instance_of wichita thunder
The Wichita Thunder are a minor ___MASK54___ hockey ___MASK39___ based in Wichita , Kansas , United States . The ___MASK39___ played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014 , and then in the ECHL since the 2014 -- 15 ___MASK2___ . From 1992 until December 2009 the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City . In January 2010 ( the second half of the 2009 -- 10 ___MASK2___ ) , the ___MASK39___ began playing its home games at the newly built Intrust Bank Arena . The Central Hockey ___MASK54___ ( CHL ) was a North American mid - level minor ___MASK26___ ice hockey ___MASK54___ which operated in the late 20th and early 21st centuries . Until 2013 , it was owned by Global ___MASK95___ Corporation , at which ___MASK69___ it was purchased by the individual ___MASK11___ owners . As of the end of its ___MASK68___ ___MASK2___ in 2014 , three of the 30 National Hockey ___MASK54___ teams had affiliations with the CHL : the Dallas Stars , Minnesota Wild , and Tampa ___MASK22___ Lightning . An ___MASK89___ is an enclosed area , often circular or oval - shaped , designed to showcase theater , ___MASK10___ performances , or sporting events . The word derives from Latin " harena ", a particularly fine / smooth sand used to absorb blood in ancient arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome . It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators . The key feature of an ___MASK89___ is that the event space is the lowest point , allowing for maximum visibility . Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a large number of spectators . A ___MASK48___ ( CSA ) is composed of adjacent metropolitan ( MSA ) and micropolitan statistical areas ( µSA ) in the United States and Puerto Rico that can demonstrate economic or social linkage . The United States Office of Management and ___MASK94___ defines a CSA as consisting of various combinations of adjacent metropolitan and micropolitan areas with economic ties measured by commuting patterns . These areas that combine retain their own designations as metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas within the larger ___MASK48___ . Ice hockey is a contact ___MASK91___ played on ice , usually in a rink , in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent ' s net to score points . Ice hockey teams usually consist of ___MASK84___ players each : one goaltender , and ___MASK8___ players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a ___MASK58___ against the opposing team . A ___MASK50___ is an administrative center , seat of ___MASK13___ , or capital city of a county or civil parish . The term is used in the United States , Canada , Romania , China and Taiwan . In the United Kingdom and Ireland , county towns have a similar function . The Arkansas ___MASK57___ is a major ___MASK37___ of the Mississippi ___MASK57___ . It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the US states of Colorado , Kansas , Oklahoma , and Arkansas . The river ' s source basin lies in the western United States in Colorado , specifically the Arkansas ___MASK57___ ___MASK86___ , where the headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Sawatch and Mosquito mountain ranges . It then flows east into the Midwest via Kansas , and finally into the South through Oklahoma and Arkansas . Kansas is a U . S . ___MASK98___ located in the Midwestern United States . Its ___MASK25___ is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita . Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American tribe , which inhabited the area . The tribe ' s name ( natively "") is often said to mean " people of the wind " or " people of the south wind ", although this was probably not the term ' s original meaning . For thousands of years , what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes . Tribes in the eastern part of the ___MASK98___ generally lived in villages along the river valleys . Tribes in the western part of the ___MASK98___ were semi - nomadic and hunted large herds of bison . The Tampa ___MASK22___ Lightning is a professional ___MASK63___ based in Tampa , Florida . It is a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League ( NHL ). Tampa ___MASK22___ has one Stanley Cup championship in their history , in 2003  04 . The team is often referred to as the Bolts , and the nickname is used on the current third jersey . The Lightning plays home games in the Amalie Arena in Tampa . New Jersey is a ___MASK98___ in the Northeastern United States and mid - Atlantic regions of the United States . It is bordered on the north and east by New York , on the southeast and south by the Atlantic ___MASK32___ , on the west by Pennsylvania , and on the southwest by Delaware . New Jersey is the fourth - smallest ___MASK98___ but the 11th - most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States . New Jersey lies entirely within the combined statistical areas of New York City and Philadelphia and is the third - wealthiest U . S . ___MASK98___ by per capita ___MASK3___ as of 2014 . The National Hockey ___MASK54___ ( NHL ) is a ___MASK26___ ice hockey ___MASK54___ currently composed of 31 ___MASK44___ clubs . Of the 30 clubs currently playing , 23 are in the United States and 7 in Canada . Headquartered in New York City , the NHL is considered to be the premier ___MASK26___ ice hockey ___MASK54___ in the world , and one of the major ___MASK26___ sports leagues in the United States and Canada . The Stanley Cup , the oldest ___MASK26___ sports trophy in North America , is awarded annually to the ___MASK54___ playoff champion at the end of each ___MASK2___ . The Dallas Stars are a ___MASK26___ ___MASK63___ based in Dallas , Texas . They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ( NHL ). The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars , based in Bloomington , Minnesota . Before the beginning of the 1978  79 NHL season , the team merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each team ' s respective financial struggles . Ultimately , the franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993  94 NHL season . The Stars played out of Reunion Arena from their relocation until 2001 , when the team moved less than 1 . 5 miles into the American Airlines Center . Wichita is the largest ___MASK27___ in the state of Kansas and the 48th - largest ___MASK27___ in the United States . Located in south - central Kansas on the Arkansas River , Wichita is the ___MASK50___ of Sedgwick County and the ___MASK4___ ___MASK27___ of the Wichita metropolitan area . As of the 2010 United States Census , the ___MASK27___ population was 382 , 368 ; as of 2014 , it was estimated to have increased to 389 , 965 . In 2015 , the estimated population of the Wichita metropolitan area was 644 , 610 , and that of the larger Wichita - Winfield combined statistical area was 680 , 398 . The ECHL ( formerly the East ___MASK49___ Hockey League ) is a mid - level ___MASK26___ ice hockey league based in Princeton , New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States and one ___MASK11___ in Canada . It is a tier below the American Hockey League . The American Hockey ___MASK54___ ( AHL ) is a 30 - ___MASK39___ ___MASK26___ ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey ___MASK54___ ( NHL ). Since the 2010  11 ___MASK2___ , every ___MASK39___ in the league has an affiliation agreement with an NHL ___MASK39___ ; before then , one or two NHL teams would not have an AHL affiliate and so assigned players to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams . Twenty - seven AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining three are in Canada . The league offices are located in Springfield , Massachusetts , and its current president is David Andrews . The 2010 United States ___MASK29___ , ( known as " ___MASK29___ 2010 "), is the twenty - third and currently most recent United States national ___MASK29___ . National ___MASK29___ ___MASK17___ , the reference ___MASK17___ used for the ___MASK29___ , was April 1 , 2010 . As part of a drive to increase the count ' s accuracy , 635 , 000 temporary enumerators were hired . The population of the United States was counted as 308 , 745 , 538 , a 9 . 7 % increase from the 2000 ___MASK29___ . The Minnesota Wild are a ___MASK26___ ___MASK63___ based in St . Paul , Minnesota , United States . They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ( NHL ). The Wild are the only one of the Minneapolis - St . Paul area ' s major ___MASK26___ sports league franchises to play in St . Paul ; the other three play in Minneapolis . Intrust ___MASK78___ ___MASK89___ ( known as Sedgwick County ___MASK89___ during early planning stages ) is a 15 , 004 - seat multi - purpose ___MASK89___ , located in downtown Wichita , Kansas , United States . The ___MASK89___ features 22 suites , 2 party suites , and over 300 premium seats . It is home to the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL and the Wichita Force of the CIF . Global ___MASK95___ Corporation is an ___MASK95___ ___MASK47___ that is in charge of the following owned companies .