The Thunder Bay-based league has produced three Keystone Cup Western Canada Junior "B" champion and six Brewers Cup Western Canada Junior "C" champions.
History
Formerly referred to as the Thunder Bay Junior B/Juvenile/AAA Hockey League, the LJHL league has, in the past, mixed itself with Juvenile and Midget "AAA" teams in the Thunder Bay region for regular season games. In those seasons, only the Junior teams are eligible for the playoffs. The league playoff champions earn the right to compete for the Keystone Cup, the Western Canadian Junior "B" championship. Hockey Canada does not offer a Junior "B" National championship therefore regional (Southern Ontario-Sutherland Cup, Ottawa District-Carson Trophy, Quebec-Coupe Dodge, Atlantic Canada-Don Johnson Memorial Cup) winners lay claim as top teams at the level.
The Fort William Hurricanes did not manage to win the league championship in its first season, but it won the league's first National medal. The Westfort Maroons won the league championship while the Hurricanes played host to the Keystone Cup. The Hurricanes finished the round robin with a 3–1–1 record, losing a tiebreaker for second place to the Kinistino Tigers (North Saskatchewan Junior B Hockey League) due to a head-to-head 4-1 loss. The Hurricanes defeated the North Okanagan Kings of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League 8-7 to win the Keystone Cup Bronze medal game.
The K&A Wolverines were awarded the right to host the 2009 Keystone Cup. For the first time in over ten years, a Thunder Bay Junior B team finished the Keystone Cup round robin with a perfect record. The Wolverines (5–0) went into the final against the Pacific International Junior Hockey League's Richmond Sockeyes, but fell 6–5 in double overtime to take the Silver Medal. The finish was the best performance by a Thunder Bay Junior B club since the 1999 Fort William Hurricanes, who won the Keystone Cup. At the end of the season, the Wolverines jumped to Junior A, joining the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
2011–12 Northern Hawks
The Northern Hawks finished first in the league with a 30–2–0 record. They blasted the Schreiber Falcons 3-games-to-none in a lopsided semifinal playoff series and then defeated the Nipigon Elks 4-games-to-1 to win the Thunder Bay championship in a very hard-fought series. The Northern Hawks shipped out to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2012 Keystone Cup. Despite leading 3–1 at one point, the Northern Hawks lost their opening game to the Abbotsford Pilots of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League, 7–4. The Northern Hawks then went on a tear, defeating the Host Saskatoon Royals 6–3, Keystone Junior Hockey League's Arborg Ice Dawgs 7–5, North West Junior Hockey League's Whitecourt Wolverines 7–4, and the Prairie Junior Hockey League's Pilot Butte Storm 3–1 to earn a berth into the gold medal game with a 4–1–0 record. After four victories in a row, the Northern Hawks fell to the Pilots in the gold medal game, 9–1.[2] The Northern Hawks' silver medal is the league's second in four seasons after being shut out from 2000 until the Wolverines won silver in 2009.
