| Team: | Long Beach Bombers |
| Logosize: | 165px |
| City: | Lakewood, California |
| League: | USPHL |
| Division: | Pacific (Premier) |
| Founded: | 1993, 2024 |
| Arena: | The Rinks - Lakewood Ice |
| Colors: | Black, white, gray, & blue |
| Name1: | Anaheim Jr. Ducks |
| Dates1: | 1993–1996 |
| Name2: | Southern California Jr. Bombers |
| Dates2: | 1996–2006 |
| Name3: | Bay City Bombers |
| Dates3: | 2006–2010 |
| Name4: | Long Beach Bombers |
| Dates4: | 2010–2019 |
| Folded: | 2019 (original) |
| Dates5: | 2019-2024 |
| Name5: | Long Beach Shredders |
| Dates6: | 2024-Present |
| Name6: | Long Beach Bombers |
The Long Beach Bombers are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in Pacific group of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Premier Division. The team plans to play their home games at The Rinks – Lakewood Ice in Lakewood, California.[1] [2] [3]
Before moving to Tier III Junior A hockey, the Bombers competed in Junior B hockey from 1994 until 2007 when the team and WSHL were upgraded to Tier III Jr. A status. In 2011, the league left USA Hockey sanctioning and joined the Amateur Athletic Union and in 2012, the AAU-sanctioned United Hockey Union. In 2015, the Bombers and the WSHL were promoted to Tier II under the AAU sanctioning.
Led by Dr. Don Thorne, the team was a founding member of the WSHL in 1993 as the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and won the first two Thorne Cup Championships of the league's existence. The franchise was then transferred to Ron White, a rink owner and president of the Southern California Bombers youth hockey programs, and the team became the Southern California Jr. Bombers in the 1996 offseason.[4] Like Dr. Thorne before him, White also became commissioner of the WSHL by 1998. The Bombers were also branded as the Bay City Bombers in 2006, and then revised their name once more becoming the Long Beach Bombers in 2010.
In 2019, White sold the Bombers to a new ownership group and was rebranded as the Long Beach Jets.[5] White then used the Bombers' branding to launch a new WSHL team in Barrhead, Alberta.[6] On August 12, the WSHL announced that the Jets ceased operations prior to the 2019–20 season.[7] The Bombers were the last founding franchise of the WSHL still playing in the league.
Following the Bombers leaving, Long Beach Native and former Anaheim Ducks player Emerson Etem founded a new team, the Long Beach Shredders, with the USPHL Premier League. The team would play at the same Lakewood Ice location as the Bombers.[8] The Shredders played fairly poorly, ending their 2024 season as the worst team in the Pacific division and third worst in the Premier League overall with a 6-40-0 record in 46 games and a -338 goal differential. [9]
On March 21, 2024, the Shredders Instagram account announced a rebrand, changing their name to "lbbombersusphl". The post image called out emails for prospect players and business relations / sponsors to contact the organization with a "@longbeachbombers.com" domain name. [10] According to Whois web data, the domain was registered on March 11, 2024.[11]
On March 24, 2024, the team officially announced the return to the Bombers name on their instagram page.[12]
| Season | GP | W | L | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 46 | 18 | 26 | — | 2 | 38 | 156 | 179 | – | 6th of 8, Western 10th of 13, WSHL | Did not qualify | |
| 2011–12 | 46 | 16 | 27 | — | 3 | 35 | 157 | 236 | 1192 | 5th of 6, Western 12th of 16, WSHL | Did not qualify | |
| 2012–13 | 46 | 19 | 25 | — | 2 | 40 | 165 | 228 | 1129 | 6th of 6, Western 15th of 22 WSHL | Did not qualify | |
| 2013–14 | 46 | 28 | 18 | — | 0 | 56 | 228 | 170 | 1133 | 4th of 6, Pacific 11th of 24, WSHL | Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Fresno Monsters | |
| 2014–15 | 46 | 33 | 13 | — | 0 | 66 | 215 | 140 | 1044 | 3rd of 8, Western 9th of 28, WSHL | Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 1–2 vs. San Diego Gulls | |
| 2015–16 | 52 | 39 | 10 | — | 3 | 81 | 247 | 135 | 1333 | 2nd of 8, Western 5th of 29, WSHL | Div. Quarterfinals bye Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Fresno Monsters Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Valencia Flyers Lost Thorne Cup Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Idaho Jr. Steelheads | |
| 2016–17 | 52 | 46 | 5 | — | 1 | 93 | 365 | 115 | 871 | 1st of 8, Western 1st of 27, WSHL | Div. Quarterfinals bye Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Las Vegas Storm Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Valencia Flyers | |
| 2017–18 | 51 | 36 | 11 | — | 4 | 76 | 263 | 158 | 702 | 1st of 6, Western 6th of 23, WSHL | Div. Quarterfinals bye Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Phoenix Knights Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Fresno Monsters Lost Thorne Cup Semifinal game, 3–10 vs. Ogden Mustangs | |
| 2018–19 | 51 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 119 | 262 | 137 | 653 | 1st of 5, Western 4th of 23, WSHL | Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Ontario Avalanche Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. Fresno Monsters |
The Bombers have had a number of alumni move on to higher levels of junior, college, and professional ice hockey.[13]