The Albert Lea Thunder was a Tier II junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

's Central Division. The team was an expansion franchise for the 2008–09 season and played their home games at the Albert Lea Ice Arena in

Albert Lea, Minnesota Albert Lea ( ) is a city in Freeborn County, Minnesota, Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is at the junction of Interstates Intersta ...

History

The franchise joined the

(NAHL) for the 2008–09 season with Chicago businessman Jim Perkins and Barry Soskin as owners. Soskin was also the owner of independent

Northern Junior Hockey League The Northern Junior Hockey League (NJHL) was an independent regional junior ice hockey league based in Jamestown, New York. The league operated from 2008 to 2010. History United Junior Hockey League The United Junior Hockey League (UJHL) was crea ...

teams, the

Findlay Grrrowl The Michigan Grrrowl was a tier III Junior "A" ice hockey team and a member of the Midwest Junior Hockey League. The franchise was previously known as the NWO Grrrowl and Findlay Grrrowl Franchise history Findlay Grrrowl era The franchise wa ...

and defunct

Pittsburgh Cougars The Pittsburgh Cougars are a currently dormant junior ice hockey team. The Cougars played their home games at the Iceoplex at Southpointe near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Penn ...

, as well as the former owner of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Toledo Storm The Toledo Storm were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1991 to 2007. The Storm played their home games at the venerable Toledo Sports Arena along the eastern banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. The team colors w ...

and

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

Nashville Nighthawks Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, located on the Cumberland River. Nashville had a population of 689,447 at the 202 ...

. On November 18, 2009, it was reported that the Thunder were engaging in "pay-to-play," or taking money to guarantee players' spots on the team, an act that is against the rules under the Tier II sanctioning of

USA Hockey USA Hockey is a national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United S ...

for the NAHL. A total of eight players were named and the organization was facing a $400,000 fine from the NAHL. On December 7, 2009, the NAHL's Board of Governors terminated the Albert Lea membership and took over operations of the team during the transition. Despite the scandal, the Thunder mounted a late-season comeback and made the playoffs for the first time in team history in 2010. In May 2010, the team found new owners and relocated to

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, for the 2010–11 season as the

Amarillo Bulls The Amarillo Bulls were a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Amarillo, Texas. They were a member of the North American Hockey League's South Division and played home games in the Amarillo Civic Center. History The franchise joined the NAHL ...

Season records

References

External links

Official siteNAHL website
{{NAHL Defunct North American Hockey League teams Freeborn County, Minnesota Defunct ice hockey teams in Minnesota Ice hockey clubs established in 2008 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2010 2008 establishments in Minnesota 2010 disestablishments in Minnesota