Espanola Eagles
- Year of foundation: 1962
- Colours: Black, Yellow, White
- Club status: active
- Address: Box 1432
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 49783 - Phone: +1 906 259 0522
- Fax: +1 906 259 0523
- Email: bragagnolob@aol.com
- WWW: Soo Eagles
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Season 2001-2002
This club in 2001-2002:
NOJHL
* no longer in the club
The Eagles existed four different times. From 1962 until 1971, Espanola joined the NOJHL as it was formed and stayed until a year before it folded due to lack of enough competition. They joined the local NOHA Junior "B" league. In 1972, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves walked away from the league to join the Ontario Hockey League. They reemerged in 1978 and stayed until 1988. They came back from 1991 until 1995. Their last stint in the league lasted from 1998 until 2003. Espanola, a very small Northern town, always struggled to keep the team viable and competitive. They were never an overly successful team, but they did win the 1963 McNamara Trophy as league champions. At the end of 2002-03 season, the Screaming Eagles were bought and were relocated to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Most players did not follow, and moved on to other teams.
As the Northern Michigan Black Bears, the franchise celebrated some of its most successful hockey in years. After 3 winning seasons and a trip to the league finals in 2004-05, the ownership group decided to sell the financially unstable team.
In late summer of 2006, New York Land developer Charles Perdicaro bought and renamed the black bears the Soo Indians.
The Soo Indians went on to win the NOJHL's McNamara Trophy as 2007 playoff champions but were not successful at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
In Spring 2007, Perdicaro put the Indians up for sale. Perdicaro failed to find a buyer and were not able to ice a team for the 2007-08 season.
The Indians were sold in early 2008, and changed their name to the Soo Eagles. They began play in 2008-09.
On March 2, 2012, the Soo Eagles announced that they were leaving the NOJHL for the North American Hockey League. The Eagles bought the franchise rights of the Traverse City North Stars to make the move possible.In 2015, the Eagles sold their franchise rights and applied for reentry to the NOJHL.
- from 1962 to 2003: Espanola Eagles
- from 2003 to 2006: Northern Michigan Black Bears
- from 2006 to 2008: Soo Indians
- from 2008 to present: Soo Eagles
from 2008 to present:
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced that the Soo Eagles, a Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan-based junior hockey team currently playing in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, has been granted a membership into the NAHL effective for the 2012-13 season. The group was granted approval to operate in the Sault Ste. Marie market conditioned upon acquiring and relocating an existing NAHL membership, the Traverse City North Stars. The Eagles will play their home games out of Pullar Stadium, which seats 2,250 spectators for hockey games. This isn't the first time an NAHL team has been in the Sault Ste. Marie area. The Soo Kewadin Indians played in the NAHL from 1995-2005
(03 Mar 2012)
Historic rosters:
Historic statistics:
Past results:
League standings:
Espanola Eagles participates in season 2001-2002: NOJHL
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