CHL Wichita Thunder

Thunder Finishes Season

Published on March 23, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release


The Wichita Thunder went 1-2-0 in their final week of the 2008-09 season. Wichita dropped a 6-3 decision on Wednesday night to the Rapid City Rush at the Kansas Coliseum. Despite overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead into the third period, the Rush scored four unanswered goals, three of which were shorthanded, to win the game. Rookie defenseman Cole Ruwe scored the first goal of his professional career, while John Daigneau saved 32 of 37 in the loss.

The Thunder closed out their home schedule on Friday night, defeating the Tulsa Oilers 6-2 in front of a crowd of 7,593. Jason Duda scored two goals and an assist, while Marc Belanger also scored two goals. Ben Boudreau, Chris Tarkir, Mike Zbriger, Brad Thompson, and Jason Tessier all had multi-point nights. Krister Toews saved 19 of 21 for the win in his final appearance of the season. Anthony Monte scored his first professional.

Wichita's season finished with a 5-2 loss to the Oklahoma City Blazers on Saturday night at the Ford Center. Mike Zbriger tied the game at 1-1 at the 14:46 mark in the first period. However, the Blazers scored just nine seconds later to regain the lead. The Thunder allowed three power play goals in the loss. John Daigneau saved 42 of 47.

Thunder Clinch Second Place in Attendance

For the fourth consecutive season, the Wichita Thunder finished second in the 16-team CHL in average attendance. Wichita trailed Tulsa by nearly 6,500 total fans heading into Friday's contest, but a crowd of 7,593 allowed the Thunder to pass the Oilers and end the season with an average of 5,457 fans per home game.

Weingartner Honored

In a surprise pre-game ceremony on Friday, the Thunder retired jersey #15 in honor of former Thunder player and Head Coach Rob Weingartner. Weingartner played on both the 1994 and 1995 Thunder championship teams and then coached the Thunder for most of last season. A current resident of Wichita, Weingartner has also made enormous contributions to the city's youth hockey programs. Weingartner joins former teammates and fellow champions Ron Handy (#9) and Bobby Desjardins (#35) as the only players in franchise history to have their numbers retired.

End of Season Awards

The Thunder handed out their annual team awards prior to Friday's win over Tulsa. Scott Rozendal earned the Thunder Award for Community Service, Jordan Hack was named the Lewis Street Glass Rattler of the Year, Joel Hanson was selected the team's Rookie of the Year, Troy Ofukany was named Most Improved Player, Andrew Davis was voted as Players' Player by his teammates, Brad Thompson earned the Unsung Hero award, Jason Tessier was named Defenseman of the Year, and Jason Duda was the Thunder's Most Valuable Player.

Duda Pulls Within Two of Lawrence

Jason Duda had a big final week, scoring five points in three games, which now gives him 873 points for his career. Duda now trails Doug Lawrence by just two points for third place all-time in CHL history heading into next season. Duda's 55 points and +8 rating in 58 games were best on the team.

Tessier is Iron Man

Defenseman Jason Tessier, despite playing with an injured wrist during the final week, was the only Thunder player to appear in all 64 games this season. Tessier led all Thunder blue liners with 34 points. His five game-winning goals finished second in the CHL among defensemen. Wichita has had at least one player appear in every regular season game in each year of the franchise with the exception of 1998-99.

Youth Served Well

The Thunder saw many promising young players hit the ice this season. The Thunder had five rookies reach double figures in goals scored, including Troy Ofukany (17), Joel Hanson (14), Chris Tarkir (12), Jordan Hack (11), and Marc Belanger (10), the most since the Thunder's inagural season in 1992-93 when Wichita had eight rookies accomplish the feat.

Up Next

The Thunder is accepting new season ticket orders as well as renewals for the 2009-10 season which will be split between the Kansas Coliseum and the new Intrust Bank Arena downtown. For more information, call the Thunder office at (316) 264-GOAL.

Check out the Wichita Thunder Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2009


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