The Long Beach Bombers were a junior ice hockey team that last played in the Western States Hockey League. The team played its home games at The Rinks – Lakewood ICE in Lakewood, California.
History 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. 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. White then used the Bombers' branding to launch a new WSHL team in Barrhead, Alberta. On August 12, the WSHL announced that the Jets ceased operations prior to the 2019–20 season. The Bombers were the last founding franchise of the WSHL still playing in the league.
Season-by-season records Season GP W L Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs 2010–11 46 18 26 — 2 38 156 179 – 6th of 8, Western10th of 13, WSHL Did not qualify 2011–12 46 16 27 — 3 35 157 236 1192 5th of 6, Western12th of 16, WSHL Did not qualify 2012–13 46 19 25 — 2 40 165 228 1129 6th of 6, Western15th of 22 WSHL Did not qualify 2013–14 46 28 18 — 0 56 228 170 1133 4th of 6, Pacific11th of 24, WSHL Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Fresno Monsters 2014–15 46 33 13 — 0 66 215 140 1044 3rd of 8, Western9th 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, Western5th of 29, WSHL Div. Quarterfinals byeWon Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Fresno MonstersWon Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Valencia FlyersLost Thorne Cup Semifinals, 0–2 vs. Idaho Jr. Steelheads 2016–17 52 46 5 — 1 93 365 115 871 1st of 8, Western1st of 27, WSHL Div. Quarterfinals byeWon Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Las Vegas StormWon Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Valencia Flyers 2017–18 51 36 11 — 4 76 263 158 702 1st of 6, Western6th of 23, WSHL Div. Quarterfinals byeWon Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Phoenix KnightsWon Div. Finals, 2–0 vs. Fresno MonstersLost Thorne Cup Semifinal game, 3–10 vs. Ogden Mustangs 2018–19 51 35 8 6 2 119 262 137 653 1st of 5, Western4th of 23, WSHL Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Ontario AvalancheWon Div. Finals, 2–1 vs. Fresno Monsters
Alumni The Bombers have had a number of alumni move on to higher levels of junior, college, and professional ice hockey.
Notes
References