The United States Premier Hockey League is pleased to announce that the Thunder Hockey Club has relocated to Exeter, New Hampshire, after six seasons as the Twin City Thunder in Auburn, Maine.
The Thunder Hockey Club will field teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference and USPHL Premier Conference in the 2024-25 season. The move to Exeter, N.H., brings the Thunder Hockey Club into even closer proximity to their historic NCDC rivals in the New England Division. The Northern Cyclones and the Islanders Hockey Club are both located 35 miles from the Thunder’s new home facility, The Rinks At Exeter.
“We are very excited to be moving to a great two-rink facility at The Rinks At Exeter with a terrific staff and amenities,” said Thunder Owner, General Manager and Head Coach Dan Hodge. “I want to thank [The Rinks At Exeter co-owner] Travis Bezio for forging a new working relationship with us and we look forward to many productive years ahead.
“We have the advantage of having terrific feeder programs in the building, from our own Thunder Premier team to the Seacoast Spartans organization, to help make the Thunder one of the leaders in our league.”
Hodge was also grateful for his time in Auburn, Maine, and to the staff at Norway Savings Bank Arena.
“Auburn, Maine, has been awesome for six years and I have nothing but good things to say about the Lewiston Auburn area,” said Hodge. “It was not an easy decision to depart at all. There are great people in Auburn, and in our former facility, and we wish them the best.
“The contract with our rink in Auburn was up this year, and we took advantage of that situation to move closer to our division, which will cut down on travel time and at the same time increase development time on and off the ice for our players. It was just the right opportunity at the right time to help our franchise, as well as our USPHL and NCDC partner franchises, with travel and expenses,” Hodge added.
The next step, Hodge added, will be running tryouts, including their Goaltenders ID Camp (July 27-28) and their Main Camp (Aug. 18-21), as the Thunder Hockey Club continue to work towards the September start of the 2024-25 season, amidst an already busy scouting and recruiting period for the franchise.
About the United States Premier Hockey League
Founded in 2012, the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is comprised of over 150 teams, fielding more than 20,000 players aged 9-21 in more than 100 organizations across the North, South, Midwest, West, and Canada. Our Junior Divisions consist of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), a tuition-free, Tier 2 Junior hockey division, and our Premier and Elite Divisions, all geared toward college and pro placement.
Our youth and midget divisions (operated through the Tier 1 Hockey Federation) field full season 9U through 18U teams. The USPHL has sent over 8,000 players to all levels of college hockey including over 3,300 into NCAA college hockey and over 200 players into NCAA Division I hockey. The USPHL has also had 17 players who played in the NCDC drafted by NHL teams.
