The Willmar WarHawks are a Tier III

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team playing in the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Yo ...

(NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Willmar Civic Center located in

Willmar, Minnesota Willmar is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division point on the Great Northern ...

. NA3HL teams play a 48-game regular season, in addition to showcase and post-season games.

History

Established as the Minnesota Flying Aces, the franchise's first season was in 2007–08 as members of the

Minnesota Junior Hockey League The Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league operated out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul. History Established in 1974, the MnJHL developed players 20 years old and younger for over 40 years ...

(MnJHL). The Flying Aces were based out Little Falls, Minnesota, and played their home games at Exchange Arena. Following the 2010–11 season, the franchise moved to the

along with in-state rival, the Granite City Lumberjacks. On May 24, 2016, Flying Aces owners John and Debbie Holthaus sold the franchise to Blizzard Hockey, LLC. Blizzard Hockey also owns the North American Hockey League's

Brookings Blizzard The St. Cloud Norsemen is a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's (NAHL) Central Division. The Norsemen play out of the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The team consists of players ra ...

and the NA3HL's

Alexandria Blizzard The Alexandria Blizzard is a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Runestone Community Center in Alexandria, Minnesota. The franchise is o ...

. The new owners then relocated the franchise to

, and renamed the team Willmar WarHawks.

Season-by-season records

Alumni

* Blake Anderson (2014) -

Kirkland Lake Gold Miners The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Manitoulin Founded in 2003 as the Manitoulin Wild, the franchise change ...

; UW-River Falls (NCAA Division III) * Alec Brandrup (2013) -

Melville Millionaires The Melville Millionaires are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey based in Melville, Saskatchewan. They are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games in the Horizon Credit Union Centre which has a seating ...

; Norwich University (NCAA Division III) * Giacomo Del Ponte (2011) - HC Red Ice Martigny-Verbier * Brad Hauser (2013) - St. Mary's University (NCAA Division III) * Luc Kilgore (2011) -

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...

(NCAA Division III);

Knoxville Ice Bears The Knoxville Ice Bears are a professional ice hockey team. The team competes in the Southern Professional Hockey League. They play their home games at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Ice Bears have made the playoff ...

Macon Mayhem The Macon Mayhem are a Southern Professional Hockey League team based in Macon, Georgia, and play in the Macon Coliseum. The team was formerly the Augusta RiverHawks, who suspended operations for the 2013–14 season due to ice system failure at Ja ...

( SPHL) * Johno May (2013) -

Minnesota Wilderness The Minnesota Wilderness are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Cloquet, Minnesota, and play in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The organization formerly fielded teams in the Canada-based Junior A Superior International Junior ...

;

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who soug ...

(NCAA Division I) * Lee Melde (2010) -

Duluth Clydesdales The Duluth Clydesdales were an American Junior ice hockey team based in Duluth, Minnesota. They are former members of the Canadian-based Superior International Junior Hockey League. History The Duluth Clydesdales applied for entry into the Sup ...

; State University of New York at Canton (NCAA Division III) * Dylan Nelson (2013) -

Waywayseecappo Wolverines The Waywayseecappo Wolverines are a Junior A ice hockey team playing in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. They play their home games in the Waywayseecappo Community Complex in Waywayseecappo, Manitoba, Canada. The team played its first game on ...

; UW-Superior (NCAA Division III) * Tyler Pionk (2012) - Minot Minotauros;

Western New England University Western New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy an ...

(NCAA Division III) * André Pison (2013) - Denmark U18 and U20;

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild is a Junior A ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. Initially, the team was part of the North American Hockey League ...

;

Wichita Falls Wildcats The Wichita Falls Wildcats were a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The Wildcats played out of the 7,380-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. After failing to find a buyer, the Wil ...

* Michael Raynee (2010) - Botkyrka HC * Tate Sykes (2013) - Odessa Jackalopes; UW-Eau Claire (NCAA Division III) * Mason Wyman (2013) - Odessa Jackalopes; Gustavus (NCAA Division III)

References

{{Reflist

External links

WarHawks websiteNA3HL website
Ice hockey teams in Minnesota 2007 establishments in Minnesota Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 Willmar, Minnesota