| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Folded | 2010 |
| League | MnJHL (2001-2006) CSHL (2006-2010) |
| Location | Dubuque, Iowa, USA |
| Arena | Five Flags Event Center |
| League titles | 4 |
The Dubuque Thunderbirds were a Tier III junior ice hockey team based in Dubuque, Iowa that played in the multipurpose Five Flags Event Center from 2001 through 2010.
The Thunderbirds franchise was formed to fill a vacancy for Dubuque hockey fans after the original Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League relocated operations to Tulsa, Oklahoma as the Tulsa Crude.[1]
The Dubuque Thunderbirds were a locally owned franchise that played in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League and the Central States Hockey League. The Thunderbirds played for 9 seasons in the Dubuque Five Flags Civic Center arena, often averaging crowds of between 1600 and 2400, which far surpassed all of the teams in both leagues. After the departure of the Fighting Saints, it took only a few short weeks for the upstart Thunderbirds to start finding success, which would follow the franchise its entire existence; winning 4 league playoff titles, twice finishing as league playoff runner-up, and 7 invitations to the USA Junior Hockey National Tournament.