Rob Sumner is done as coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team.
General Manager Russ Farwell announced Tuesday that Sumner’s contract will not be renewed for the 2011-12 season. The T-Birds play at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
“Rob has contributed a great deal to our organization during his time here and we would like to thank him for his years of service with the Thunderbirds,” Farwell said in a media release. “He was a dedicated and loyal member of our team for 15 years and we appreciate his efforts to help the Thunderbirds grow as an organization.”
The T-Birds missed the Western Hockey League playoffs for the second straight season. They finished the 2010-2011 season March 20 with a record of 27-35-5-5. Seattle had only three wins in 20 games during a stretch in the middle of the season.
Seattle placed ninth out of 10 teams in the Western Conference. The top eight advanced to the playoffs. The T-Birds won eight more games this season compared to last year.
Sumner was the head coach of the T-Birds for seven years. He was a Seattle assistant coach for nine years before taking over for Dean Chynoweth as head coach in 2004-2005. Sumner had an overall record of 238-207-27-35.
The T-Birds have started a search for a new coach.
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