The Las Vegas Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The Thunderbirds play their home games at City National Arena in Summerlin South, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley.
The Las Vegas Thunderbirds were announced by the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) as an expansion team on February 14, 2019.[1] [2] They began play in the 2019–20 season.[3] Team ownership included Corey St. Germain, while its president was announced as former NHL player John Marks. Marks had previously coached at junior and professional hockey. He retired from coaching in 2015 after four seasons leading the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League.[4] The team played their first season at SoBe Ice Arena.
In 2020, the Thunderbirds left the WSHL after one season and joined another independent junior hockey league, the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL), at the Premier (Tier III) level.[5] They also moved their home games to City National Arena beginning with the 2020–21 season. In 2022, the team improved and reaching the conference final against the Fresno Monsters. In 2023, they clinched their first division title by sweeping Fresno in the playoff final. This result allowed the Thunderbirds to advance to the USPHL Premier National Championship, held in Utica, New York, for the first time in their history.
In June 2023, three local Las Vegas entrepreneurs — Joe Micatrotto, Marco Benvenuti and Allan Creel — purchased the team from Adam Bonaldi and Corey St. Germain.[6]
| Season | GP | W | L | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSHL | ||||||||||||
| 2019–20 | 51 | 26 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 83 | 194 | 146 | 605 | 3rd of 5, Western 11th of 20, WSHL | Playoffs cancelled | |
| USPHL-Premier | ||||||||||||
| 2020–21 | 40 | 24 | 14 | — | 2 | 50 | 196 | 149 | 1028 | 2nd of 5, Pacific 28th of 62, USPHL-Premier | Won Div. Semifinal game, 4–0 vs. Anaheim Avalanche Lost Division Championship game, 2–7 vs. Fresno Monsters | |
| 2021–22 | 44 | 29 | 14 | — | 1 | 59 | 213 | 192 | 857 | 2nd of 6, Pacific 20th of 64, USPHL-Premier | Won Div. Semifinal, 2–0 vs. Lake Tahoe Lakers Lost division finals, 0–2 vs. Fresno Monsters | |
| 2022–23 | 46 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 278 | 148 | 881 | 2nd of 7, Pacific 12th of 69, USPHL-Premier | Won Div. Semifinal, 2–0 vs. Ontario Jr. Reign Won Division Finals, 2-0 vs. Fresno Monsters Advanced to National Finals Seeding Rd: (L, 2–5 vs. Metro Jets; L, 2–4 vs. Tampa Bay Juniors) Lost Round of 16, 3–6 vs. Richmond Generals | |
| 2023–24 | 46 | 31 | 14 | 1 | - | 63 | 222 | 151 | 857 | 3rd of 7, Pacific 17th of 61, USPHL-Premier | Lost Div. Semifinal, 0-2 vs. Ontario Jr. Reign | |
| Henderson Force USPHL-Premier | ||||||||||||