“Sell out, Sell out,” the hit song by Reel Big Fish can be used in correlation with the new hockey team in Delaware, called the Delaware Thunder. They took the State of Delaware by storm this past season. The team they call the “Thunder” are part of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. They played their games in the Town of Harrington, Delaware, before the season was shutdown due to the Coronavirus. Approximately 700 people on game day (A sell out crowd) would see this ferocious team in the Thunder play.
The Thunder had many unknowns when the team was first founded last year. First and foremost, how would the community embrace this team? Boy!!! The people of the “First State” come out in full force for their new found hockey team. Selling out the first game, and many other games after that. Owner, President, and General Manager, Charles Pens Sr. believed a packed house on a nightly basis would make it a tough place to play against, and he was right as the Thunder played competitive hockey for the majority of the season. Fight after fight would ensue on most nights, at times it was like Good Ole’ Fashioned pond hockey with the “Broad Street Bullies” on the ice.
Their were some heroes behind the scenes for the Thunder, now that their season has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus, and none were more important then the fans. Without the fans the team would crumble, and this wouldn’t have made this franchise a successful one in just their first season. Fans like Bobby and Jessica Walls, who are now housing Evgenii Demin, Patrick Tondl, and Anton Kalinin, “It’s definitely heartbreaking they can’t be with their families,” Jessica Walls says, “We are happy to do this. My son loves they help him. They contact their families daily, and say thank you to us. I can only imagine being a parent on the other side. Hearing a player say you were just like a mom to me made me so proud and emotional. All of these boys needed a mom figure close by, and I wanted to do that. I cried every time I took anyone to the airport, but so proud of each and everyone of them.”
Jessica Walls continues, “My definition of a hero is selfless, gives back to others, cares about other people, and a quality caring person other people can look up to.” Well, Jessica you are a true hero, and an inspiration to the Thunder community. Due to the Coronavirus, both Kalinin and Demin cannot go back home to Russia, with all the restrictions that have been put in place.
These three Thunder players will go back home when some restrictions are lifted. However, it’s amazing to see some Thunder fans step up in the time of need to house these three gentlemen, and become a billet family. Billet families are huge and instrumental to the overall success of the sport of hockey, in terms of housing players from other nations to play the sport they have come to love, “Geno and Anton are both hoping to go home next month,” Jessica Walls says, “We are very happy for them. They are very appreciative of us for being a billet family. It’s really breathtaking.”
This small-town really embraced the Thunder, and formed a fan group Thunda Pack. These passionate fans became die-hards, and really became vested with this team. They would travel to follow their team, they would house players (Billets) in some cases, and really just loved their Thunder team. More importantly, they would pack the Centre Ice Rink every single game. A hurricane couldn’t even stop these proud fans from seeing the Thunder on the ice.
Of course, like any new business or sports team for that matter. The Thunder underestimated the “Early” overall success of the team, especially in regards to selling tickets. However, the people of the “First State” have spoken, and it appears they love ice hockey. Who would of thought? The small Town of Slower Lower Delaware would become the face of the first state in just the first season of Thunder hockey, and heroes like Bobby and Jessica Walls make this possible.
