Sarnia Sting

History

The franchise was granted in 1969 as one of the inaugural teams of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. At the time, the team was located in Cornwall, Ontario and known as the Cornwall Royals. During the team's tenure in the QMJHL the Royals won the Memorial Cup in 1972, 1980, and in 1981.

For the 1981–82 season, the team transferred to the Ontario Hockey League. In 1992, the franchise moved again to Newmarket, Ontario to play as the Newmarket Royals.

In 1994, the team was bought by the Ciccarelli brothers and moved to Sarnia, Ontario. Robert Ciccarelli, voted OHL Executive of the Year in 1999–2000, was the team's president and governor until January 2015, when the team was sold to its current owners, former NHL defenceman Derian Hatcher and Buffalo Sabres forward David Legwand.

The move of the OHL franchise also forced the Junior "B" Sarnia Bees to change their name to the Sarnia Steeplejacks.

Championships

The Sarnia Sting are in quest of their first J. Ross Robertson Cup and first Memorial Cup. The 1996–97 season was the closest the team came to the OHL Championship, but lost in the quarter-finals to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 3. The lone title so far came in the 2003–04 season, when the team won the OHL West Division, winning the Bumbacco Trophy, but were later eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Sarnia Sting won their second West Division title in 2016. They beat the Guelph Storm 7-1 to clinch the division. That was their first division title in 12 years. On Saturday March 19, 2016 the Sarnia Sting broke a franchise record from 2002-2003 capturing 41 wins and 91 points to end the 2015-2016 OHL season.

Coaches

Multiple seasons in parentheses.

Current roster

Below is the Sarnia Sting roster for the 2016–2017 regular season as of January 15, 2017:

Retired numbers

None to date. There are currently no retired numbers; however, there are banners in honour of Shawn Burr and Kerry Fraser. Banners that were once hung, but have since been taken down, include the ones of Aaron Brand and Peter Sarno who both won OHL scoring titles, Trevor Letowski, who all participated at IIHF World U20 Championships in 1997, Danny Fritsche who won gold with the United States men's national junior ice hockey team in 2004 and Steven Stamkos who participated in 2008.

Regular season

Legend: OT = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Playoffs

Jerseys and logos

The original Sarnia Sting jersey (worn from 1994/95 - 1998/99) showed a bee playing hockey with its stinger poised. The team's colours were black, white and silver. An alternate jersey (worn from 1997/98 - 1998/99) had a yellow background and a bee holding a stick about the Sarnia name on the chest.

The current jerseys include a white jersey with a bee in the center and a black jersey with "Sarnia" written across the front. During the first half of the season, the team wears the white uniform at home while during the second half of the season they wear the black uniform at home.

During the 2012 offseason the team held a contest to design the team's alternate jersey for the season. The new jersey is yellow with black and white stripes down the arm. The logo is round and includes a picture of the Blue Water Bridge in the background with a bee in the center. Around the bridges and the bee it is inscribed "Sarnia Sting" on top and "Hockey Club" on the bottom.

Arenas

Relocation from Newmarket, Ontario in 1994 was made on the promise that a new arena would be built in Sarnia. In the meantime the team played their first four seasons at Sarnia Arena located in the downtown area.

In 1998–99 the Sting played their first season at their new home, The Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre (now known as the Progressive Auto Sales Arena). It's a more modern facility with private boxes and many other amenities. The new building also hosted the Ontario Hockey League All Star Game in 1999, and the RE/Max Canada-Russia Challenge in 2004.