the Thunderbirds are slowly-but-surely attracting more of a following in Sault Ste. Marie under the watch of the tireless Giommi, a self-made, successful businessman who has a passion for junior hockey and his hometown.
Check out the Thunderbird website and the list of sponsors who support the local NOJHL team is a lengthy one. Sault Ste. Marie has a rather-generous business community and sponsors and advertisers annually pledge anywhere from $300 to $10,000 to get their names out there and assist in the operation of the Thunderbirds.
On the ice, as the Thunderbirds close in on a first-place finish with a record of 35-8-1 and six games to go in the regular season, Giommi and Cain take pride in the team's no. 6 national ranking.
"It's something for all of us to be proud of," said Giommi.
"It says a lot about our players and coaching staff," added Cain, who has assembled this season's Thunderbird roster with a lineup that is mosly local but does feature five out-of-towners, including a pair of Detroit-area products in goalie John Kleinhans and right winger Kevin Michelcavage.
Though the OHL Greyhounds are top dog in Sault Ste. Marie, the NOJHL and the Thunderbirds are certainly earning more of a following.
On ice, the Thunderbirds have a rabid-rivalry with the cross-border, Michigan-based Soo Eagles. Off ice, Giommi relentlessly markets the Thunderbirds through the media on both sides of the International Bridge.
Cain, to be sure, is not above creating playing opportunities for players who are from outside Sault Ste. Marie, as evidenced by the five out-of-towners who dot the Thunderbird roster.
They're a good story, these Soo Thunderbirds. They're an organization built on hard work, both at the rink and away from it.
And right now, they're the sixth-best team from the 123 hockey clubs that make up the CJHL.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
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