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.
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.
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Team history
The new franchise in Winston-Salem was awarded to a Cincinnati group headed by businessman Dave Gusky in 1981. The team was named the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds and were the second professional hockey team to be based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Head coaches
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
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
1988–89: ECHL playoff champions (Riley Cup)
1989–90: ECHL regular season champions
Awards
All-Stars
ACHL All-Stars
1982–83: Dave Watson (1st team)
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)
1984–85: Randy Irving, Defense (1st team)
1985–86: Ray LeBlanc, Goaltender (1st team)
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
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
1989: Nick Vitucci, Goaltender
Rookie Of The Year
ACHL Rookie Of The Year
1986–87: Scott Knutson
Coach of the Year
ECHL John Brophy Award
1991–92: Doug Sauter
ECHL Player of the Week
1988–89
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
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
1982–83: Carolina Thunderbirds
1984–85: Carolina Thunderbirds
1985–86: Carolina Thunderbirds
Jack Riley Cup winners
1989: Carolina Thunderbirds
Henry Brabham Cup winners
1989–90: Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
Notable NHL alumni
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
All-time and season leaders:
All-time regular season
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
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)
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
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
Goals scored: Joe Curran, 12 (1986)
Assists: Dave Watson, 14 (1985)
Points: Andy Cozzi, 21 (1986)
Penalty minutes: Steve Plaskon, 132 (1989)
Attendance
Average per game:
1981–82: 1,973
1989–90: 2,620
1990–91: 1,837
1991–92: 2,114