Tri-City Storm

The Tri-City Storm is a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team playing in the West Division of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

St. Paul
The team's origins trace back to 1971 when the Minnesota Jr. Stars joined the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League and the league was renamed the Thunder Bay-Minnesota Junior A Hockey League for the 1971-72 season. A new league was formed for 1972-73 with the Can-Am Hockey League; the league would help form the Midwest Junior Hockey League for 1973-74. During this period the team became the St. Paul Stars and then the St. Paul Vulcans. The MJHL would merge with the United States Hockey League for 1977-78 as a mixed level Senior-junior league which would last until the league went all junior with the 1979-80 season. The team would last as the St. Paul Vulcans until 1995 when they were renamed the Twin Cities Vulcans in an attempt to broaden their audience in the area. The team would be sold and relocated for the 2000-01 sesaon.

Kearney
The Storm have been Kearney, Nebraska's franchise in the USHL since 2000. The 2003-04 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.

The Storm suffered a major setback on the ice, winning just 11 out of 60 games.

In April 2009, Wiens sold the arena and team to Las Vegas businessman Kirk Brooks.

Brooks later announced that Drew Schoneck would replace Tom Rudrud as head coach.

2009-10

Led by standout forward Jaden Schwartz, the Storm finished in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 29-25-6 record.

2010-11

Things took a turn for the worse as the Storm dropped to the basement of the Western Conference standings.

2011-12

After a slow start, owner Kirk Brooks relieved head coach Drew Schoneck of his duties and promoted assistant coach Josh Hauge.

Hauge's group rallied late in the season and despite the poor start, the Storm were able to clinch a playoff spot, finishing in sixth in the Western Conference. Tri-City was defeated by the Waterloo Black Hawks in the first round of the postseason.

2012-13

In Hauge's first full season behind the bench, injuries plagued Tri-City and the team was unable to reach their high expectations. Captain Brian Ward had a strong season offensively, scoring 54 points in just 42 games. Michael Vecchione led the team with 26 goals.

2013-14

Owner Kirk Brooks relieved Josh Hauge of his duties and hired Jim Hulton.

Alumni
Notable former players who have continue to play professionally include Jaden Schwartz, Jarod Palmer, Scott Parse, Christian Hanson, Jack Hillen and Bill Thomas.

Thomas and Konrad Reeder are tied for the most goals in team history, each scoring 60 during their careers in Kearney. Mario Lamoureux, who played four seasons for the Storm, has the all-time assists record with 85.

Schwartz, who played for the Storm during the 2009-10 season, owns most of the team's single season records including assists (50), points (83), power play goals (16), power play assists (22), power play points (38), shorthanded points (8), multi-point games (24), consecutive multi-point games (6) and total shots on goal (242).

Coaches

 * Head Coach: Jim Hulton
 * Assistant Coach: J.B. Bittner
 * Director of Recruiting: Steve Lowe
 * Strength Coach/Physical Trainer: Neil Breen
 * Equipment Manager: Dan Bouska