Hockey Fans In OKC Still Have Their Barons To Cheer For With Their Fourth Straight Win

I know it warmed up today… and baseball is here. But there’s a pretty dang good hockey team in town. The OKC Barons are worth checking out – as you know about half of their guys have spent time in the NHL – and the other half are a skate stride away. They won again tonight… below is the press release from the Barons...

A last-minute game-winner by Tanner House capped off three straight goals by the Oklahoma City Barons as they earned their fourth straight win by defeating the Texas Stars 3-2 at the Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, Texas. Yann Danis improved to 21-14-5 by stopping 26 shots in the win. Jack Campbell made 26 saves as well in the game, but gets the loss to fall to 16-12-4 on the season.

Texas began the first period by keeping the Barons pinned in their own zone. Brett Ritchie opened the scoring for the Stars at 2:06, scoring on a rebound with the backhand. Mike Commodore made it a 2-0 game a minute later on a 4-on-2 Texas rush, scoring at the 3:07 mark. Texas outshot the Barons 9-0 through the first nine minutes of the period, but the Barons rebounded to outshoot the Stars 6-4 the rest of the way for a 13-6 total in shots in favor of Texas.

A quiet second period began to pick up steam after the Barons were given a power-play chance at 12:06. Campbell made huge saves on chances by Teemu Hartikainen and Ryan Martindale to help the Stars kill the penalty. It was Curtis Hamilton at even strength however that brought the Barons to within one. Hamilton beat defenseman Kevin Connauton to the puck after a long lead pass by Nathan Deck. Hamilton buried it at 15:22 to make it 2-1.

The third period began with back-and-forth action. The feel for the Barons was much like the second period. A power-play chance at 13:08 for the Barons went down in the scoresheet as unsuccessful, but three seconds after the man-advantage expired, a pass from Mark Arcobello found Philippe Cornet and he scored to make it a 2-2 game at 15:11. As the clock wound down on regulation time, Chris Vandevelde gained the offensive zone with Tanner House. Vandevelde left the puck for house near the top of the left-wing circle. House’s shot dribbled past the glove of Campbell for the game-winner with 14.6 left in regulation time.

The Barons improve to 34-23-3-8 with 78 points among a log-jam in the Western Conference Standings. The league-leading Texas Stars fall to 39-18-5-6 on the season. Oklahoma City closes out the season series among the two teams with an 8-3-0-1 mark over the Stars.

Oklahoma City’s power play went 0-for-2 on the night, while the penalty kill saw no action in the game with no shorthanded situations against the Barons.

The win over Texas extends Oklahoma City’s unbeaten streak to six games, 5-0-0-1 during the streak to earn 11 of a possible 12 points.

Tomorrow, the Barons return home to face the Chicago Wolves at 7 p.m. The Barons are giving away TWO Ford Fiestas in their Drive Away Every Saturday promotion. The weekend concludes Sunday, April 7 against Chicago at 4 p.m. Following the game, the Barons invite fans to stay after the game to skate with members of the team. Skate rental is free with a ticket to the game. You can hear the game on the Barons’ flagship station, 96.1 KXY

When the NHL Lockout Ended

With the most recent work stoppage in pro sports coming to a close, I am reminded of the time I covered the NHL lockout ending back in the early 1990s. I was working at CNN as west coast correspondent, the greatest gig ever, and when the word came down the Kings took to the ice right away. We went to the Great Western Forum for practice and some interviews, but little did I know some players – bruiser Marty McSorley specifically – were none too happy with the media’s coverage of the lockout. It seems he felt as though all of us were referring to it as a “strike”, putting the blame on the players as opposed to the owners. I, of course, never did say such a thing, but Marty nearly knocked my block off. Ironically, the likes of Kelly Hrudey and Gretzky had to step in and save the day, although I’m sure my producer would have loved it if McSorley had whipped my butt. What you see at the link here is the story we did that day. Sadly, somehow, the fans and the sport of hockey have had three of these things now. I hope the fans enjoy the next ten years of labor peace.

OKC Becoming Winnersville?

The Thunder are rolling. OU softball is storming through the WCWS. The Barons had a banner hockey season. And the OKC Redhawks, top farm club of the much improved Houston Astros, are on a stretch that rivals any in the franchise’s history.

Might be a good time to plan a trip out to Bricktown and the old ballpark.

Here’s their latest press release:

Oklahoma City, Okla. – Mike Hessman homered two more times, including a seventh inning shot that proved the difference in the Oklahoma City RedHawks’ (35-23) 6-5 win over the Iowa Cubs (25-32) before 2,994 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Monday night.  The RedHawks have now won 12 straight at home.

 Hessman hit solo homers in the fourth and seventh, giving him five over his last two games. The five homers have come within the span of six at-bats and seven plate appearances.

 The Cubs took an early 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Anthony Rizzo.  Ty Wright homered to lead off the fourth to make it 2-0.

 Jimmy Paredes and Hessman each left the yard in the fourth to tie the game.  Three straight singles followed Hessman’s home run, including an RBI single by Angel Sanchez to put the RedHawks in front, 3-2.

 Iowa scored three times in an eventful top of the sixth to seize the lead.  Matt Tolbert tied the game with a bloop RBI single, and the Cubs went in front on an errant throw during a rundown to score Blake Lalli.

Pitcher Chris Rusin followed with a sharp RBI single up the middle to make it a 5-3 game.  Rusin was later picked off second base, and with two on and one out, Luis Valbuena struck out and Brett Jackson was caught stealing third to end the inning.

Each of the first four RedHawks reached safely in the bottom of the inning to tie it, with Brandon Barnes and Sanchez each collecting RBI singles.  They loaded the bases with one out but could not score, keeping the game 5-5.

 With one away in the seventh, Hessman took the first pitch from Esmailin Caridad (0-3) nearly out of the stadium to put the RedHawks in front.

 The Cubs put the tying runner at second with two outs in the eighth, but Mickey Storey (3-2) got Valbuena to pop out to end the inning. 

 With closer Jose Valdez unavailable after pitching on four of the last five days, the RedHawks turned the game over to Juan Abreu in the ninth. Abreu retired the side in order, striking out Wright to end the game and earn his third save of the season as well as his first since April 9.

 

 

Barons rally, beat Checkers 3-2 in shootout

From release

Antti Tyrvainen tied the score with two minutes remaining in regulation and Josh Green scored the difference-maker in the seventh round of the shootout as the Barons beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Saturday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Barons Checked At Charlotte 6-2

From Press Release
A.J. Jenks scored a pair of power play goals as the Charlotte Checkers opened a 5-0 lead through two periods on the way to a 6-2 win over the Oklahoma City Barons on Friday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The Barons (34-14-2-3) see a five-game road winning streak halted in the first of a season-high six-game road swing. A rematch with Charlotte is set for 6 pm CST on Saturday.

The Checkers, 31-19-2-3, improved to 5-1-1-1 against the Barons with the finale of the season series on Saturday. Charlotte out-shot Oklahoma City 42-28, amassing the most shots against the Barons in a game this season.

David LeNeveu started and played the first 31 minutes, departing after Charlotte’s fourth goal. Olivier Roy entered for his AHL debut and allowed the final two goals. LeNeveu took the loss to fall to 13-7-2.

John Muse stopped 26 of 28 shots in improving to 10-3-1.

Charlotte took a 2-0 lead after one period on a wrap-around by Jenks at 13:58, followed by a Matthew Pistilli tip at 18:39. The Checkers added three goals in the second, with Brett Sutter converting a 2-on-1 at 8:21, followed by Jenks’ second on a deflection at 11:00 and Chris Terry’s point shot on a two-man advantage at the 11:55 mark, 14 seconds into the power play.

The Barons closed the gap with a wrap-around by Linus Omark at 1:39 of the third, followed by Chris VandeVelde’s rebound at 3:49 to make the score 5-2, but Justin Shugg put home a breakaway goal 21 seconds later to conclude the scoring.

The six goals allowed were the second-most against Oklahoma City this season, behind a 7-0 defeat against Texas on opening night.

Barons Zero In On All Star Break W Another Win

The OKC Barons win again…
Here’s the press release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Mark Acrobello scored two goals and Yann Danis turned away 28 shots as the Oklahoma City Barons downed the Houston Aeros 5-2 Friday evening at the Cox Convention Center. The Barons (28-11-2-3) won their fifth straight game and increased their West Division lead to seven points over the Aeros (21-10-3-9).

Josh Green gave Oklahoma City a 1-0 lead at the 5:57 mark of the first period. Green connected on a pass from Ryan Keller in the slot to score his eighth of the year. Philippe Cornet earned a second assist on the goal to extend his point streak to four games.

Acrobello added to the Oklahoma City lead while on the power play late in the period. Acrobello put the Barons up 2-0 at 15:36 on assists from Dan Ringwald and Taylor Chorney. It was Ringwald’s first point since Jan. 8 and Chorney’s second assist in the last three games.

Teemu Hartikainen stretched the Oklahoma City lead to 3-0 early in the second period. Hartikainen scored on a breakaway for his 10th goal of the year. Chorney recorded his second assist of the night for his first multi-point game this season. Tyler Pitlick picked up the primary assist on the goal, his sixth of the year.

The Barons entered the second intermission with a 4-0 lead after Hunter Tremblay broke away for a shorthanded goal at 18:11. It was Tremblay’s third goal in the last four games and his fourth shorthanded goal of the year. Chris VandeVelde recorded his 10th assist of the year on the goal, and Colten Teubert added his fifth assist of the year.

Houston broke the shutout at 8:53 of the third period on a rebound goal by Joel Broda. Jon DiSalvatore cut the lead in half to 4-2 at 11:07 with a power play goal.

The Barons sealed the 5-2 victory with an empty net goal by Arcobello at 17:53. It was Arcobello’s second two-goal game in the last four (Jan. 19 at Rochester).

Oklahoma City continues its four game homestand tomorrow evening with a 7 p.m. CT contest against the Texas Stars. The game airs locally on KXY 96.1 FM.

Barons Sweep Road Trip

From Press Release
Philippe Cornet scored two goals and Ryan Keller had a goal and two assists as the Barons swept a three-game road trip by beating the Lake Erie Monsters 3-1 on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

It marked Oklahoma City’s fourth straight win overall dating to the last homestand. After wins the previous two nights at Rochester, the Barons are tops in the AHL in wins with a 27-11-2-3 record and in standing points with 59. Saturday’s game was the Barons’ third straight with a two-goal game from a player, as Dylan Yeo last night and Mark Arcobello on Thursday joined Cornet with a pair of goals in a game this week.

After a scoreless first period, Cornet opened the scoring at 11:10 of the second with his 19th of the year as he received a pass down low from Ryan Keller and tucked the puck past Trevor Cann.

Lake Erie tied the score 1-1 a re-direction by Brad Malone on the power play at 14:42 of the second. The goal snapped a stretch of five and a half games where Oklahoma City had been perfect on the penalty kill.

The eventual game-winner from Cornet came at 8:24 of the third on a major power play. Cornet put home his 20th of the season when he batted the puck out of the air past Cann on the short side.

Keller added an empty-net goal with 7.2 seconds left. Oklahoma City out-shot Lake Erie 26-22, including 14-5 in the third, in winning both games in the season series at Cleveland. The Monsters visit Oklahoma City March 9-10.

David LeNeveu improved to 10-5-2 and lowered his goals against average to 2.06, while Cann fell to 9-16-0.

The Barons return home to face Houston on Friday and Texas on Saturday at the Cox Center. Faceoff for both games is 7 pm CST.

Barons For Special Olympics

Here’s a cool event the OKC Barons are taking part in for Special Olympics. These guys and gals have a beautiful place in our lives. Work done with Special Olympians and people with disabilities is beyond heroic; it is life affirming and spirit charging and connects us to beautiful people. You can see some of my daughter’s work at Camp Summit here.

Below is the press release from the Barons…

Oklahoma City – The second session of the Oklahoma City Barons program with Special Olympics called “Barons Buddies” will take place January 25 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the AMF Sunny Lanes bowling alley in Del City, the team’s front office announced today.

The Barons Buddies program allows a family involved with Special Olympics Oklahoma to be “adopted” by a player on the Barons roster. The first session of the program was November 25 when the players hosted the Special Olympics athletes at the Cox Convention Center. The athletes and their families received a tour of the locker room as well as played games with the Barons players. “The Barons Buddies program was designed to improve the relationship between the team and select families from Special Olympics Oklahoma,” said Prodigal CEO Bob Funk Jr. “The first event last November was one of the most touching events I’ve been a part of. The bond that was created between our Barons family and the families of the Special Olympics athletes was truly special.”

“Special Olympics Oklahoma is honored to be part of the new Barons Buddies program,” said Development Director Derek Cain. “The Barons Buddies program is a great example of how the Barons are truly wanting to make a difference in the life’s of individuals with intellectual disabilities.”

The Barons are on the road for three games this weekend. Thursday and Friday, they are in Rochester, N.Y. to take on the Americans. They wrap up the three-game trip with a stop in Cleveland to take on the Lake Erie Monsters. All three games can be heard on the Barons flagship station, 96.1 KXY.

Barons Atop West

Oklahoma City – The Oklahoma City Barons were able to take over the top spot in the tightly contested Western Division with a 3-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City. Lennart Petrell, Chris Vandevelde and Milan Kytnar each scored in the win.

Both teams combined to play a spirited first period, but neither team could light the lamp. Oklahoma City would strike first on a Chris Vandevelde short-handed goal at 3:28 of the second period. Hunter Tremblay was able to work the puck to Vandevelde who provided the individual effort to beat the Heat defender as well as Heat netminder Danny Taylor.

Tremblay’s assist was his fifth point (3-2-5) while the Barons are short handed. He is tied for second in the league with three short-handed goals of his own.

The Barons would strike again just over 90 seconds later, with Tremblay providing the only assist. Just seconds after Milan Kytnar exited the penalty box, Tremblay found him with a crisp head-man pass that sent Kytnar in all alone against the Heat netminder. His first shot was denied, but he was able to collect the rebound and slip it past Taylor for his goal of the season for the Barons.

Barons netminder David LeNeveu kept the Heat at bay with several acrobatic saves, with limited rebounds. Abbotsford forward Kris Kolanos was able to dent LeNeveu’s bid for a shutout when he slipped behind the Barons defense and slid one between the pads of LeNeveu. The goal came with just over two minutes left to play in the second.

After the goal, Abbotsford appeared to have the momentum, but the Barons were able to take it back just before the end of the period. Taylor Chorney found forward Lennart Petrell standing at the right point. Petrell blasted the puck past Taylor with just over eight seconds left in the frame.

In the third period, the teams swapped power-play chances, but neither team was able to score. Abbotsford pulled Taylor with 90 seconds to play and were able to get a couple of shots, but were unable to convert.

LeNeveu stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced on the night. His record improves to 9-5-2.

By way of their win, the Barons pulled ahead of the Heat and Houston Aeros by two standings points. Oklahoma City sits atop the Western Division with 53 points.

The Barons will earn a well-deserved day off before returning to practice Tuesday to prepare for a three-game road trip. Oklahoma City travels to Rochester to take on the Americans Thursday and Friday. The weekend concludes with a Saturday evening tilt with the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland. All three games can be heard on the Barons flagship station, 96.1 KXY.

Barons Try Wheelchair Hoops For Charity

Here’s a terrific fundraiser at OCU featuring the Barons hockey team playing wheelchair hoops against the Oklahoma Blaze. My money is on the Blaze. Here’s info if you’d like to support the worthy cause…

Oklahoma City – The Oklahoma City Barons will have their work cut out for them as they take on the Oklahoma Blaze wheelchair basketball team Tuesday night at the Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University at 7:30 p.m.

The event will serve as a part of the fundraiser for the Greater Oklahoma Disabled Sports Association (GODSA). Admission is $5 for the event, $2 for kids ages 6 – 12, while kids 6-and-under are free. Attendees can participate in a silent auction as well as a raffle. All the money raised during the event will assist in purchasing sports equipment for GODSA athletes and offset travel expenses to national competitions.

Founded in 1983, GODSA offers both recreational and competitive opportunities for persons, junior and adults, with physical disabilities. GODSA is committed to sponsoring and supporting recreational and competitive events including basketball, track and field, swimming, road racing, table tennis, weight-lifting, and water sports. In most sports, competitions are available at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

The Barons skate in three games this weekend, all at home. Friday, they take on the Rockford IceHogs at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the Barons battle their division rival the Abbotsford Heat. Faceoff Saturday is 7 p.m. Faceoff Sunday is 4 p.m. All three games will be played at the Cox Convention Center.

Saturday is Team Poster Night. The first 2,000 fans through the doors will receive a team poster. Following the game Sunday, fans are invited to skate with the team following the game.

-Barons-

Josh Evans