February 1, 1993 the IHL Board of Governors approved the application of Hank and Ken Stickney for an expansion franchise into the rapidly-growing IHL. The Las Vegas team became the 13th team in the league.

 May 11, 1993
The Stickney's announced that Bob Strumm will be the Las Vegas Thunder's General Manager.

June 3, 1993
Butch Goring is introduced to Las Vegas, as head coach of the Thunder.

July 30, 1993
A 17-year-old Radek Bonk is signed to a one-year contract with the Thunder. Becoming the first underage European player to sign a North American professional hockey contract.

October 8, 1993
The Las Vegas Thunder played its first game in team history on the road against Salt Lake. The Thunder won, 6-4. Ken Quinney scored the Thunder's first goal ever (3:54 of 1st period).

October 15, 1993
The Thunder opened at home against the Atlanta Knights in front of a crowd of 13,125. The Thunder won 3-2 in a shootout, recording the team's first shootout win.

January 14, 1994
Clint Malarchuk recorded the Thunder's first shutout win against Phoenix, 3-0.

 January 21, 1994
Ken Quinney became the first Thunder Player to score 50 points.  A feat he accomplished in just 41 games.

April 12, 1994
The Thunder finishes the regular season in Atlanta.; The 93-94 team finished the season 51-18-11 and led the league with 115 points. Ken Quinney led the team with 108 points, Patrice Lefebvre scored 98 points on the year. Quinney also led the team in goals scored with 42. The Thunder was defeated by San Diego in the first round of playoffs.

1994-95 Season    

July 7, 1994
Chris McSorley is signed as associate coach. In five seasons of coaching in the ECHL he compiled a record of 196-97-30.

 -August 1994
Thunder signs goaltender Manon Rheaume. Manon was the first female to play a game at the professional level, on Sept. 22, 1992, she was in goal for Tampa Bay in a NHL pre-season game against the St. Louis Blues.

October 1, 1994
The Thunder's second season kicked off, against the Phoenix Roadrunners in Phoenix.

October 7, 1994
The Thunder plays its first home game of the 1994-95 season against the San Diego Gulls.

October 1994
Alexei Yashin of the Ottawa Senators signed a contract to play with the Las Vegas Thunder during the NHL lockout.

January 8, 1995
The Las Vegas Thunder hosts the IHL All-Star game.

April 8, 1995
The Thunder completes the regular season at home against Minnesota.  Patrice Lefebvre was the team's leading scorer with 94 points, and in assists with 62. Daniel Shank led the team with 48 goals.  The 94-95 team finished the regular season 46-30-5. Milwaukee defeated the Thunder in the second round of playoffs.

1995-96 Season

July 24, 1995
Clint Malarchuk signs as assistant general manager of the Thunder. Malarchuk was a member of the on-ice team during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. Malarchuk holds the record for most wins by a Thunder goaltender in a season with 34, he achieved this during the 1993-94 season.

September 30, 1995
Las Vegas Starts the season led by General Manager Bob Strumm & Head Coach Chris McSorley in Phoenix.  The team plays its first home game of the season the following Friday (October 6) against a new team to the International Hockey League, the Los Angeles Ice Dogs.

November 1, 1995
NHL All-Star goaltender Curtis Joseph joined the Thunder. He remained with the team until January 11, 1996. As a member of the Thunder he was victorious in his first seven starts, at the time a Thunder record.

March 5, 1996
The Thunder retires Clint Malarchuk's number. He goes into goal for the

"Cowboy's Last Ride", where he saw 4:22 minutes of ice time & stopped two

shots on goal.

April 13, 1996
The Thunder finished the regular season at home against the same team the home season started against, the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. With a record of 57-17-8. The 95-96 Thunder team established several team records including:  Most points in a season with 122, most wins in a season (57), most goals scored in a season(380), most shorthanded goals scored in a season(37), which is also an IHL record. Lefebvre led the team with 114 points, and in assists (78) Sergei Zholtok led the team in goals (51). The Thunder went all the way to the Western Conference finals in the playoffs, but was defeated by Utah in six games.

1996-97 Season

August 14, 1996
The Thunder and Russian Torpedos agree to the first-ever exchange between and IHL organization and Russian elite team.

August 30, 1996
The Thunder & Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL announced that they have reached a limited affiliation  agreement for the 1996-97 season which will provide two to four Coyotes players to the Thunder.

November 12, 1996
Thunder Head Coach Chris McSorley completed his 100th game coached in the IHL. McSorley's 100th game was a Thunder victory over the Utah Grizzlies 6-4.

December 13, 1996
For the first time ever Thunder Fans around the IHL are given the opportunity to vote for the starting line up of the IHL All-Star game.

December 9, 1996
 Thunder owners Hank & Ken Stickney announce that they have joined forces with Mandalay owners Peter Guber and Paul Schaeffer to form Mandalay Sports Entertainment.

December 23, 1996
The Thunder signed 17-year-old right wing Robert Dome. Dome was a first round draft choice by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1997 NHL draft.

February 14, 1997
On Valentine's Day the Thunder hosted the Quebec Rafales. In honor of                  

the "holiday" the Thunder had the ice painted a shade of pink. This was

the first time the Thunder had ever painted the playing surface. Thunder

players also wore special jerseys in red, white & pink for the occasion.

April 13, 1997
The 1996-97 season came to an end against Phoenix at the Thomas & Mack Center.; A final game highlight came as Patrice Lefebvre has an assist to secure 400 points for his Thunder career. The Thunder finished the season with a record of 41-34-7. In the playoffs the Thunder was swept, for the first time in history, by the Houston Aeros in the first round.

         1997-98 Season    

August 22, 1997
General Manager Bob Strumm announced the signing of goaltender Tim Chevaldae to a one year contract.  Cheveldae is a veteran of 340 NHL games, and led the Detroit Red Wings to a first place finish in the Norris Division and first place overall in the Campbell Conference in 1991-92.

September 4, 1997
At a press conference at the Official All-Star Cafe the Thunder unveiled its new logo to fans & media. It is the first logo change the Thunder has made in its history

April 7, 1998                                                                                                               

Petr Nedved, one of the NHL's top offensive centers who is locked in a bitter

contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Penguins, signed a contract Thursday with

 the Las Vegas Thunder that will cover the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.     

1998-99 Season

June  9, 1998

Ken Quinney, the leading goal scorer in Thunder history, said Monday he had agreed to a one-year contract with the Frankfurt Lions in Germany, ending his five-year career in Las Vegas.
     

December  22, 1998

First sign of the franchise is in trouble. The Thunder plays its home games at the Thomas & Mack Center, but its lease expires at the end of this season, and the sides have not been able to come to a new agreement.

Jaunuary  10, 1999

The Thunder parted ways with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday, mutually agreeing to end their 2 1/2-year affiliation.

February  17, 1999

International Hockey League president Doug Moss met with representatives at Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand on Tuesday and plans to speak to two others today in a bid to save IHL hockey in Las Vegas.
     

March  15, 1999

Las Vegas sent high-scoring right wing Patrice Lefebvre to the Ice Dogs on Thursday to complete the Dec. 1 deal that sent forwards Scott Hollis and Shawn Wansborough to the Thunder for defenseman Keith McCambridge and future considerations. 

"There is some bitterness," Lefebvre, the Thunder's all-time leading scorer, said of the deal. "In almost six seasons, without being cocky or pretentious, I think I did a lot of good things for the franchise. I can look into the mirror and know I gave my heart, my soul, some sweat and even some blood to help the Thunder.

His uniform #7 is never retired by the Thunder. Lefebvre had 553 points in 429 games for the Thunder. He was the International Hockey League's scoring champion and Most Valuable Player last season, when he had 116 points. He led the Thunder in scoring in four of his five complete seasons and is the only player in franchise history to have more than one 100-point season.

April  18, 1999

The Thunder apparently played the last game in its six-year history Saturday before a crowd of 13,212 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The club has been unable to obtain a new lease at any of the available arenas -- the Thomas & Mack or at the MGM Grand Garden or Mandalay Bay -- and likely has played its final game.