Long Beach Bombers
| Long Beach Bombers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Lakewood, California |
| League | USPHL |
| Division | Pacific (Premier) |
| Founded | 1993, 2024 |
| Folded | 2019 (original) |
| Home arena | The Rinks - Lakewood Ice |
| Colors | Black, white, gray, & blue |
| Franchise history | |
| 1993–1996 | Anaheim Jr. Ducks |
| 1996–2006 | Southern California Jr. Bombers |
| 2006–2010 | Bay City Bombers |
| 2010–2019 | Long Beach Bombers |
| 2019-2024 | Long Beach Shredders |
| 2024-Present | Long Beach Bombers |
The Long Beach Bombers is a Tier II junior ice hockey team in Pacific group of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Premier Division. The team plays its home games at The Rinks – Lakewood ICE in Lakewood, California.[1]
History
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2025) |
Before moving to Tier III Junior A hockey, the Bombers competed in Junior B hockey from 1994 until 2007 when the team and Western States Hockey League (WSHL) were upgraded to Tier III Jr. A status. In 2011, the league left USA Hockey sanctioning and joined the Amateur Athletic Union and in 2012, the AAU-sanctioned United Hockey Union. In 2015, the Bombers and the WSHL were promoted to Tier II under the AAU sanctioning.
Led by Dr. Don Thorne, the team was a founding member of the WSHL in 1993 as the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and won the first two Thorne Cup Championships of the league's existence. The franchise was then transferred to Ron White, a rink owner and president of the Southern California Bombers youth hockey programs, and the team became the Southern California Jr. Bombers in the 1996 offseason.[2] Like Dr. Thorne before him, White also became commissioner of the WSHL by 1998. The Bombers were also branded as the Bay City Bombers in 2006, and then revised their name once more becoming the Long Beach Bombers in 2010.
In 2019, White sold the Bombers to a new ownership group and was rebranded as the Long Beach Jets.[3] White then used the Bombers' branding to launch a new WSHL team in Barrhead, Alberta.[4] On August 12, the WSHL announced that the Jets ceased operations prior to the 2019–20 season.[5] The Bombers were the last founding franchise of the WSHL still playing in the league.
Replacement
[edit]Following the Bombers leaving, Long Beach native and former Anaheim Ducks player Emerson Etem founded a new team, the Long Beach Shredders, with the USPHL Premier League. The team would play at the same Lakewood Ice location as the Bombers.[6] The Shredders played fairly poorly, ending their 2024 season as the worst team in the Pacific division and third worst in the Premier League overall with a 6-40-0 record in 46 games and a -338 goal differential. [7]
Rebrand announcement
[edit]In April 2024, the USPHL reported that former Bombers player Curtis Fisher and SoCal entrepreneur Josh Fitzgerald had purchased the Shredders and revived the Bombers name. Fisher had played for the team when it was the Bay City Bombers and when it first became the Long Beach Bombers. Fitzgerald was a longtime supporter and a previous club sponsor.[1] Their 2024-25 season opener was against the fledgling Ventura Vikings.[8]
Season-by-season records
[edit]| Season | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 46 | 18 | 26 | — | 2 | 38 | 156 | 179 | – | 6th of 8, Western 10th of 13, WSHL |
Did not qualify |
| 2011–12 | 46 | 16 | 27 | — | 3 | 35 | 157 | 236 | 1192 | 5th of 6, Western 12th of 16, WSHL |
Did not qualify |
| 2012–13 | 46 | 19 | 25 | — | 2 | 40 | 165 | 228 | 1129 | 6th of 6, Western 15th of 22 WSHL |
Did not qualify |
| 2013–14 | 46 | 28 | 18 | — | 0 | 56 | 228 | 170 | 1133 | 4th of 6, Pacific 11th of 24, WSHL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Fresno Monsters |
| 2014–15 | 46 | 33 | 13 | — | 0 | 66 | 215 | 140 | 1044 | 3rd of 8, Western 9th of 28, WSHL |
Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 1–2 vs. San Diego Gulls |
| 2015–16 | 52 | 39 | 10 | — | 3 | 81 | 247 | 135 | 1333 | 2nd of 8, Western 5th of 29, WSHL |
Div. Quarterfinals bye Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Fresno Monsters Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Valencia Flyers Lost Thorne Cup Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Idaho Jr. Steelheads |
| 2016–17 | 52 | 46 | 5 | — | 1 | 93 | 365 | 115 | 871 | 1st of 8, Western 1st of 27, WSHL |
Div. Quarterfinals bye Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Las Vegas Storm Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Valencia Flyers 1–2–0, 5th of 6, Thorne Cup round-robin (L, 3–6 vs. Jr. Thunder; L, 0–6 vs. Mustangs; OTW, 3–2 vs. Flyers) |
| 2017–18 | 51 | 36 | 11 | — | 4 | 76 | 263 | 158 | 702 | 1st of 6, Western 6th of 23, WSHL |
Div. Quarterfinals bye Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Phoenix Knights Won Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Fresno Monsters 1–2–0, 4th of 6, Thorne Cup round-robin (W, 4–1 vs. Rhinos; L, 2–4 vs. Mustangs; L, 1–5 vs. IceCats) Lost Thorne Cup Semifinal game, 3–10 vs. Ogden Mustangs |
| 2018–19 | 51 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 119[a] | 262 | 137 | 653 | 1st of 5, Western 4th of 23, WSHL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Ontario Avalanche Won Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. Fresno Monsters 0–3–0–0, 5th of 6, Thorne Cup round-robin (L, 1–6 vs. Aeros; L, 2–4 vs. Rhinos; L, 1–6 vs. Jr. Blazers) |
| USPHL - Premier Division | |||||||||||
| Long Beach Shredders | |||||||||||
| 2021–22 | 44 | 11 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 149 | 276 | 844 | 6th of 6, Pacific 53th of 64 USPHL-Premier |
Did Not Qualify for Post Season |
| 2022–23 | 44 | 8 | 34 | 4 | - | 20 | 135 | 281 | 701 | 6th of 7, Pacific 60th of 70 USPHL-Premier |
Did Not Qualify for Post Season |
| 2023–24 | 44 | 6 | 40 | - | - | 12 | 84 | 422 | 1055 | 7th of 7, Pacific 58th of 61 USPHL-Premier |
Did Not Qualify for Post Season |
| Long Beach Bombers | |||||||||||
| 2024–25 | 46 | 10 | 34 | 2 | - | 22 | 121 | 232 | 1222 | 8th of 8, Pacific 61st of 71 USPHL-Premier |
Did Not Qualify for Post Season |
Alumni
[edit]The Bombers have had a number of alumni move on to higher levels of junior, college, and professional ice hockey.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Beginning with the 2018–19 season, the WSHL began awarding 3pts for a win, 2pts for an overtime win, and 1pt for an overtime loss.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Boyd, Joshua (April 2, 2024). "New Long Beach Ownership Brings Back Historic Bombers Nickname". usphlpremier.com. USPHL Premier Division. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "History - Western States Hockey League". wshl.org. Western States Hockey League. 2018. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ "Bombers to Jets". wshl.org. Western States Hockey League. June 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 25, 2019.
- ^ "2019-2020 WSHL DIVISIONAL NOTES". wshl.org. Western States Hockey League. 2019. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019.
- ^ @WSHLHockey (August 12, 2019). "The Long Beach Jets Hockey Club have chosen to cease operations prior to the 2019-2020 season. Specific details have not been divulged" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Lopez, Julian A. (September 29, 2021). "Feature: Shredders Bring Hockey Back to Long Beach". The562.org. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Premier Team Stats 2023-2024". usphlpremier.com. USPHL Premier Division. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ Boyd, Joshua (August 27, 2024). "USPHL Premier 2024-25 Division Previews: Pacific Division". usphlpremier.com. USPHL Premier Division. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "Western States Hockey League". Archived from the original on March 13, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010.