Brent Bilodeau, who went 20-41-3 in his rookie season as coach, will return next season. General manager Joel Lomurno has been uncertain about Bilodeau’s status, but he said this afternoon that Bilodeau will get the chance to prove himself next season.
Lomurno said that player support was a key reason he is sticking with Bilodeau. Lomurno also indicated that Bilodeau that will be expected to get off to a fast start next season.
Lomurno said the team’s main weaknesses of experienced scoring and toughness can be “easily fixed” by Bilodeau.
There will be a story in tomorrow’s paper.
25 Comments
That made my day! Thanks Kollen and all the Thunder staff for making this another great day not to be a Blunder faithful!
Wichita=Stupidty
Well if that made your day, then you live a sad life.
I for one would love to see what he can do with a full off-season to recruit.
Yep I live a very sad life! We have been snowboarding all weekend getting ready for tonights EAGLES game.
We sure miss Kansas………….not
Then stay there.
lol we’ve had 2 down years, and good ole ES acts like the Thunder is the worst hockey team ever… look back at our records over the last 7 or 8 years and the good seasons far out number the bad… I can live with 40 win seasons and a push into the playoffs… The last 2 years have been UNACCEPTABLE, but you have to give the guy more than 1 year to bring in players that fit his style of play. I guarantee you next year we will be back in the playoffs. Especially with a healthy Boron in goal all year
I 110% agree with you shazamm81. Solid post.
I’ll be surprised if next season is much different than the past couple of seasons for the Thunder. We’ve all heard the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Apparently Lomurno only heard part of that saying and he and Bilodeau seem content to leave many of the unfunctioning pieces of Wichita’s broken team in place. There’s no way either of those so called “team leaders” would be happy with any other management/coach who had not just ONE but TWO 20/21 win seasons.
I don’t solely blame Lomurno for the pathetic effort the team had this year though. The owner’s apathy is a major part of the problem. He seems quite content to let the team languish in the league cellar yet another year. If he’s not willing to open his checkbook and hire an effective, successful GM and coach, there’s not much hope for the organization. It’s sad that a franchise that started out so strong has become a pathetic mess.
Eagles 3-0 Texas Transfer is DEAD ON !
Howz the Heckling going bout now? LMFAO!
Well at least I’m not on the Eagles bandwagon.
Going on 7 years of being on a bandwagon!
Because that’s something to be proud of.
better than being ashamed,man it’s fun watching them go deeper and deeper
I’m not ashamed. I would like a better product on the ice but I’m not going to leave a team because they suck.
You’re not a fan. What’s going to happen when the Eagles become a bad team? Are you going to become a Laredo Buck fan, or a Texas Brahmas fan?
anything except the Blunder, you would think you all would learn by now
guess not….
But you still go to Thunder games.
yep to watch the slaughters….I enjoy being right year after year
If you want to put up with excuses and last place finish’s go ahead
losers always have an excuse or a maybe next year mind set
failure is unacceptable in my life
Then when the Thunder become better, you better stick to your guns as an Eagles “fan”.
You got it and if the Blunder keep losing remember you can always pick another team with a future.
I’m not like you. I’m a true fan, remember?
if your boy or girlfriend cheats on you do stay “loyal” also?
you have yet to get anything in return from the Blunder as a “loyal” fan” either.
More loyal than you apparently.
And if my girlfriend cheated on me it would be over.
A sports team can’t cheat on you. They might not play up to expectations, but they can’t cheat on you.
the Blunder aren’t cheating on you?
2nd in attendance revenue again this year in entire CHL,where did all your money go and other Thunder fans money go?
it sure didnt go on the ice or for promotions
when they care about loyal fans again such as yourself,please let me know
cause until you are being cheated
They might’ve been 2nd in attendance but that doesn’t mean they were 2nd in revenue. Each team has different tickets prices.
As for the revenue the Thunder get, most of it goes to the Coliseum’s rent. They don’t get any money from concessions or advertising around the Coliseum. Next year when they move to the new arena, they will make a lot more money with the addition of concessions, suites, and arena signage (advertising on the ice, scoreboard, etc).
So don’t blame the front office staff for “not caring” about the on-ice product. If the team doesn’t produce, then the franchise doesn’t succeed. But thanks to the very loyal Thunder fans, this team can survive. Even though the team hasn’t preformed up to expectations. It’s really not up to the front office staff to recruit players. It’s the coaches, and to some point the GM’s job to help recruit players that can come in and help the team win games.
When they have all these new revenue dollars next season as you described and still fail to make the playoffs what will be your answers then?
and will being worst not be worth surviving any longer?
They won’t have that money until halfway through the season. So It’s not like they automatically get the money once the season starts.