View source for Dunedin Thunder

{{Short description|Ice hockey team in Dunedin, New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox Pro hockey team
| current     = 
| bg_color = background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#00AC4F 5px solid; border-bottom:#000000 5px solid;
| text_color = #000000
| team        = Dunedin Thunder
| logo        = Dunedin Thunder logo.png
| logosize    = 225px
| city        = [[Dunedin]]
| league      = [[New Zealand Ice Hockey League]]
| conference  = 
| division    = 
| founded     = 2008
| operated    = 2008–present
| arena       = [[Dunedin Ice Stadium]]
| colours     = Green, yellow, white, black<br>{{Color box|#00AC4F}} {{Color box|#FDAF17}} {{Color box|#FFFFFF}} {{Color box|#000000}}
| owner       = 
| GM          = Dave Richards
| coach       = Guillaume Leclancher
| captain     = Matt Enright
| affiliates  = 
| parentclub  = 
| farmclub    = 
| website     = {{URL|http://www.dunedinthunder.co.nz}}
| name1   = 
| dates1  = 
| name2   = 
| dates2  = 
| championships1_type = NZIHL Champion
| championships1      = '''0'''
| reg_season_titles   = '''1''' ([[2013 NZIHL season|2013]])
| conf_titles         = 
}}

The '''Dunedin Thunder''', currently the '''Phoenix Thunder''' for sponsorship reasons, is a men's [[ice hockey]] team based in [[Dunedin]], New Zealand, and are members of the [[New Zealand Ice Hockey League]]. The club plays their home games at the [[Dunedin Ice Stadium]]. The Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the league as an expansion team. The clubs won their first regular season title in 2013 and have finished as runner-up in the playoffs in 2013 and 2014, losing on both occasions to the [[Canterbury Red Devils]].

==History==
[[File:Dunedin Thunder v West Auckland Admirals, 03 July 2021 (1).jpg|thumb|left|The Dunedin Thunder playing against the [[West Auckland Admirals]], July 2021]]
The Dunedin Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the [[New Zealand Ice Hockey League]], expanding the league to five teams.<ref name="FOUNDED2008">{{cite web | url=http://hewittsports.com/distinction-seasons/ | title=Distinction for all seasons | publisher=Hewitt Sports Network |first=Claire |last=Zielger | date=2012-08-23 | accessdate=2016-06-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606070829/http://hewittsports.com/distinction-seasons/ |archivedate=2016-06-06 |url-status=live}}</ref> In their debut season the Thunder finished the regular season in last place, managing only one win from their 12 games.<ref name="2008NZIHLRESULTS"/> The team repeated their last place finish in the 2009 season, again finishing the season with only a single win.<ref name="2009NZIHLRESULTS"/> The Thunder improved from 2010 to 2012, finishing the regular season in fourth on two occasions and third in the 2012 season.<ref name="2010NZIHLRESULTS"/><ref name="2011NZIHLRESULTS"/><ref name="2012NZIHLRESULTS"/> In 2013 the Thunder claimed their first regular season title after finishing on 32 points and edging out the [[Canterbury Red Devils]] only on win percentage.<ref name="2013NZIHLRESULTS"/> The team advanced to the final against the Red Devils however lost the game 3–7.<ref name="2013NZIHLRESULTS"/> The following season the Thunder returned to the finals after finishing the regular season in second place.<ref name="2014NZIHLRESULTS"/> The team however went on to lose for the second year in a row to the Red Devils.<ref name="2014NZIHLRESULTS"/> In the 2015 season the Thunder finished the regular season in fourth place and failed to qualify for the playoffs.<ref name="2015NZIHLRESULTS"/>

==Season by season results==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:95%;"
|-
!width=60|Season
!width=30|{{Tooltip|GP|Games played}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|OTW|Overtime wins}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|T|Ties}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|OTL|Overtime losses}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!width=30|{{Tooltip|PTS|Points}}
!width=100|Finish
!width=300|Playoff
!width=30|{{Tooltip|Ref|Reference}}
|-
|[[2008 NZIHL season|2008]] || 12 || 1 || – || 0 || – || 11 || 30 || 91 || 4 || 5th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2008NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2007 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2007 - 2008 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328233640/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2007 | archivedate=2016-03-28 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2009 NZIHL season|2009]] || 16 || 1 || – || 0 || – || 15 || 42 || 142 || 2 || 5th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2009NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2008 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2008 - 2009 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328232706/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2008 | archivedate=2016-03-28 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2010 NZIHL season|2010]] || 16 || 3 || 4 || – || 1 || 8 || 71 || 84 || 18 || 4th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2010NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2009 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2009 - 2010 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331124823/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2009 | archivedate=2016-03-31 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2011 NZIHL season|2011]] || 16 || 3 || 2 || – || 0 || 11 || 78 || 108 || 13 || 4th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2011NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2010 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2010 - 2011 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920103048/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2010 | archivedate=2016-09-20 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2012 NZIHL season|2012]] || 16 || 8 || 1 || – || 2 || 5 || 77 || 65 || 28 || 3rd ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2012NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2011 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2011 - 2012 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920105939/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2011 | archivedate=2016-09-20 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2013 NZIHL season|2013]] || 16 || 8 || 4 || – || 0 || 4 || 87 || 66 || 32 || 1st ||style="text-align:left;"| Lost final ([[Canterbury Red Devils]]) || <ref name="2013NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web |url=http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/20/index.html |title=2013 New Zealand Ice Hockey League |publisher=New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation |accessdate=2016-04-25 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509095446/http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/20/index.html |archivedate=2016-05-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2014 NZIHL season|2014]] || 16 || 10 || 0 || – || 1 || 5 || 72 || 67 || 31 || 2nd ||style="text-align:left;"| Lost final ([[Canterbury Red Devils]]) || <ref name="2014NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2013 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2013 - 2014 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920095802/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2013 | archivedate=2016-09-20 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2015 NZIHL season|2015]] || 16 || 5 || 0 || – || 0 || 11 || 66 || 108 || 15 || 4th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2015NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2014 | title=NZIHL Team Standings 2014 - 2015 | publisher=Elite Prospects | accessdate=2016-04-25 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329023455/http://www.eliteprospects.com/standings.php?league=NZIHL&startdate=2014 | archivedate=2016-03-29 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[2016 NZIHL season|2016]] || 16 || 2 || 0 || – || 0 || 14 || 44 || 94 || 6 || 5th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2016NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url =http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/66/IHM066200_76_25_0.pdf | title =New Zealand Ice Hockey League Final Ranking | publisher =IIHF | date =14 August 2016 | accessdate =2021-06-15 }}</ref>
|-
|[[2017 NZIHL season|2017]] || 16 || 6 || 3 || – || 0 || 7 || 73 || 60 || 24 || 3rd ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2017NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url =http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/66/IHM066200_76_25_0.pdf | title =New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin | publisher =IIHF | date =13 August 2017 | accessdate =2021-06-15 }}</ref>
|-
|[[2018 NZIHL season|2018]] || 16 || 6 || 1 || – || 1 || 8 || 72 || 73 || 21 || 3rd ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2018NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url =http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/73/IHM073200_76_31_0.pdf | title =New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin | publisher =IIHF | date =5 August 2018 | accessdate =2021-06-15 }}</ref>
|-
|[[2019 NZIHL season|2019]] || 16 || 4 || 2 || – || 0 || 10 || 45 || 75 || 16 || 4th ||style="text-align:left;"| Did not qualify || <ref name="2019NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url =http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/90/IHM090200_76_36_0.pdf | title =New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin | publisher =IIHF | date =28 July 2019 | accessdate =2021-06-15 }}</ref>
|-
|[[2020 NZIHL season|2020]] || 8 || 3 || 0 || – || 0 || 5 || 35 || 50 || 9 || 2nd ||style="text-align:left;"| Playoffs not held || <ref name="2020NZIHLRESULTS">{{cite web | url =http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/97/IHM097200_76_9_0.pdf | title =New Zealand Ice Hockey League Round Robin | publisher =IIHF | date =17 October 2020 | accessdate =2021-06-15 }}</ref>
|-
|2021
|14
|3
|1
|–
|2
|8
|50
|71
|13
|4th
|style="text-align:left;"|Playoffs not held
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 New Zealand Ice Hockey League Div I |url=https://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/105/index.html |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=stats.iihf.com}}</ref>
|-
|2022
|16
|2
|0
| -
|1
|13
|43
|78
|7
|5th
|style="text-align:left;"|Did not qualify
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 New Zealand Ice Hockey League Div I |url=https://www.nzihl.com/schedule/?cdate=2022}}</ref>
|-
|2023
|16
|2
|2
| -
|1
|11
|49
|94
|11
|5th
|style="text-align:left;"|Did not qualify
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 New Zealand Ice Hockey League Div I |url=https://www.nzihl.com/schedule/?cdate=2023}}</ref>
|-
|2024
|16
|1
|1
|
|3
|11
|58
|100
|8
|5th
|style="text-align:left;"|Did not qualify
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 New Zealand Ice Hockey League Div I |url=https://www.nzihl.com/schedule/?cdate=2024}}</ref>
|}

==Players and personnel==
===Current roster===
<small>''Team roster for the [[2016 NZIHL season]]''<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=4976&year0=2016&status= | title =Dunedin Thunder | publisher =Elite Prospects | date = | accessdate =2016-06-06 }}</ref></small>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:60em; text-align: center"
|-
!# !! [[Nationality|Nat]] !! Name !! [[Position (team sports)|Pos]] !! [[Shot (ice hockey)|S]]/[[Glove (ice hockey)#Goaltender's gloves|G]] !! Age !! Acquired !! Birthplace
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Aguirre|Felipe Aguirre}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1998|04|17}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
|88 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Barakauskas, J|Jonas Barakauskas}} || [[Goaltender|G]] || L || {{age|1994|11|17}} || 2015 ||align="left"| 
|-
|6 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Barakauskas, M|Matas Barakauskas}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || L || {{age|1991|05|06}} || 2015 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Brown|Monty Brown}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1997|01|24}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Carson-Pratt|Tom Carson-Pratt}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L || {{age|1998|07|25}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|USA}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Contratto|Brandon Contratto}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1990|07|17}} || 2016 ||align="left"| [[West Bloomfield, Michigan]], United States
|-
|12 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Devlin|Dylan Devlin}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || R || {{age|1996|01|01}} || 2014 ||align="left"| [[Dunedin]], New Zealand
|-
|60 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sortname|Kane|Easterbrook}} || [[Goaltender|G]] || R || {{age|1988|06|23}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|AUS}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Ferrari|David Ferrari}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || R || {{age|1984|01|31}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Frear|Lachlan Frear}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1996|10|06}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|CAN}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Gruszka|Ryan Gruszka}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1996|06|24}} || 2016 ||align="left"| [[Belle River, Ontario]], Canada
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Harrison, C|Connor Harrison}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1993|06|11}} || 2013 ||align="left"| [[Arrowtown]], New Zealand
|-
|22 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Harrison, S|Shaun Harrison}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1994|04|28}} || 2013 ||align="left"| [[Auckland]], New Zealand
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Hopkins|George Hopkins}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || L || {{age|1998|02|10}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Kinney|Liam Kinney}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1997|10|30}} || 2015 ||align="left"| 
|-
|35 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Leahy, N|Noah Leahy}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || L || {{age|1997|07|15}} || 2013 ||align="left"| [[Dunedin]], New Zealand
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Leahy, S|Seamus Leahy}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L || {{age|1999|01|25}} || 2015 ||align="left"| 
|-
|25 || {{flagicon|FRA}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Leclancher|Guillaume Leclancher}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || L || {{age|1989|04|25}} || 2013 ||align="left"| [[Maisons-Alfort]], France
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Lee|Daniel Lee}} || [[Goaltender|G]] || L || {{age|1997|04|25}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|LAT}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Leitis|Gints Leitis}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L || {{age|1992|02|23}} || 2016 ||align="left"| [[Riga]], Latvia
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Lloyd|Gareth Lloyd}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || R || {{age|1992|07|22}} || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Meeuws|Jaime Meeuws}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L ||  || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Orr|Joe Orr}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L || {{age|1996|05|08}} || 2012 ||align="left"| [[Dunedin]], New Zealand
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Scott|Joel Scott}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L || {{age|1996|01|13}} || 2015 ||align="left"| 
|-
| || {{flagicon|FIN}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Sillanpaa|Otto Sillanpää}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] || L || {{age|1994|10|18}} || 2016 ||align="left"| [[Säkylä]], Finland
|-
| || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Turia|Jaan Turia}} || [[Forward (ice hockey)|F]] ||  ||  || 2016 ||align="left"| 
|-
|29 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Waugh|Hunter Waugh}} || [[Goaltender|G]] || L || {{age|1996|06|04}} || 2016 ||align="left"| [[Dunedin]], New Zealand
|-
|19 || {{flagicon|NZL}} ||align="left"| {{sort|Wilson|Regan Wilson}} || [[Defenceman|D]] || R || {{age|1993|03|15}} || 2009 ||align="left"| [[Dunedin]], New Zealand
|}

===Team captains===
{{details|topic=team captains in ice hockey|Captain (ice hockey)}}
<div style="float:left; margin-right:0.5em;">
*Andre Robichaud, 2013–2014<ref name="CAPROBICHAUD">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=160139 | title=Andre Robichaud | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*Gino Heyd, 2015<ref name="CAPHEYD">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=68542 | title=Gino Heyd | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*Gints Leitis, 2016

</div>{{Clear}}


===Head coaches===
*James van Leeuwen, 2010–2011<ref name="HCVANLEEUWEN">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/staff.php?staff=4402 | title=James van Leeuwen | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*János Kaszala, 2012–2016<ref name="HCKASZALA">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/staff.php?staff=4428 | title=János Kaszala | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*Matt Hladun, 2017–''present''<ref name="HCHLADUNGMROBIN">{{cite web | url=http://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/66/IHM066000_33_15_0_DNT.pdf | title=Team Roster | publisher=New Zealand Ice Hockey League | date= | accessdate=2017-06-19 }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

===General managers===
*Drew McMillian, 2014 <ref name="GMMCMILLIAN">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/staff.php?staff=16089 | title=Drew McMillian | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*Pete Hurring, 2015 <ref name="GMHURRING">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/staff.php?staff=20807 | title=Pete Hurring | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*Guillaume Leclancher, 2016 <ref name="GMLECLANCHER">{{cite web | url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/staff.php?staff=18659 | title=Guillaume Leclancher | publisher=Elite Prospects | date= | accessdate=2016-06-06 }}</ref>
*Alexis Robin, 2017 <ref name="HCHLADUNGMROBIN"/>
*Dave Richards, 2023–''present''
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://dunedinthunder.co.nz/ Dunedin Thunder]

{{NZIHL}}
{{Ice hockey in New Zealand}}

[[Category:2008 establishments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 2008]]
[[Category:Ice hockey teams in New Zealand]]
[[Category:New Zealand Ice Hockey League teams]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Dunedin]]
[[Category:Sport in Dunedin]]