In 1970 the City of Thunder Bay was formed by the mergers of the cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and the geographic townships of Neebing and McIntyre.

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In commemoration of this event, the Thunder Bay Timberwolves will be wearing the above uniforms tonight against Karlstad at the Canadian National Gardens. This, the last day (New Years Eve) before the 40th Anniversary of the formation of the City of Thunder Bay.

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The Timberwolves will wear a '40' patch on their right chest for the duration of this season and the remaining games in 2010 next season.

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"I think this is a great way to honour the history of Thunder Bay and to pay homage to the former cities and communities that combined to form this beautiful, great city," said Timberwolves General Manager, Blake Wendt.

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Wearing Fort William jerseys: Marian Gaborik, Jonas Hiller, Mike Fisher, Ryan Johnson (Thunder Bay native), T.J. Oshie, Bryan Little, Ales Hemsky, Matt Niskanen, Jay McKee & Bryan McCabe

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Wearing Port Arthur jerseys: Keith Ballard, Joey MacDonald, Marc Savard, David Perron, Ethan Moreau, Taylor Pyatt (Thunder Bay native), Dean McAmmond, Nick Schultz & Sheldon Souray... Patrick Sharp (Thunder Bay native) who is on the Injured Reserve until mid-January is the 10th player.

WOLVES WIN WITH HILLER'S 56 SAVES

THU 6
BEV 2
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA- Despite the loss of Patrick Sharp until mid-January with injury. The Thunder Bay Timberwolves came to California swinging.
>>>Patrick Sharp, a Thunder Bay native was injured in Wednesday nights game at home against Wisborg while blocking a shot that ended up catching the forward underneath the shoulder.
>>>With Sharp out of the lineup, Taylor Pyatt was recalled from Duluth for the west coast trip and Ryan Johnson was named an alternate captain in Sharp's absense. All from Thunder Bay.
>>>Replacing Sharp on the top line with Marc Savard (pictured) and Marian Gaborik, was David Perron.
>>>Rookie T.J. Oshie assumed Perron's spot on the second line with fellow rookie, Bryan Little and Ales Hemsky.
>>>Pyatt made his 2009-10 debut on the third line with Mike Fisher the pivot with he and Dean McAmmond.
>>>Johnson centered the forth line with Ethan Moreau and a double-shifted Gaborik.
>>>Despite being thoroughly outshot by thirty, Jonas Hiller kept his club in the game and a pair of powerplay tallies from Gaborik helped the Timberwolves skate out of California with a solid 6-2 win.
>>>"If not for Jonas, we're toast," said Timberwolves head coach, Craig Hartsburg. "We've relied on our goalies to bail us out far too often this season. If not for our offense exploding, the Lawmasters could have done alot of damage."
>>>"It's always a good thing to come home for a couple extra days off with a win," said defenseman Sheldon Souray. "Hiller did a great job behind us, and you could feel the confidence of the guys building with every save."
>>>Thunder Bay does not play again until Tuesday, when they welcome the defending Cup champion Remparts to the Canadian National Gardens. The Timberwolves won their last game against Quebec 5-1.
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>>>3-STARS
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>>>*** Marc Savard (THU) - Goal & 2 assists
>>>** Marian Gaborik (THU) - 2 powerplay goals
>>>* Jonas Hiller (THU) - 56 saves on 58 shots for the win
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>>>Other news and notes...
>>>With the World Junior Championship fast approaching, it's time to take stock of the Timberwolves' prospects who will take part in the tournament:
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>>>Canada:
>>>Alex Pietrangelo (D)
>>>Martin Jones (G)
>>>Louis Leblanc was a last day cut and Patrick Wiercioch re-aggrivated a previous knee injury from earlier in the >>>year at Denver University.
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>>>United States (not final):
>>>Derek Stepan (F)
>>>A.J. Jenks (F)
>>>Danny Kristo (F)
>>>John Carlson (D)
>>>Mike Lee (G)
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>>>Sweden:
>>>Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (F)
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>>>Czech Republic:
>>>Andrej Nestrasil (F)
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>>>Prospect Denis Reul (D) has been loaned to Alder Mannheim of the Deutchland Elite League. Reul, a German-native had been assigned to the Timberwolves top minor-league affiliate in Duluth, Minnesota after two seasons in the QMJHL.

WOLVES FIND HOLES IN DONUTS

THU 6

WIS 2

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WISBORG, Sweden- The Thunder Bay Timberwolves came to Sweden with one thing on their mind. A win.

>>>The Timberwolves left the same night that they lost to Beverly Hills 5-2 at home on Friday for their trans-atlantic trek.

>>>"It was planned this way whether we won or lost," said Timberwolves General Manager, Blake Wendt. "So there shouldn't be too much read into it. Our plane is setup nice for everyone to sleep well and be ready for these games across the pond."

>>>Upon arriving in Stockholm, the team traveled by bus to Wisborg and hit the ice within an hour of arriving there.

>>>Under different circumstances some teams might take advantage of the shopping in Sweden so close to the holidays. Not the Timberwolves.

>>>"After the skate the guys got a bite to eat and we then had an extended team meeting," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "With all the new guys coming in this past week and even addressing the guys we lost. It was important to address the makeup of this team and our overall goals for the season. I thought it went very well."

>>>Sunday night the Timberwolves finally met their opponent in the Wisborg Donuts.

>>>Coming off injury, Bryan McCabe made it known that he was just fine. Taking on a rush with forwards Marian Gaborik and the newly acquired Marc Savard, McCabe drove the net and backhanded his own rebound over Wisborg's Erik Ersberg to put Thunder Bay on top just 24 seconds into the game.

>>>Milan Michalek answered the bell for Wisborg 44 seconds later to tie it up.

>>>One minute and fifty-eight seconds after Michalek's tally, Marian Gaborik scored his 12th of the season on a feed from Savard and Keith Ballard.

>>>"For awhile there I thought it was going to be a 12-10 end to the game," said Hartsburg.

>>>The first period scoring would end with the Gaborik goal.

>>>After a minor penalty on Wisborg's Fredrik Modin at 1:28 into the second, Marc Savard scored his first as a member of the Timberwolves and fifth of the season from McCabe and Patrick Sharp.

>>>Mike Fisher made it 4-1 Thunder Bay at 18:06 of the second and into the last intermission.

>>>"Everything was clicking for sure," said Timberwolves captain, Keith Ballard. "(Jonas) HIller was great there in the second and really helped force the puck on Ersberg."

>>>The newly acquired Hiller (pictured) was playing in his third game since being acquired from River Cities.

>>>"Jonas is a very quiet guy," said Wendt. "Much like Timmy (Tim Thomas) was here, but even more so. His demeanor in the room translates in his crease. He plays a quiet, relaxed game. Tight butterfly, and is set for almost every shot. Doesn't flop around and get himself into trouble. Clean and makes every save look routine. I've been impressed for sure."

>>>Third period scoring was started by the Donuts and off the stick of Travis Zajac at 8:29.

>>>At 12:27, Wisborg's Mikael Samuelsson tripped up Patrick Sharp for a 2-minute minor. At 14:14, Marian Gaborik scored his second of the night and 13th of the season, unassisted.

>>>Matt Niskanen would close out the scoring with his 3rd of the season from Ballard and Fisher.

>>>"All in all it was a pretty solid all-around game," said Wendt. "There's always things to be worked on. But these are the games to build on and learn to win from."

>>>The Timberwolves next game isn't until Wednesday at home against these same Donuts. The team will have Monday off and spend it in Sweden. Blake Wendt and the Timberwolves scouts will observe a game featuring Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson in the Swedish Elite League.

>>>"We've not met with Magnus in person since we acquired him from Dayton," said Wendt. "We'll talk before or after his game and formally give him his Timberwolves sweater."

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>>>3-STARS

>>>***Marc Savard (THU) - Game-winning goal and 2 assists

>>>**Jonas Hiller (THU) - 37 saves and 2 goals against (Stopped all 17 shots faced in 2nd)

>>>*Marian Gaborik (THU) - 2 goals and an assist

TRADE WINDS HOWL THROUGH WOLVES COUNTRY

THUNDER BAY, ON- In an effort to light a fire under the butts of his players while keeping an eye on the future, Blake Wendt made several roster moves in the past 24 hours.
>>>None no bigger than that with the River Cities Renegades.
>>>To Thunder Bay: Marc Savard, Nick Schultz, Jonas Hiller and Nick Petrecki
>>>To River Cities: Tim Thomas, David Backes and Roman Polak
>>>The biggest names on both sides in this deal are of course centre, Marc Savard and goaltender, Tim Thomas. Thomas being far an away the Timberwolves best player before being dealt.
>>>"This was not an easy trade to make by any stretch of the imagination," said Wendt. "Tim Thomas was the cornerstone of our club so far this season. Without him, we were winless. With him, we were in every game. To move a guy like him while also selling to your players and your fans that you are not packing it in, is a hard sell. Jonas Hiller is a very good goalie. We are confident that we have not taken a step back him."
>>>Wendt continued on with the rest of the deal with the Renegades.
>>>"What we gained in this deal was a world-class centre with an uncanny ability to setup his linemates. Marc Savard is the real deal. He will immediately show our fans what he brings to the table on a line with Gaborik and next season possibly with guys like John Tavares and or Matt Duchene."
>>>"The dark horses in this deal are the defensemen. Nick Schultz was here last season for a short time. We're very high on him. Very responsible in this own end and is excellent with the puck and providing an offensive push from the backend. Nick Petrecki is a bruiser. He's been on our radar since the USHL with the Omaha Lancers. He continued from a solid program there to a national champion at Boston College. He's still a little raw and will not be rushed out of Duluth (minor-league affiliate). But when he gets up here, he's going to be a force.
>>>Within the same hour as the announcement of the previous trade, Wendt sent Samuel Pahlsson to Beverly Hills for Rhett Rakhshani.
>>>Pahlsson seen intermitten games and was often a healthy scratch. Rakhshani is a senior captain at the University of Denver. The Orange, California native the first player from the Golden State ever for the Timberwolves.
>>>"With having Patrick Wiercioch in Denver, we've seen alot of Rakhshani," said Wendt. "Plays bigger than he is (5'10 170), and has great leadership qualities. Like alot of kids coming out of California, he plays a solid all around game and skates like the wind. We're very excited to have him in our organization."
>>>After lunch, it was back to business. Discussions with the Reykjavik Puffin had been ongoing since Wendt sent Kyle Brodziak to Iceland for defenseman, Niclas Wallin. By mid-day, another trade was in place.
>>>The Timberwolves sent Scottie Upshall to the Puffin for Brett Hextall and North Dakota's 4th Round Pick.
>>>"Scottie's an excellent hockey player," said Wendt. "This season, with the depth we have on the wings, he just wasn't able to crack the lineup on a regular basis."
>>>"Brett Hextall obviously has the pedigree (Ron Hextall's son). But more than that, he's mastering his craft with the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. With other guys like Danny Kristo, David Toews and Ben Blood of ours there. We're more than confident in his development. Hextall is a go-go-go guy on every shift. Solid skater, very good set-up guy, digs in the corners and backchecks with the best of them."
>>>While Blake Wendt was in Thunder Bay making these moves, the Timberwolves were in Quebec readying for the defending champion, Remparts.
>>>"There's no good time to move guys out and bring guys in. I didn't wake up this morning thinking I was going to alter this roster the way it was. Moves needed to be made though, and I am hopeful that this is eye opening to these guys that things need to change and that we are not bowing down to anything but the best every night."

THOMAS BACK, WOLVES WIN

THUNDER BAY, ON- Tim Thomas returned to the ice for the Thunder Bay Timberwolves to a thunderous ovation at the Canadian National Gardens on Tuesday night.
>>>After being injured five days ago in Karlstad, Sweden, the Timberwolves have lost all three games since.
>>>"We simply were not getting the job done," said head coach, Craig Hartsburg. "The simple things were not being executed. The others teams exposed that and we paid. In my opinion this wasn't about Thomas not being there. Ells (Brian Elliott) and (Joey) MacDonald weren't getting the support they needed."
>>>Even while on the road, the fans back home were quite aware of what was going on, and growing impatient with the effort on the ice. Thus a standing ovation for who many would say is the best player on the roster. Tim Thomas.
>>>With the Reykjavik Puffin in town and playing Roberto Luongo. It looked as if this would be a showdown with two of the leagues best netminders. A close, low-scoring contest. The latter would not be the case.
>>>Within the first 90 seconds, the Puffin had put two behind Thomas. There was a hush amongst the sellout crowd. Maybe it wasn't just their beloved goalie.
>>>Keith Ballard would answer at 2:48 in the first. Easing some heartache.
>>>At 14:53, and on the power play, Sheldon Souray danced the blueline and after finding his spot through a screened Luongo, blasted a shot from the top of the circle past the Puffin tender to tie things up.
>>>Nigel Dawes would end up breaking the tie and the Puffin would go into the first intermission with a one goal lead.
>>>"We knew that Roberto was beatable tonight," said Ballard. "He's a world class goalie, and it's often that you feel this way about scoring on him. But going into the room, we felt we could beat him."
>>>Despite their confidence, the Timberwolves would soon be down two goals after Devon Setoguchi would score at 8:39 in the second.
>>>Bryan Little did his part to bring Thunder Bay back from the brink. The rookie took an errant pass from a Puffin player and broke away uncontested. Beating Luongo after a series of dekes and quick snap over the glove.
>>>David Backes (pictured) took a 5-minute major for dropping the gloves and taking shots at Reykjavik's Matt Greene. Greene immitated a punching bag and Backes sat alone in the penalty box.
>>>Greene and the Puffin would pay for not wanting to dance. Ethan Moreau intercepted a cross ice pass at the Timberwolves blueline and drove up the ice with Bryce Salvador and Dean McAmmond. The speedster McAmmond would end up the shooter. Putting the puck behind Luongo with a shorthanded goal to tie things up once again.
>>>For good measue, Backes would end up scoring two goals for himself in the third period.
>>>Matt Greene scored the final one. But it was not enough and the Timberwolves would win 6-5.
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>>>3 STARS
>>>*** Dean McAmmond (THU) - Shorthanded tying goal
>>>** Henrik Zetterberg (REK) - Goal & 2 assists
>>>* David Backes (THU) - 2 goals, including game winner
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Next game: Thursday, vs Winnipeg (8-6-1) at the Canadian National Gardens