The Bloomington Thunder were a minor professional

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 that was a member of the

Southern Professional Hockey League The SPHL (formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indian ...

. Based in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...

, the Thunder played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, located in downtown Bloomington. After two years in the

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 ...

as the Bloomington Blaze, the Thunder played under new ownership and in the

in the 2013–14 season. Although the Blaze played at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, they were not a continuation of the former

Bloomington PrairieThunder The Bloomington PrairieThunder were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Illinois. They were a member of the Central Hockey League in the Turner Conference. The team was originally a member of the United Hockey League (late ...

franchise, who failed to reach an operating agreement with the Coliseum and folded on July 3, 2011. Their first season, the Blaze were coached by Paul Gardner. On May 15, 2013, it was announced that the Thunder, along with a new Peoria Rivermen team, would join the

for the 2013–14 season. The Peoria Rivermen of the AHL had been notified that the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

, who had purchased the team a month earlier, would not keep them in Peoria. The two teams will reportedly be owned by two former Rivermen executives, John Butler, Bart Rogers and David Holt with financial backing from former Rivermen owner Bruce Saurs. In 2012–13, the Bloomington Blaze were coached by former

Dayton Gems The Dayton Gems were a minor league ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, and members of the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977, and 1979–1980. The Gems were an expansion team assembled from various cast-offs and young players loo ...

coach Brian Gratz. The Gems went a combined 55–58–19 in his tenure there from 2010 to 2012. After 12 games into the 2013–14 SPHL season with a 3–9–0 record, Gratz was fired. The Bloomington Blaze organization also included a

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

team with membership to the

Midwest Junior Hockey League The Midwest Junior Hockey League (MWJHL) was an American junior ice hockey league. The MWJHL were members of the United Hockey Union and sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). On March 10, 2015, the league announced it would be joining ...

(MWJHL) that began play in the 2012–13 season. In April 2014, the professional team folded and was replaced by the junior Tier I Bloomington Thunder of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

. Five months later, the MWJHL junior team was relocated to become the Decatur Blaze and currently plays in the

United States Premier Hockey League The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States/Canada fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference ...

Midwest Division.

References

External links

Bloomington Thunder official site
Defunct ice hockey teams in Illinois Defunct SPHL teams

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

Ice hockey clubs established in 2013 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2014 2013 establishments in Illinois 2014 disestablishments in Illinois {{Illinois-sport-team-stub

See also

References

External links