Midwest Blackbirds

The Midwest Blackbirds formerly the Illiana Blackbirds are a junior ice hockey team from Dyer, Indiana. The team is a member of the United States Premier Hockey League. The team is based out of Midwest Training and Ice Center.

The team began play with the 2012-13 season in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League. In 2015 the team would end up in the newly formed USPHL Midwest Division along with the membership of the Midwest Junior Hockey League and the majority of the members of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League. The team moved to the USPHL Elite Division when the Midwest Division was reorganized for 2016-17.

Owner and coach Reid Simpson was named an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League for the 2016-17 season and announced that due to insufficient time to get a new coach the team would not play for the 2016-17 season.

The team would also sit out the 2017-18 season. The team would return for the 2018-19 season as the renamed Midwest Blackbirds.