Tri-City Storm
| Tri-City Storm | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Kearney, Nebraska |
| League | USHL |
| Division | West |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Home arena | Viaero Event Center |
| Colors |
Purple, Black and Silver |
| Owner(s) | Kirk W. Brooks |
| Head coach | Bill Muckalt |
| Media | Grand Island Independent , KHGI-TV, KSNB-TV, Kearney Hub |
| Franchise history | |
| 1979–1984 | Bloomington Jr. Stars |
| 1985–1986 | Minneapolis Stars |
| 1986–1995 | St. Paul Vulcans |
| 1995–2000 | Twin Cities Vulcans |
| 2000–present | Tri-City Storm |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 1 |
| Division Championships | 1 |
| Playoff championships | 1 |
Purple, Black and Silver
The Tri-City Storm is a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team playing in the West Division of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
The Storm have been Kearney, Nebraska's franchise in the USHL since 2000. The 2003-04 regular season was the best in the team's 13-year history, as Tri-City went 43-12-5, finishing in first place and winning the Anderson Cup with 91 points.
1999
May 15, 1999 - The USHL voted 100 percent to allow then Omaha Lancers' owner, Ted Baer, to place a new team in Kearney. In June, Jim Hillman was named the team's first head coach.
2000-01
Sept. 30, 2000 - The Tri-City Storm win their first game in franchise history.
Nov. 18, 2000 - Following eight months of construction, the $10.5 million, 5,000-seat Tri-City Arena opens when the Tri-City Storm plays its first home game against Des Moines.
The Storm were named USHL Organization of the Year in their first year of operation.
2001-02
The Storm narrowly missed the playoffs. Konrad Reeder and Patrick Borgestad represented the team in the USHL All-Star game.
2002-03
Dec. 20, 2002 - In the midst of a 10-game losing streak, Storm coach and GM Jim Hillman steps down.
Jan. 19, 2003 - Former Topeka coach Bliss Littler becomes the teams' new head coach and GM.
The Storm rallied to make the playoffs with a seven-game win streak down the stretch.
2003-04
The team won the league's Anderson Cup, finishing with a record of 43-12-5 and 91 points.
The USHL named Tri-City Organization of the Year for the second time.
2004-05
The Storm celebrated their fifth-year anniversary, making a deep run in the playoffs and reaching the Clark Cup semifinals for the second consecutive season.
2005-06
Tri-City beat out Sioux City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, finishing with a 28-23-9 record. However, they dropped their opening round playoff series three games to two.
2006-07
May 3, 2006 - Ted Baer sells the Tri-City Storm to Joel Wiens, ending seven years of ownership.
The Storm finished the regular season with 78 points, good for second place in the Western Conference. They then won an exciting seven-game series against conference foe Sioux City, but were knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual Clark Cup champions, the Sioux Falls Stampede.
2007-08
Tri-City misses the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
After the season, head coach and GM Bliss Littler resigns to accept the head coaching position with the Omaha Lancers.
2008-09
Owner Joel Wiens promotes assistant coach Tom Rudrud to head coach.
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Wikipedia