The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats was the name of the Rockford IceHogs of the UHL

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 (now the International Hockey League) prior to moving to Rockford. The team went through a number of different names prior to being the Thunder Cats, including the Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks and the Thunder Bay Senators.

History

After the success of the 5-time Allan Cup

Allan Cup

The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

 champion Thunder Bay Twins

Thunder Bay Twins

The Thunder Bay Twins were a Canadian Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991.-Merger:...

, the Colonial Hockey League took interest in expanding to the Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of Manitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the...

 city. In 1991, the Colonial league introduced the Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks, spelling the end of the 21-year Twins franchise that stepped aside for the new Semi-Pro team. In 1993, the team changed its name to the Thunder Bay Senators to reflect the teams affiliation with the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

's Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

. Soon after, the CoHL changed its name to the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 and in 1996 the team became the Thunder Bay Thunder Cats.

After eight seasons in Thunder Bay, the Thunder Cats were bought, moved to Rockford, Illinois

Rockford, Illinois

Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...

, and renamed the Rockford IceHogs in 1999.

Season-by-Season results

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	P	Results	Playoffs
1991-92	60	26	28	6
309	289	62	3rd CoHL	Won League
1992-93	60	32	24	4
288	271	68	3rd CoHL	Lost Semi-final
1993-94	64	45	15	4
331	236	94	1st CoHL	Won League
1994-95	74	48	22	4
341	279	100	1st CoHL	Won League
1995-96	74	36	26	12
302	289	84	4th CoHL	Lost Final
1996-97	74	43	23	8
333	266	94	4th CoHL	Lost Semi-final
1997-98	74	42	26	0	6	337	304	90	4th UHL	Lost Quarter-final
1998-99	74	47	20	0	7	325	247	101	3rd UHL	Lost Semi-final