The Central Illinois Flying Aces were a
Tier I junior hockey team that played as a member of the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...
. Based in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
, the Flying Aces played their home games at the
Grossinger Motors Arena
Grossinger Motors Arena (formerly known as U.S. Cellular Coliseum and simply the Coliseum) is an arena in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. It is on the southwest corner of Madison Street ( US-51) and Front Street. The arena opened to the public on ...
, located in downtown Bloomington.
History
From 2006 to 2014, Bloomington was home to various minor league professional hockey teams in the
International Hockey League (IHL),
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
(CHL) and then the
Southern Professional Hockey League
The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the mid ...
(SPHL). The SPHL's
Bloomington Thunder folded in April 2014 when new owners obtained the expansion rights to a Tier I junior team in the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...
.
The new Bloomington USHL team obtained the rights to the name from the previous teams and became the Bloomington Thunder. Initially they kept the SPHL team's logo but rolled out a new logo and color scheme at the USHL Draft.
In 2017, the team rebranded and became the Central Illinois Flying Aces. On February 28, 2019, the Flying Aces announced they will suspend operations for at least the 2019–20 season.
Logo history
File:Bloomington_Thunder_USHL_Primary.png, Bloomington Thunder primary logo
File:Bloomington Thunder USHL Alternate.png, Bloomington Thunder alternate logo
See also
*
Bloomington Thunder (SPHL)
The Bloomington Thunder were a minor professional ice hockey team that was a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Based in Bloomington, Illinois, the Thunder played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, located in downtown ...
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomington Blaze
Ice hockey teams in Illinois
United States Hockey League teams
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...
Ice hockey clubs established in 2014
2014 establishments in Illinois