Operated 2006-2009 Colors Blue, Red, and White Arena Sturgeon Falls Arena Color Blue, Red, and White | Home arena Sturgeon Falls Arena General manager Gerry St-Onge Location West Nipissing, Canada | |
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City Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada League Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League | ||
The Nipissing Alouettes were a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based out of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. They played in the Greater Metro Junior 'A' Hockey League.
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History
The Alouettes follow in the town's hockey tradition of the Sturgeon Falls Lynx who played in the town from 1994 until 2002 when they became the North Bay Skyhawks.
The first game in the Alouettes' history took place on September 9, 2006 against the Richmond Hill Rams. The end result was a 5-1 loss. The first goal in Alouette history was scored by Matt Mascarin. Justin Longchamps took the loss in goal in the first game in Alouettes history, but played well facing more than 50 shots. The first home game in the team's history was on September 22, 2006 against the Bradford Rattlers, a 6-3 loss.
The Als celebrated their first victory on September 29, 2006. They defeated the Toronto Canada Moose by a score of 5-3.
Nipissing finished their inaugural season in 6th place, losing out on a season-long battle for fourth place against the Deseronto Thunder and Toronto Canada Moose. They drew the Richmond Hill Rams in the league quarter-final, but lost out 4-games-to-2.
In their 2007-2008 season, the Alouettes welcomed an entirely new squad, having only 2 returning players, Mackenzie Charron and Kory Cashaback. The 1st ever shutout in Alouettes history was recorded on Friday, September 28th by Tristan Jones, making 30 saves and adding an assist on his way to a 9-0 destruction of the struggling Toronto Canada Moose.
In April 2008, the Alouettes announced that Lui Ricci as the club's new head coach. Ricci spent the last part of the season with the Alouettes. He also brought in assistants Kevin Gauthier, Patrick Geary and former North Bay Centennial and NHLer Steve McLaren.
In 2009, after the team's strongest season to date, the Alouettes ceased operations. A year later, the Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks were founded to fill their void in the GMHL.