The Delaware Thunder are a dormant professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

team in the

Federal Prospects 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. D ...

and based in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

. From 2019 to 2023, the team played at the Centre Ice Rink in

Harrington, Delaware Harrington is a city in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Harrington hosts the annual Delaware State Fair each July. The population was 3,562 at the 2010 census. History Har ...

, but are in the process of evaluating building and playing out of the Dover Civic Arena. , the Thunder are on hiatus for the 2023–24 season while they continue to work on plans for the new arena. The Thunder were the first professional sports team to play in Harrington.

History

The Delaware Thunder were announced as a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League on May 29, 2019. 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. Former Danville Dasher Ryan Marker was the first signing in team history. 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. 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 The Elmira Mammoth were a minor league professional hockey team located in Elmira, New York, playing in the Federal Prospects Hockey League who played in the 2022–23 season. Their home games are played at the First Arena. The team played in ora ...

5–2. The Thunder broke the streak previously held by the

Battle Creek Rumble Bees 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. History In June 2019, the Federal Prospects Hoc ...

, 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. On June 19, 2023, the Thunder announced that they would be electing dormancy for the 2023–24 season.

References

External links

Delaware Thunder
{{Delaware sports Harrington, Delaware Federal Prospects Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2019 2019 establishments in Delaware Ice hockey teams in Delaware