The North Bay Centennials were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who played from 1982–2002. The team was based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. The Centenials placed first overall during the 1993–94 OHL season, winning the Hamilton Spectator Trophy, and won that's season playoffs for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Competing at the 1994 Memorial Cup, the Centennial placed fourth. At the end of the 2001–02 OHL season, the team relocated to Michigan becoming the Saginaw Spirit.
History
The Niagara Falls Flyers relocated in 1982, to play home games at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. The team displaced the North Bay Trappers who played in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. The Centennials were named for the 100th anniversary of the railroad in North Bay. The team traces its roots back to St. Catharines, Ontario, where it played from 1943–1976, as the Falcons, Teepees and Black Hawks, winning the Memorial Cup in 1954 and 1960.
The Centennials wore a white, black and gold colour scheme. The team logo from 1982 to 1998 featured the Centennials name and four wheels to form the shape of a locomotive engine. Shoulder patches featured a front view of a locomotive on tracks. The Centennials were originally owned by Reg Quinn. The team played its first home game in North Bay on September 23, 1982, defeating the Kingston Canadians by a 7–4 score. During the summer of 1986, Quinn sold the team to local automotive dealer John Hopper.
The Centennials won back-to-back Emms division titles in 1986 and 1987. In 1987 the OHL organized a Super Series for the right to host the Memorial Cup tournament between the Leyden Division champions Oshawa Generals, and the Emms Division champions North Bay Centennials. The super series was played while both teams had a first-round playoffs bye. North Bay came within one game of hosting the national junior championship, losing game seven to the Oshawa Generals. In the OHL championship series that year the Centennials and Generals faced off again with the same result, Oshawa defeating North Bay 4 games to 3.
Championships
{|class="wikitable"
!Season!!Trophy!!Recognition!!Source
|-
| 1985–86 || Emms Trophy || Regular season Emms Division champion ||rowspan="4"|
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| 1986–87 || Emms Trophy || Regular season Emms Division champion
|-
| 1993–94 || Leyden Trophy || Regular season Leyden Division champion
|-
| 1993–94 || Hamilton Spectator Trophy || Regular season OHL champion
|-
| 1993–94 || J. Ross Robertson Cup || OHL playoffs champion || When the Centennials won the championship in 1994, Templeton was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year, and the CHL Coach of the Year Award. Templton had worked the 1993–94 season without a contact, and resigned as coach and general manager in August 1994, stating a desire to relocate to Toronto and spend more time with family. Team owner John Hopper declined Templeton's offer to remain as only as general manager.
Shane Parker took over for two and a half seasons, replaced by Greg Bignell for a year and a half. Mike Kelly became the coached and general manager after leading the University of New Brunswick Reds to a national championship.
|-
| rowspan="5"|1991–92 ||rowspan="2"| Drake Berehowsky || CHL Defenceman of the Year || Most outstanding defenceman ||
|-
| Max Kaminsky Trophy || Most outstanding defenceman ||
|-
| rowspan="5"|1993–94 || rowspan="2"|Vitali Yachmenev || CHL Rookie of the Year || Rookie of the year ||
|-
| Sandy Allan / Scott Roche || Dave Pinkney Trophy || Lowest team goals against average
|-
| Scott Roche || F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy || Lowest rookie goals against average
|-
| B. J. MacPherson || Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy || Overage player of the year ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|1994–95 || Brad Brown || OHL Humanitarian of the Year Award || Humanitarian of the year ||
|-
| Vitali Yachmenev || William Hanley Trophy || Most sportsmanlike player ||
|}
NHL alumni
Forty-six alumni of the Centennials played in the National Hockey League (NHL):
- Jonas Andersson
- Shawn Antoski
- Alex Auld
- Drake Berehowsky
- Paul Bissonnette
- Jeff Bloemberg
- Dennis Bonvie
- Brad Brown
- Adam Burt
- Tony Cimellaro
- Troy Crowder
- Rob Davison
- Andy Delmore
- Jeff Eatough
- Todd Elik
- Trevor Gillies
- Paul Gillis
- Trevor Halverson
- Mike Hartman
- Derian Hatcher
- Kevin Hatcher
- Bill Houlder
- Nick Kypreos
- Bob LaForest
- Mark LaForest
- Mark LaVarre
- Mark Lawrence
- Brett MacDonald
- Jason MacDonald
- Mark Major
- Andrew McBain
- Steve McLaren
- Dave McLlwain
- Ron Meighan
- Steve Montador
- Chris Neil
- Keith Osborne
- Chad Penney
- Geoff Platt
- John Purves
- Joe Reekie
- Jeff Shevalier
- Chris Thorburn
- Tom Thornbury
- Darren Turcotte
- Vitali Yachmenev
Season-by-season results
Regular season and playoffs results:
|-
| 1983–84 || 70 || 22 || 43 || 5 || — || 49 || 0.350 || 236 || 327 || 5th Emms || Lost first round (London Knights) 6–2
|-
| 1984–85 || 66 || 34 || 28 || 4 || — || 72 || 0.545 || 289 || 254 || 3rd Emms || Lost first round (Hamilton Steelhawks) 9–7
|-
| 1985–86 || 66 || 41 || 21 || 4 || — || 86 || 0.652 || 330 || 240 || 1st Emms || Won first round (London Knights) 9–1<br />Eliminated in round-robin (Guelph Platers and Windsor Spitfires)
|-
| 1986–87 || 66 || 46 || 18 || 2 || — || 94 || 0.712 || 357 || 216 || 1st Emms || bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|First-round bye<br />Won quarterfinals (Kitchener Rangers) 4–0<br />Won semifinals (Windsor Spitfires) 4–2<br />Lost OHL finals (Oshawa Generals) 4–3
|-
| 1987–88 || 66 || 31 || 30 || 5 || — || 67 || 0.508 || 284 || 257 || 4th Emms || Lost first round (Hamilton Steelhawks) 4–0
|-
| 1988–89 || 66 || 24 || 36 || 6 || — || 54 || 0.409 || 282 || 334 || 6th Emms || Won first round (Kitchener Rangers) 4–1<br />Lost quarterfinals (London Knights) 4–3
|-
| 1989–90 || 66 || 23 || 35 || 8 || — || 54 || 0.409 || 292 || 314 || 5th Emms || Lost first round (Kitchener Rangers) 4–1
|-
| 1990–91 || 66 || 40 || 23 || 3 || — || 83 || 0.629 || 322 || 247 || 2nd Leyden || Won first round (Peterborough Petes) 4–0<br />Lost quarterfinals (Ottawa 67's) 4–2
|-
| 1991–92 || 66 || 40 || 21 || 5 || — || 85 || 0.644 || 323 || 259 || 2nd Leyden || bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|Won first round (Belleville Bulls) 4–1<br />Won quarterfinals (Sudbury Wolves) 4–0<br />Won semifinals (Peterborough Petes) 4–1<br />Lost OHL finals (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) 4–3
|-
| 1992–93 || 66 || 22 || 38 || 6 || — || 50 || 0.379 || 251 || 299 || 7th Leyden || Lost first round (Kingston Frontenacs) 4–1
|-
| 1993–94 || 66 || 46 || 15 || 5 || — || 97 || 0.735 || 351 || 226 || 1st Leyden || bgcolor="#B3FFB3"|Division quarterfinals bye<br />Won division semifinals (Belleville Bulls) 4–2<br />Won division finals (Ottawa 67's) 4–1<br />Won OHL finals (Detroit Junior Red Wings) 4–3<br />Placed fourth at 1994 Memorial Cup
|-
| 1994–95 || 66 || 35 || 27 || 4 || — || 74 || 0.561 || 272 || 247 || 3rd Eastern || Lost division quarterfinals (Belleville Bulls) 4–2
|-
| 1995–96 || 66 || 14 || 45 || 7 || — || 35 || 0.265 || 242 || 360 || 6th Eastern || did not qualify
|-
| 1996–97 || 66 || 14 || 44 || 8 || — || 36 || 0.273 || 214 || 337 || 6th Eastern || did not qualify
|-
| 1997–98 || 66 || 15 || 45 || 6 || — || 36 || 0.273 || 213 || 291 || 6th Central || did not qualify
|-
| 1998–99 || 68 || 22 || 40 || 6 || — || 50 || 0.368 || 215 || 48 || 3rd Central || Lost conference quarterfinals (Ottawa 67's) 4–0
|-
| 1999–2000 || 68 || 24 || 35 || 6 || 3 || 57 || 0.397 || 14 || 253 || 3rd Central || Lost conference quarterfinals (Barrie Colts) 4–2
|-
| 2000–01 || 68 || 32 || 28 || 6 || 2 || 72 || 0.515 || 232 || 220 || 3rd Central || Lost conference quarterfinals (Ottawa 67's) 4–0
|-
| 2001–02 || 68 || 18 || 37 || 8 || 5 || 49 || 0.324 || 185 || 247 || 4th Central || Lost conference quarterfinals (Toronto St. Michael's Majors) 4–0
|- style="font-weight:bold"
! Totals !! 1336 !! 587 !! 632 !! 107 !! 10 !! — !! 0.439 !! — !! — !! — !! —
|}