Las Vegas Thunder
| Las Vegas Thunder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| League | IHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific; Southwest |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Home arena | Thomas and Mack Center |
| Colors | Teal, black, silver, white |
| Owner(s) | Hank and Ken Stickney |
| Media | Las Vegas Review-Journal |
| Affiliates | Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), Knoxville Cherokees and Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL), and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1993–1999 | Las Vegas Thunder |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 1993–94, 1995–96 |
| Division Championships | 1993–94, 1995–96 |
The Las Vegas Thunder were an independent professional ice hockey team competing in the International Hockey League. The team's home rink was at the Thomas & Mack Center. They began play in the 1993–1994 season, folding on April 18, 1999. The demise of the franchise was precipitated by the refusal of UNLV officials to negotiate with team owners regarding a new agreement to continue playing at the Thomas and Mack after the 1998-'99 season. This left the team with no place to play.
The Thunder's best season was in 1995–1996 when they finished in first place (57 wins, 17 losses, 8 ties). The Thunder lost in the conference finals that season.
Throughout the team's history they garnered player development deals with the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL, the ECHL's Knoxville Cherokees and Mississippi Sea Wolves and Russian side Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
The Thunder's main rivals included the Denver/Utah Grizzlies, Los Angeles/Long Beach Ice Dogs, San Diego Gulls, and Phoenix Roadrunners. These rivalries have seen a rebirth in the ECHL.
The team's mascot was "Boom-Boom", a polar bear.
Notable alumni
-
Brent Ashton -
Radek Bonk -
Ilya Byakin -
Pavol Demitra - /
Paul DiPietro - Bryan Fogarty
- Brent Gretzky
- Greg Hawgood
- Peter Ing
- Curtis Joseph
- /
Patrice Lefebvre - Clint Malarchuk
- / Petr Nedvěd
- Michel Petit
- Pokey Reddick
-
Ruslan Salei - Alexei Yashin
-
Sergei Zholtok
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Turner Cup Champions | Huber Trophy Champions | Division Champions |
| Season | Conference | Division | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | GP | W | L | GF | GA | Result | |||
| 1993-94 | Western | Pacific | 1st | 81 | 52 | 18 | 11 | 115 | 319 | 282 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 20 | Lost in Quarterfinals, 1-4 (San Diego) |
| 1994-95 | Western | Southwest | 2nd | 81 | 46 | 30 | 5 | 97 | 328 | 278 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 35 | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-1 (Atlanta) Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-1 (Milwaukee) Lost in Conference Finals 0-4 (Denver Grizzlies) |
| 1995-96 | Western | Southwest | 1st | 82 | 57 | 17 | 8 | 122 | 380 | 249 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 59 | 53 | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–1 (Phoenix) Won in Conference Semifinals, 4–1 (Chicago) Lost in Conference Finals, 2-4 (Utah) |
| 1996-97 | Western | Southwest | 4th | 82 | 41 | 34 | 7 | 89 | 287 | 299 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0-3 (Houston) |
| 1997-98 | Western | Southwest | 4th | 82 | 33 | 39 | 10 | 76 | 260 | 305 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 16 | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1-3 (Long Beach) |
| 1998-99 | Western | Southwest | 4th | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 78 | 247 | 307 | Did not qualify | |||||
| Totals | 490 | 264 | 177 | 49 | .589% | 1821 | 1720 | 37 | 15 | 22 | 113 | 133 | ||||
Head coaches
- Butch Goring 1993–94
- Chris McSorley 1995–98
- Clint Malarchuk 1998–99
Honors
- Division Titles : 2 – 1994, 1996
- Turner Cups : 0
- Regular Season Titls : 2 – 1994, 1996