Delaware Thunder

Last updated
Delaware Thunder
Delaware Thunder Logo.png
City Harrington, Delaware
League Federal Prospects Hockey League
DivisionEmpire
Founded2019
Home arena Centre Ice Rink
Owner(s)Delaware Pro Hockey LLC [1]
General managerCharles Pens Sr. [1]
Head coachLou Santini
Website DelawareThunder.com
Franchise history
2019–2023Delaware Thunder

The Delaware Thunder were a professional ice hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and based in Delaware. From 2019 to 2023, the team played at the Centre Ice Rink in Harrington, Delaware, but are in the process of evaluating building and playing out of the Dover Civic Arena. [2]

Contents

History

The Delaware Thunder were announced as a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League on May 29, 2019. [3] The Thunder are owned by Delaware Pro Hockey LLC, an investment group led by Charlie Pens, who also serves as the president and general manager of the team. [1] Former Danville Dasher Ryan Marker was the first signing in team history. [4] They play out of the Centre Ice Rink on the Delaware State Fairgrounds. To accommodate the team's arrival, the rink's seating capacity was expanded to approximately 700 for the 2019–20 season. [5]

In the 2022–23 season, the Delaware Thunder went on a professional hockey record 28-game losing streak ranging from November 5 to February 11 when the Thunder beat the Elmira Mammoth 5–2. The Thunder broke the streak previously held by the Battle Creek Rumble Bees, which was 24 games.

Following the 2022–23 season, the Thunder did not get a new lease from the Delaware State Fair and announced plans for a potential new arena in Dover leaving the Thunder to decide between dormancy until an arena could be built or relocating temporarily. [6] On June 19, 2023, the Thunder announced that they would be electing dormancy for the 2023–24 season. [7] In June of 2024, during the league meetings, the Thunder were kicked out of the FPHL after not paying dormant fees.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb Brooks Arena</span> Venue in Lake Placid, New York

The Herb Brooks Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Lake Placid, New York. This surface, along with the USA Rink, was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool Insuring Arena</span> Arena in Glens Falls, New York

The Cool Insuring Arena is a 4,794-seat multi-purpose arena located in downtown Glens Falls, New York, that is the home of the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL. Built in 1979, it was originally the home of the Adirondack Red Wings, AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saginaw Gears (UHL)</span> UHL ice hockey franchise

The Saginaw Gears were a minor professional ice hockey franchise that played in the United Hockey League (UHL), formerly known as the Colonial Hockey League. The Gears existed for five seasons and part of one other, from 1994 to December 19, 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slough Jets</span> Ice hockey team in Slough, Berkshire

The Slough Jets are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, England playing in the NIHL South Division 1. The team was founded in 1986 after the construction of the Slough Ice Arena in Montem Lane in Slough and joined the first division of the British League. With the help of Gary Stefan who had previously been with Streatham Redskins, the Slough Jets were formed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Bears</span> Ice hockey team in Macquarie Park, New South Wales

The Sydney Bears is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1982, the Bears are the only remaining founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) still operating. The Bears are based at Macquarie Ice Rink, within the Macquarie Centre, in the northern suburbs of Sydney. The Sydney Bears have claimed three Goodall Cups in 2002, 2003 and 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Whitecaps</span> Former womens professional ice hockey team in Richfield, Minnesota

The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the Whitecaps were originally part of the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from 2004 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Prospects Hockey League</span> American ice hockey league

The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Don Kirnan is the league's commissioner. The league also occasionally branded itself as the Federal Professional Hockey League from 2015 to 2018 until it began using the name Federal Prospects Hockey League and completing the rebrand in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre Ice Rink</span>

The Centre Ice Arena, also called The Centre, is a 700-seat, 49,000 square-foot facility built in 2002. It is located on the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware. The facility holds an ice rink and hosts ice hockey, figure skating and public skating in the winter, and then hosts the 4-H and FFA exhibits and demonstrations during the Delaware State Fair in the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perth Thunder</span> Ice hockey team in Perth, Western Australia

The Perth Thunder is an Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 2010, the Thunder have been a member of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) since 2012. The Thunder are based at the Perth Ice Arena, located in the suburb of Malaga. Perth are one time Goodall Cup runners-up and two time H Newman Reid Trophy runners-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utica Comets</span> American Hockey League team in Utica, New York

The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey Devils. The team was established when the Vancouver Canucks relocated their AHL franchise to Utica for the 2013–14 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Capitols</span> Junior ice hockey team located in Madison, Wisconsin

The Madison Capitols are a Tier I junior ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. Founded in 2014, the team plays its home games at Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, Wisconsin.

The 2015 AIHL season was the 16th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 25 April 2015, until 23 August 2015, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 29 and 30 August. The Newcastle North Stars won both the H Newman Reid Trophy for finishing first in the regular season, and the Goodall Cup after defeating the Melbourne Ice in the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Whale (PHF)</span> Former womens professional ice hockey team in Simsbury, Connecticut

The Connecticut Whale were a professional ice hockey team based in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Simsbury, Connecticut at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which became the PHF in 2021. Their name and colors paid homage to the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL and WHA franchise based in Connecticut. The team folded along with the PHF in 2023 as part of the creation of a new, unified women's league, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

The 2017 AIHL season was the 18th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 22 April 2017 until 27 August 2017, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 2 and 3 September. The Melbourne Ice won both the H Newman Reid Trophy for finishing first in the regular season, and the Goodall Cup after defeating the CBR Brave in the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mentor Ice Breakers</span> Ice hockey team in Mentor, Ohio

The Mentor Ice Breakers were a professional ice hockey team based in Mentor, Ohio. The team was a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League and played at Mentor Civic Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Knights</span> Ice hockey team in Leeds, England

The Leeds Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team is a member of the National League and plays at Planet Ice Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle Creek Rumble Bees</span> Professional ice hockey team

The Battle Creek Rumble Bees were a professional ice hockey team based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The team was a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League and played at The Rink Battle Creek.

The 2022 AIHL season is the delayed 21st season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL), following the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The season will consist of 60 regular season games and is scheduled to run from 30 April to 28 August 2022, with the Goodall Cup finals, consisting of 2 semi-finals, a preliminary final and a grand final, following the regular season on 2–4 September 2022. The CBR Brave won the double and claimed the H Newman Reid Trophy for a third time and Goodall Cup for a second time in 2022 by finishing top of the regular season standings and winning the AIHL grand final. The Newcastle Northstars were runner's up to both titles and the Sydney Ice Dogs claimed the wooden spoon.

The 2019–20 Federal Prospects Hockey League season was the tenth season of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) and the first with "Prospects" in the league's name. The regular season was an unbalanced schedule with the ten teams in the league playing somewhere from 56 to 60 games per team. On March 16, 2020, the league canceled the remainder of the 2019–20 season schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey in Delaware</span>

Delaware is almost a non-entity when it comes to ice hockey in the United States. With virtually no organized hockey presence beyond the high school level, Delaware has little to no impact on the sport.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Professional hockey is coming to Delaware, meet the Delaware Thunder". Delaware Online. May 29, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  2. "Delaware Thunder Dreams Big with Plans for Dover Civic Arena". WBOC TV. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  3. "Delaware Thunder Press Conference". delawarethunder.com. May 26, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  4. "Ryan Marker signs with the Thunder". delawarethunder.com. June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  5. "Professional hockey is coming to Delaware, meet the Delaware Thunder". DelawareOnline. May 29, 2019.
  6. "Fans clamor for Delaware pro ice hockey team to stay as state fair says 'See ya'". The News Journal. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  7. "Log into Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2023-06-19.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)