Bloomington Prairie Thunder
| Bloomington PrairieThunder | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Bloomington, Illinois, United States |
| League |
UHL/IHL (2006–2010) CHL (2010–2011) |
| Conference | Turner |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Home arena | U.S. Cellular Coliseum |
| Colors | Blue, gold, silver, white |
| Owner(s) | Tim Leighton |
| General manager | Jim Riggs |
| Head coach | Jason Christie |
| Captain | Jon Booras |
| Media | WJBC-FM (93.7 FM) |
| Franchise history | |
| 2006–2011 | Bloomington PrairieThunder |
The Bloomington PrairieThunder was a minor league 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 (later known as the International Hockey League) prior to its merger into the CHL in 2010. They played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
On September 12, 1999, John Butler and Mike Nelson, both of Bloomington, began formulating a plan to bring a minor league hockey team to Central Illinois. On August 18, 2004, ground was broken for the $37-million U.S. Cellular Coliseum, the arena that would become the home of the PrairieThunder. On September 20, 2005, the United Hockey League awarded John Butler and Mike Nelson a membership to obtain a franchise.
On February 1, 2006, a contest was announced to name the new hockey franchise and on February 23, 2006, the official name was announced. "PrairieThunder" refers to a train called "The Prairie Thunder" that passed through Bloomington in its early history. On July 20, 2006 the PrairieThunder unveiled their new team logo which features a charging bison smashing its hooves into a sheet of ice. The team's colors are navy, silver, old gold, and white.
The Bloomington PrairieThunder were featured in the April 21, 2008 edition of Sports Illustrated. This was because they set a pro hockey record for the fastest four goal spurt. It took them just 35 seconds to score 4 goals against the Flint Generals on April 5, 2008. This is faster than any level of pro hockey.
The team held a Name the Mascot Contest, sponsored by the Bloomington Pantagraph, to find a name for the mascot. Megan Fish, a 12-year-old sixth-grader at Chiddix Junior High School, was the first of 12 individuals to submit the name Chip. The next most popular entry was “Boomer” which had seven submissions.
Chip the Buffalo made his first public appearance at the Open House and Public Scrimmage held by the PrairieThunder on Wednesday October 4, 2006, interacting with fans and signing autographs.
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