The Delaware Thunder had many unknowns in just their first season in Harrington, DE, at an arena that would become known as the “Thunderdome.” Who would have thought the people of the first state would gravitate towards the sport of hockey the way that Thunder fans did? That’s exactly what transpired, low and behold the people of the first state fell in love with this team. They fell in love with it’s personality of leaving everything out on the ice. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 and the state regulations that have been presented to the Thunder this season. They will be forced to close their doors for the 2020-21 season.
“As a hockey guy this was a tough decision to make, but the right one. I stand behind it 100%. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fans, players, staff, and corporate sponsors.”- Owner of the Thunder Charlie Pens Sr.
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It’s a sad day, of course, the proud faithful of the Thunder, and a great fan group called the ThunderPack will be directly influenced from this decision. Let’s not forget the great Thunder players that are impacted by this:
| 27 | Basey, Alex | D | Pro | April 4, 1995 | L | 6′ 1″ | 206 lbs | Oshawa, ON | |
| Bolduc, Xavier | G | Rookie | |||||||
| Boll, Jacob | D | Rookie | |||||||
| Brask, Joel-Sebastian | F | Rookie | |||||||
| 9 | Connell-Helle, Gavyn | F | Rookie | October 9, 1995 | L | 6′ 4″ | 230 lbs | Kitchener, ON, | |
| 16 | Cook-Smith, Aaron | F | Rookie | ||||||
| 20 | Cutting, Taylor | F/D | Pro | December 29, 1994 | L | 6′ 1″ | 220 lbs | Royersford, PA | |
| 9 | Davidson, Darius | F | Rookie | January 24, 1996 | R | 6′ 1″ | 205 lbs | Vancouver, BC | |
| 5 | Demin, Evgenii | F | Pro | March 4, 1998 | L | 5′ 9″ | 170 lbs | Moscow, RU | |
| 55 | Devine, Kieran | D | Rookie | April 5, 1997 | L | 6′ 3″ | 206 lbs | Bainsville, ON | |
| 92 | DiCristofaro, Daniel | D | Rookie | April 10, 1997 | L | 6′ 0″ | 195 lbs | Brampton, ON | |
| 59 | Dunford, Brian | D | Pro | June 29, 1987 | L | 5′ 11″ | 190 lbs | Murrysville, PA | |
| Eberhart, Rick | F | Rookie | |||||||
| 8 | Kalinin, Anton | F | Pro | November 6, 1998 | L | 5′ 9″ | 170 lbs | Kasli, RU | |
| 15 | Litke, Bryce | D | Rookie | December 15, 1998 | L | 6′ 2″ | 185 lbs | Winnipeg, MB | |
| 6 | Moritz, John (J C) | D | Rookie | ||||||
| 28 | Munichiello, Thomas | F | Rookie | March 19, 1996 | L | 5′ 9″ | 185 lbs | Weymouth, MA | |
| 10 | Pelligra, Nathan | F | Rookie | August 30, 1992 | L | 6′ 0″ | 185 lbs | Webster, NY | |
| 32 | Pens, Jr, Charlie | D | Pro | April 5, 1988 | L | 6′ 0″ | 205 lbs | Elkton, MD | |
| 33 | Pisano, Anthony | D | Pro | February 13, 1989 | L | 6′ 5″ | 285 lbs | Elkton, MD | |
| 31 | Pupplo, Anthony | G | Rookie | ||||||
| 44 | Simonetta, Marc-Anthony | F | Rookie | October 18, 1997 | L | 6′ 1″ | 170 lbs | Bolton, ON | |
| 39 | Taylor, Aaron | G | Pro | December 21, 1996 | L | 6′ 2″ | 190 lbs | Stouffville, ON | |
| Tellstrom, Mathias | F | Rookie | |||||||
| 19 | Wild, Noah | F | Rookie |
The Thunder were very successful before Covid. They would sell out on most nights, while drawing nearly 750 fans per game. This decision was not easy for Charlie Pens Sr. to make. However, the fans are the ones to suffer from this, as will Aaron Taylor, Anthony Pisano, Charlie Pens Jr., Bryce Litke, Anton Kalinin, Evgenii Demin, Taylor Cutting, and Alex Basey. Each one of these players are very classy and respectful, but they leave their hearts out on the ice. This also includes the the front office staff such as Charlie Pens Sr., Mike Basile, and great announcers in Tom Schultz and Gary Schofield.
Hopefully, the 2021-22 season will bring a sense of normalcy. This pandemic has taken over our lives in a such a way, and let’s hope we can get through this. The Thunder will be back better and stronger than ever. Long live the cow bells, the Viking hats, and the great people of the Thunder:
The Thunder will be back next season at the Thunderdome
