The Long Beach Bombers are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in Pacific group of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Premier Division. The team plans to play their home games at The Rinks – Lakewood Ice in Lakewood, California.[1] [2][3]

Long Beach Bombers
CityLakewood, California
LeagueUSPHL
DivisionPacific (Premier)
Founded1993, 2024
Folded2019 (original)
Home arenaThe Rinks - Lakewood Ice
ColorsBlack, white, gray, & blue
Franchise history
1993–1996Anaheim Jr. Ducks
1996–2006Southern California Jr. Bombers
2006–2010Bay City Bombers
2010–2019Long Beach Bombers
2019-2024Long Beach Shredders
2024-PresentLong Beach Bombers

History

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Before moving to Tier III Junior A hockey, the Bombers competed in Junior B hockey from 1994 until 2007 when the team and 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.[4] 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.[5] White then used the Bombers' branding to launch a new WSHL team in Barrhead, Alberta.[6] On August 12, the WSHL announced that the Jets ceased operations prior to the 2019–20 season.[7] The Bombers were the last founding franchise of the WSHL still playing in the league.

Replacement

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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.[8] 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. [9]

Rebrand Announcement

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On March 21, 2024, the Shredders Instagram account announced a rebrand, changing their name to "lbbombersusphl". The post image called out emails for prospect players and business relations / sponsors to contact the organization with a "@longbeachbombers.com" domain name. [10] According to Whois web data, the domain was registered on March 11, 2024.[11]

On March 24, 2024, the team officially announced the return to the Bombers name on their instagram page.[12]

Season-by-season records

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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)
  1. ^ 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.

Alumni

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The Bombers have had a number of alumni move on to higher levels of junior, college, and professional ice hockey.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "N/A" (PDF).[dead link]
  2. ^ "Pointstreak Sites | Glacial Gardens | Home Page". Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  3. ^ "Junior Hockey Magazine - We Have Everything You Need". 23 December 2022.
  4. ^ "WSHL History". WSHL. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "Bombers to jets". WSHL. June 24, 2019.
  6. ^ "2019-2020 WSHL DIVISIONAL NOTES". WSHL. August 12, 2019.
  7. ^ @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.
  8. ^ Lopez, Julian A. (2021-09-29). "Feature: Shredders Bring Hockey Back to Long Beach". The562.org. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  9. ^ "USPHL Premier Division". Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  10. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  11. ^ "Whois longbeachbombers.com". www.whois.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  12. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  13. ^ "Western States Hockey League". Archived from the original on 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
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