Tri-City Storm

Tri-City Storm
City:	Kearney, Nebraska
League:	USHL
Division:	West
Founded:	1971 (2000 as Storm)
Home Arena:	Viaero Event Center
Colors:	Purple, Black and Silver
Owner(s):	Kirk W. Brooks
General Manager:	Anthony Noreen (2017-18)
Head Coach:	Anthony Noreen (2017-18)
Media:	Kearney Hub, KHGI-TV
Franchise history
1971-1972:	Minnesota Jr. Stars
1972-1973:	St. Paul Stars
1973-1995:	St. Paul Vulcans
1995–2000:	Twin Cities Vulcans
2000–present:	Tri-City Storm
Championships
Regular Season Titles:	2
Division Championships:	2
Playoff Championships:	0

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

History

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).

Season-by-season record

Previous teams

Minnesota Jr. Stars (Thunder Bay-Minnesota Junior Hockey League)
Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
1971-72	50	25	22	3	-	-	53	247	267	3rd overall
Minnesota Jr. Stars (Can-Am Junior Hockey League)
Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
St. Paul Jr. Stars (Can-Am Junior Hockey League)
1972-73	32	27	3	2	-	-	56	170	79	1st overall	Won Championship
St. Paul Vulcans (Midwest Junior Hockey League)
Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
1973-74	60	38	21	1	-	-	77	343	263	3rd overall
1974-75	60	33	25	2	-	-	68	305	298	3rd overall
1975-76	50	25	22	3	-	-	53	247	267	3rd overall
1976-77	48	29	18	1	-	-	59	239	203	1st overall
St. Paul Vulcans (United States Hockey League)
Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
1977-78	51	16	35	0	-	-	32	209	287	3rd Midwest
1978-79	50	12	38	0	-	-	24	170	255	4th Midwest
1979-80	48	10	38	0	-	-	20	205	303	4th North
1980-81	48	28	19	1	-	-	57	291	223	4th North	Lost in Round Robin Semifinals
1981-82	48	26	21	1	-	-	53	263	251	4th overall
1982-83	48	18	28	2	-	-	38	242	294	6th overall
1983-84	48	37	8	0	3	-	77	246	160	1st overall	Won Championship
1984-85	48	31	16	0	1	-	63	263	198	4th overall
1985-86	48	33	13	0	2	-	69	258	178	3rd overall
1986-87	48	21	22	4	1	-	47	236	228	8th overall
1987-88	48	29	11	4	4	-	66	277	181	3rd overall
1988-89	48	38	10	0	0	-	76	306	171	2nd overall
1989-90	48	27	19	1	1	-	56	229	197	6th overall
1990-91	48	28	17	3	0	-	60	228	182	4th overall
1991-92	48	31	15	2	0	-	67	255	179	3rd overall
1992-93	48	26	19	2	1	-	55	212	201	5th overall
1993-94	48	20	28	0	4	-	44	175	183	7th overall
1994-95	48	31	14	2	1	-	65	211	66	3rd overall
1995-96	48	18	21	3	4	-	43	169	184	8th overall
1996-97	48	25	26	3	0	-	53	190	211	4th North	Lost 1st round
1997-98	56	25	26	0	0	5	43	162	242	6th North	Did not qualify
1998-99	48	22	34	0	0	0	44	183	246	3rd Central	Lost 1st round
1999-00	48	31	19	0	0	8	70	203	174	5th West	Lost Final

Tri-City Storm

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
2000–01	56	27	21	8	62	191	179	5th – West	Lost in 2nd round
2001–02	61	27	30	4	58	182	208	9th – Overall	Did not qualify
2002–03	60	27	28	5	59	183	200	5th – West	Lost in first round
2003–04	60	43	12	5	91	225	138	1st – West	Lost Final
2004–05	60	33	21	6	72	189	172	4th – West	Lost in 2nd round
2005–06	60	28	23	9	65	166	158	4th – West	Lost in first round
2006–07	60	36	18	6	78	203	171	2nd – West	Lost in 2nd round
2007–08	60	24	34	2	50	153	213	5th – West	Did not qualify
2008–09	60	11	48	1	23	140	295	6th – West	Did not qualify
2009–10	60	29	25	6	64	172	189	4th – West	lost in First Round
2010–11	60	19	30	11	49	137	206	8th – West	Did not qualify
2011–12	60	26	33	0	53	164	200	6th – West	Lost in First Round
2012-13	64	22	35	7	51	189	245	8th of 8, West 14th of 16 league	did not qualify for playoffs
2013-14	60	21	35	4	46	153	217	7th of 8, West 14th of 16 league	did not qualify for playoffs
2014-15	60	37	17	6	80	225	158	2nd of 8 West 3rd of 17 league	Won conf semi-finals 3-2 (Lancers) Lost conf final 1-3 (Stampede)
2015-16	60	28	15	17	73	183	164	1st of 8, West 5th of 17 league	Won conf semi-finals 3-0 (Stampede) Won conf final 3-2 (Waterloo) Won Clark Cup 3-0 (Dubuque)
2016–17	60	21	31	8	80	153	180	8th – West	Did not qualify
2017–18	60	29	27	4	62	137	155	6th – West	Lost first round 0-2 (Fargo)
2018–19	62	45	12	5	95	232	144	1st West 1st USHL	Won conf semi-finals 3-0 (Buccaneers) L conf final 0-3 (Stampede)
2019–20	48	24	17	7	55	150	147	4th West 6th USHL	Playoffs cancelled
2020–21	52	30	18	4	.615	188	137	1st West 4th USHL	Lost Conf. semi-finals 1-2 (Force
2021-22	62	47	11	4	98	260	138	1st West 1st USHL	Won Conf. Semifinals 2-0 (Lancers) Lost Conf Final 0-3 (Sioux City Musketeers|Musketeers]])
2022-23	62	34	20	8	76	213	204	4th West	Won First Round 2-0 (Sioux City Musketeers) Lost Conf. Semifnals 0-2 (Fargo Force)
2023-24	62	28	23	11	67	232	218	4th West	Won First Round 2-1 (Sioux Falls Stampede) Lost Conf Semifinals 0-3 (Fargo Force)

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

External links

• Tri-City Storm
• United States Hockey League
• Unofficial Tri-City Storm message board