Empty Arena Sees Hall Score 1st / Oilers lose 3-2 / A Game Recap

BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another fine Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

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FINAL SCORE

EDMONTON OILERS - 2

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS - 3  SO

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner/Gagner/Hemsky
Paajarvi/Horcoff/Eberle
Hall/Cogliano/Brule
Jones/Fraser/MacIntyre

Whitney/Gilbert
Smid/Strudwick
Peckham/Vandermeer

Dubnyk

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.

#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (4) His penalty he took was a crap one, but his overall game wasn't so bad. It wasn't good either, but he was not stinking up the joint like we are used to. He played 22:18 and could have hit the Jackets a little more. Just like any other game this year, he was a step behind.

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (8) BEERS Hall scores his first ever NHL goal. It wasn't the Eberle pretty goal, but a tip in is just as good. The monkey is off the back. He also picked up an assist on the Horcoff goal. Hall was moved up to the 1st line near the end of the 2nd period and excelled. I had hoped for him to be removed off the 3rd line and my wishes came to fruition. He only played 13:27 but managed the goal and assist, plus he had 8 shots in total with 4 hitting the net, and he had 2 hits and 2 takeaways. Hall played so well, Sportsnet picked him as 1st star.

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (6) Decent game for Smid. He did look slow in the toes. To much pregame meal? He didn't rack up any stats other than a penalty and a hit. He does need to bring the "Spaz" back into his bag of tricks. I miss the Smid Snap Show.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (4) JEERS He was -2 by the end of the 1st. Not sure what to think about Whitney anymore. Is there an injury that we don't know about? Is there some mental struggles going on? One shift he looks like the 28 minute a night guy. Solid and making smart plays. The next shift he's making basic errors and brutal plays. Is all the ice time catching up with him? Is this where it shows that he's a #2 guy and not the #1 guy the Oilers are making him be? This is a couple games in a row now where he doesn't look like the guy from last year, or even the beginning of this year. Whitney needs some 1 on 1 coaching right now to figure this out.

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (7) BEERS Cappy was pretty good tonight. Watching him you can see he's concentrating on his defensive responsibilities more than the offensive. Good for him. I seen him a few times behind the defence on plays coming back to the Oilers zone. But when it's PP time, he can be that guy too. He scored tonight on the power play. He played 24:33, had the PP goal, was +1, had 6 shots and 2 takeaways. On faceoffs he was 12/13 for 48%. If you look at the scoring chances, Horcoff was 7/3. That's damn good! I wonder... how didn't he get considered a star?

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (3) JEERS Another stinker from Cogliano. Lord knows he's trying. He was caught a few times flat footed and looked like a deer in a headlights. He is giving it his all, but when speed is your only weapon, your limited on how effective you can be in a game. And for the 180, 673th time, why is he still a center?

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (7) BEERS Looks like the Oilers have themselves the future leader of penalty killers. He's awesome at it now, wait 5 years. He picked up an assist on the Horcoff PP goal and was +1 by nights end (he was on for the Hall goal too). He's a very gifted player. It looks like that extra year in juniors paid off. He's into game 8 of his career and he plays like a vet. Very impressive!

#16 COLIN FRASER - (4) I feel bad for Fraser. I think he's better than how he's being treated. Maybe he should get a crack at being the 3rd line center?

#22 JF JACQUES - (0) DNP (Injured)

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (0) DNP (Injured)

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (5) He was a 50/50 guy for me tonight. Half of me liked him when he was playing hard and crashing the net. My other half though he was lazy and a floater. He had 3 shots and was really good at the scoring chance percentage but, I feel like he needs to up his game. Big time. Tonight wasn't good enough.

#28 RYAN JONES - (4) Somewhere on a stinky bus in the US, Liam Reddox is wondering why Jones isn't on that stinky bus. He played 5:18 and had 3 hits.

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (4) His ice time improved this game. He even scored a non goal.  The whistle blew and it shouldn't have and he scored. Too bad, that would have been great. On a side note: I don't know why Stortini didn't play instead. Did he piss off Renney at some point?

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (8) BEERS For his first game action of the year, he was great. He made some big saves and the one goal was impossible to stop. So we can really only fault one goal to Dubnyk even though that's even questionable. It's too bad he sucked in the shootout because I thought he was going to pull off the win. He faced 41 shots, not including the 2 in the shootout. I couldn't decide if he was a 7 or an 8. So I went with 8. He deserves it. No?

#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (6)  He was OK. He played a simple yet, somewhat effective game. He made a few errors but nothing that cost the team. He had 2 hits. What else can I say?

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (6) He had some good crashes and bangs. Not sure how he only was credited with only 2 hits. He had more than that on one shift on a PK. He was almost crossing the line a few times. Peckham is growing into a good physical hockey player. He can actually pass the puck as well. That's not a bonus, but a requirement.

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (4) JEERS Brule had a few good chances and I was thinking he was going to score a goal tonight. He didn't (he did ring it off the post in the shootout). He had fire in his eyes for the first half of the game, but it seems like he can't do any good playing with Cogliano. He needs a partner change and I think he will pull out of this. He's a good player, just not with Cogs.

#77 TOM GILBERT - (6) Arguably the best Oilers defenceman tonight. That's not saying much for this crew either. He was even in chances for and against and never really produced any significant stat. But he played his normal game. Gilbert was Gilbert.

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (7) He was good. He made a real nice pass to Peckham for the Hall goal. I have been harsh on Hemsky lately. I just expect way more out of him. He did out chance the Blue Jackets often and he led the team in that department. He can create magic. I just wish we could see more of it. He did block 2 shots and the one hurt him. He sucked it up and stayed out till the shift was over. He even managed to break up a pass right after that shot block. Things are looking better for Ales.

#89 SAM GAGNER - (6) He was OK. He was killed on faceoffs again. He was 6/14 for 30%. Worst on the team. If he wants to stay as the #1 center, that needs some massive improvement. I did like the way he moved the puck. He didn't hold it long before passing to someone open. He created some good chances and I like him with Hemsky. Adding Hall helped.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (6) A quiet game for Paajarvi. He did well, but could only do so much in the 12:50 of ice time. He took 4 shots with 3 making it to the goalie. Not much to say about him other than he's a good player. Give him more time and he will be one of the best Oilers.

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EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

FACEOFF REPORT

SHOT REPORT

SHOOTOUT SUMMARY

mc79hockey Scoring Chances

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

None - I know, I'm a little shocked too.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are trying to change the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers... one reader at a time.

Special thanks to David Staples of Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal for allowing us to use his grading system.

-Written by Smokin' Ray from OilersJambalaya.com-

Oilers Too Little, Too Late / Lose 5-4 in OT / A Game Recap

BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another fine Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

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FINAL SCORE

EDMONTON OILERS - 4

CALGARY FLAMES - 5  SO

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner/Gagner/Hemsky
Paajarvi/Horcoff/Eberle
Hall/Cogliano/Brule
Jones/Fraser/MacIntyre

Whitney/Gilbert
Smid/Strudwick
Peckham/Foster

Khabibulin

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.

#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (5) Hall like the rest of the Oilers didn't show up at the start. He was hit a few times and seemed to bounce back. That's a good sign. He had 18:56 of ice time and was -1.

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (6) Better game for Smid. He played a little more nasty than normal. He was +1 and blocked a team high, 5 blocked shots. Smid wasn't on for any of the special teams goals. He played well.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (4) JEERS Leads the team in ice time, again. 28:10. He sucked big time in the first half of this game. Sucked bad. He might have had 2 assists, but his 4 giveaways out weigh that. That's four that counted. I seen way more than that. Interesting note; he was on the ice for 7 out of the 8 goals scored tonight. Kind of good, kind of bad. He was going to get a score of 3, but the 2 assists bumped it up to a 4.

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (5) Horcoff went 14/11 for 56% on faceoffs tonight. That was the best on the team. But the important ones were late in the game and it was in the Oilers zone. Flames could have had a great chance, but Horcs won the draw. I said before the 3rd started that this was going to be his 1st test as a captain. Could he rally the troops? I think he did his job.

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (5) He probably played his best game of the year. He had an assist and played 16:16. He even seen some overtime ice time. He was OK tonight. He took 4 shots and went 4/5 for 44% on faceoffs. Much improved game.

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (7) BEERS Another good game from the rookie. He scored early in the 3rd to get it all going and was +1 by games end. I love Eberle! He's so smart with the puck it's ridiculous. You can't teach that. That's a gift. He had 4 shots and yet I feel like he didn't shoot enough. He gets chances, he just needs to try it more.

#16 COLIN FRASER - (3) He played minimal once again. In his 2:43, he managed to drop his gloves and stick up for Hall after he was nailed and he racked up 17 penalty minutes (instigator, fighting, misconduct). On a side note; Congrats to him on the birth of his baby!!!

#22 JF JACQUES - (0) DNP (Injured)

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (5) He was playing well before he hurt his groin. Ouch! He finally scored his first goal. Then the injury. I'd say a 5 is fair for his 11:16 of ice time.

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (4) JEERS For a big guy, he sucked. The first half of the game he skated around like it was public skating. Geez he pisses me off. He can dominate a game, if he wants to. Tonight he didn't want to. Gagner in a way, made him play better in the 3rd. He did block a shot when it mattered the most, but he needed that effort all game. For some reason Renney put him out for the shootout. Not sure why.

#28 RYAN JONES - (3) 3:30 of ice time. Not much to write about.

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (3) 1:49 of ice time. He did nothing much like Jones.

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (4) JEERS He sucked bad in the first half. Bad. He was off his game. Sure he faced a lot of shots, but the goals he did let in were soft. He needs to be sat for a game of two. He can't play every game.

#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (5)  He was decent. He had a fight with Jackman that he started and kind of was beat. He took some hard punches to the head. He played 19:24 and while he still sucked, he wasn't that bad. He even saw some overtime time.

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (6) He was not bad in a game full of bad. Made some good hits and picked up an assist. *gasp* He's caught up to Hall! 21:37 of ice time and he didn't play bad. He had a team high, 5 hits. Good for Theo. Hope the trend continues. Just watch those penalties.

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (5) Brule was banging and crashing. At one point he had Glencross wanting to fight. He did his job and didn't get burned by the Flames. He took 3 shots on goal. His low point, 0/5 for 0% on faceoffs. Ouch!

#77 TOM GILBERT - (5) I don't know how to grade Gilbert. He was on the ice for a lot of goals, but he did play 28:54. His soft play continues to plague him as Gilbert a few times gave the puck away in his own zone. Nice to see him score and he blocked some key shots at key times. I didn't think he was nearly as bad as Whitney was.

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (4) JEERS He did nothing to deserve the A on his jersey. Hemsky needs to be a leader on this team and I'm sure it's not because he's a great talker. He needs to play hard 100% of the time. When the Oilers started sucking and Penner was lollygagging, Hemsky should have been that guy, not Gagner. Hemsky disappointed me tonight. He can do better than that, and we should expect it. Even his shootout goal attempt was lame.

#89 SAM GAGNER - (6) BEERS He gets a 6 based on effort and for the fight. He fought Olli Jokinen and did quite well. His 4th if your counting. I thought Sam played like he was wanting to win this game on his own. He was playing gritty and really stuck out to me as a difference maker. He made a few passes to Penner in the 3rd that really seemed to get him going. He did the same for Hemsky. Watching him tonight is one of the reasons why I said he should be captain.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (7) BEERS A goal and an assist. Not bad! He was +2 at the end of the night and had 4 shots. In his 17:16 of ice time, he made the most out of it. I like everything about these kids. You can tell he's not scared to play in this league. He seems to get going more when the team struggled. That's a good sign for the future of the Oilers.

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EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

FACEOFF REPORT

SHOT REPORT

SHOOTOUT SUMMARY

mc79hockey Scoring Chances

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

Theo Peckham - His 3rd period High-Stick penalty was a blatant call. No way the ref missed it. It was a needless penalty and it could have cost the Oilers the game. He needs to be more cafefull with his stick near the end of a game like that. Lesson learned.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are trying to change the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers... one reader at a time.

Special thanks to David Staples of Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal for allowing us to use his grading system.

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

OKC Barons Win In Overtime 3-2 / A Game Recap With Video Highlights

OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS - 3

HAMILTON BULLDOGS - 2  OT

The Barons defeated the Bulldogs and it wasn't easy. The Barons once again had a terrible first period and they had to rally from there. Alex Giroux scores the overtime winner.

GAME NOTES:

- Shawn Belle can play the game well. His skating and vision is great. He does need to work on his penalty troubles. When he does take a penalty, it's usually not a good one. He had 2 assists and was +2.

- Liam Reddox didn't shoot the puck as much as he has been, but he did have some great chances. He works hard out there and he's making it clear that if the Oilers call up a forward, it's him they choose. He had 4 shots.

- Alex Giroux scored the overtime winner. He had a number of chances today and finally scored. He was +2 and had 4 shots. If this Barons team wants to win, he's going to need to step up and be a top guy.

- Martin Gerber was the first star today. He didn't have to make any huge stops until the midway point of the game. Although the Bulldogs first goal was one he should have stopped. He faced 31 shots in this game.

- Colin McDonald had a good game. He was hit from behind and smacked his head on the glass. Lucky he wasn't hurt. He scored the Barons second goal and finished +1 with 3 shots on goal.

- Jeff Petry was much better this game. He had a goal and an assist with 3 shots. He works well with Belle and they are a force out there. He was also +2 at the end of the game.

- Brad Moran had a quiet first half. He took 3 shots and assisted on the Giroux game winner. He's been on of the better Barons so far this year.

- Linus Omark did squat. Sure he's fancy, but he didn't look like a player who had something to prove. He had 2 shots on goal.

- Alex Plante did what any good teammate would do. When McDonald was nailed into the glass, Plante dropped the gloves and stuck up for his teammate. Good tilt. He was punched pretty good at the start, but managed to get his own in near the end.

- Johan Motin was the only Baron to be -1 at games end.

GOALS
Petry from Belle and Cornet
McDonald from Belle and Petry
Giroux from Moran

OFFICIAL GAME SHEET

VIEW THE LIVE TWEETCAST HERE

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Oilers Chomped By Sharks & Lose 6-1 / A Game Recap

BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another fine Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

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FINAL SCORE

SAN JOSE SHARKS - 6

EDMONTON OILERS - 1

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner/Gagner/Hemsky
Paajarvi/Horcoff/Eberle
Hall/Cogliano/Brule
Jones/Fraser/Stortini

Whitney/Foster
Smid/Gilbert
Strudwick/Vandermeer

Khabibulin

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.

#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (2) JEERS He was caught on a long shift and was burned on the Sharks 2nd goal. He was also the main culprit on the Sharks 4th goal and his penalty was the cause of the 5th goal. He also had 4 giveaways. Terrible game for Vandermeer.

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (4) Hall did very little but a couple of shots and some blazing rushes. Sure wasn't the same Taylor Hall as last game. One would have to expect that anyways. He finished -1 and only had 2 shots. Curious note, he won his only faceoff.

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (4) Not a good game by any stretch. He had 2 blocked shots and was -1. Smid has been better this year.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (5) Like every other Oilers game, he led the team in ice time. He had an assist and actually finished a +1. His passes are very accurate and he sure can play.

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (5) Horcoff had an assist on the Eberle goal and had an average game. He was 5/11 for 31% on faceoffs. His wingers need to support him better. He finished -1.

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (3) He was hammered pretty hard and we really never noticed him after that. Maybe that hurt him? He had 3 shots and was a terrible 38% on faceoffs.

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (6) BEERS Another beautiful short handed goal. Other than the goal, he didn't so a whole lot. He did make some nice passes so he wasn't completely useless. He deserves a 5, but that goal was so sweet.

#16 COLIN FRASER - (3) He played minimal and didn't contribute to the game. When he was on the ice, he didn't suck.

#22 JF JACQUES - (0) DNP (Injured)

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (5) He was one of the better Oilers defencemen. Does that say much? He played 20:13 and he had a team high, 5 shots on net.

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (3) JEERS For a game that could have used a big guy presence from the Oilers side, Penner was invisible. Did that misconduct last game play a head game with him? It was like he didn't even care to be on the ice. He had 3 shots and finished -1.

#28 RYAN JONES - (3) He had little fpr me to write about. He did not do much.

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (3) He sucked. How come he didn't get pulled? Why is he playing every game when we have 3 goalies?

#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (2) JEERS Wow! His first game this season and he pulls out a stinker. maybe he's best suited as a coach? He was -2 and combined with Vandermeer, the two worst Oilers tonight.

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (4) He had a fight with Mayers and did OK. Other than that, didn't do much.

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (0) DNP (Injured)

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (3) Brule did nothing. Sure he had some flashes of speed, but he just couldn't create anything. Two penalties and 2 shots.

#77 TOM GILBERT - (5) He had a quiet game. He played 24:14 and had 3 blocked shots. One of the few Oilers I didn't swear at (much).

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (5) He danged and tried hard to make something happen. Both himself and Gagner really tried to take this game and run with it. But they cam up short. Way short.

#89 SAM GAGNER - (5) His game was OK. He created some chances and looked comfortable with the puck. He went 6/8 for 43% on faceoffs.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (4) Quiet. He didn't do a whole lot (like the rest if the team). His only stat was 1 blocked shot.

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EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

mc79hockey Scoring Chances

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

Jim Vandermeer - Just when the Sharks score to make it 4-1, Vandermeer took a needless and pointless slashing penalty. Guess what? Sharks scored almost instantly once the PP started. If coming back from 4-1 wasn't hard enough, that made it 5-1.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are trying to change the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers... one reader at a time.

Special thanks to David Staples of Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal for allowing us to use his grading system.

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

The Kids Run Wild, But Come Up Short / A Beers & Jeers Game Recap

BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another fine Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

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FINAL SCORE

MINNESOTA WILD - 4

EDMONTON OILERS - 2

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner/Gagner/Hemsky
Paajarvi/Horcoff/Eberle
Hall/Cogliano/Brule
Jones/Fraser/Stortini

Whitney/Foster
Smid/Gilbert
Peckham/Vandermeer

Khabibulin
Dubnyk

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.

#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (4) He played 14:43 and the entire time he freaked me out. Out of Peckham, Strudwick and himself, he's the best option, but still... He ended up -1 and always seemed like a step behind. While he didn't get killed in chances, I didn't think he was very good in the first half.

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (8) BEERS Hall generated a lot of chances. He was the best Oiler on the ice. He made things happen every shift and he skated like the wind (he made Brule and Cogliano look slow). He played 20:29 and took 11 shots (6 missed) at the net. He's going to get his first goal soon. I can feel it.

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (4) Not a good game for Ladi. He was on the ice when Brodziak scored his second goal. In his 18:25 of ice time, he didn't do anything to help the team. He struggled.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (7) BEERS He led all Oilers players with 27:08 of ice time. Again, nearly a half a game. How does he not get tired? Whitney had two assists tonight and was visibly upset that the team lost. I love that emotion. Good choice for the assistant captain. He does need to watch the giveaways, as he had 3.

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (7) Horcoff was a stud. He scores again to help bring the Oilers close to tying the game. Cappy really has turned his game around. Playing with some hotshots like the Big 3 kind of helps. He went 15/12 for 56% on the dot tonight. He led the forwards with 23:32 in ice time.

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (6) Much better tonight. Maybe his best game of the season. He was lucky Hall was fired up tonight. It helped to get Cogs going early. He was 4/3 for 57% on faceoffs. Much like Gagner, that's a big improvement. He needs to shoot more from any direction. He just needs to fire the puck.

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (8) BEERS The kid can play. Boy can he ever. He's like a seasoned vet out there. He controls the play and the puck so well, it's hard to think what these 3 will be like a few years down the road. He wants to be a winner and you can tell by his play. He was awarded with a lot of ice time (21:30) but he needs to shot more. He's got a heck of a shot.

#16 COLIN FRASER - (3) JEERS He was on the 4th line that blew this game. For 58 seconds, they had relapses and the Wild were up 2-0. He did get a little ice time (3:40 in total) in the 3rd once Penner took the misconduct. He looked out of place playing on the wing.

#22 JF JACQUES - (0) DNP (Injured)

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (7) BEERS Good game from Foster. He, like the rest of the team looked more comfortable and therefore he played relaxed. He had 7 shots and 4 hits and played 23:02. I liked him. Oh right, he had an assist as well.

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (6) He started out having a great game. He caused a ruckus in front of the net on the Hemsky goal. But taking the penalty wasn't so bad, it was the 10 minute game misconduct that sucked. Although, it did open up a spot for Hall on the 1st line with Gagner and Hemsky. Conundrum?

#28 RYAN JONES - (2) JEERS He was bad. -2 in less than a minute.

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (6) He had a pretty good game. I liked his positioning and his rebound control. No real complaints about him tonight. He does need to work on his low wide shots. Maybe the bad back hampers some movement?

#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)


#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (1) JEERS Oy! What to say? -2 in 0:58. Ouch! Did he try to hard?

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (5) Average at best. On one hand he was great as a physical guy. He was banging and lipping people off. Good to see that. But on the other hand, he was a step behind just like Vandermeer. He had 4 hits and 2 blocked shots, but he also had 2 giveaways. I know for sure that one was a scoring chance for the Wild. I hope he gets better soon.

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (7) Brule was fast and had his chances tonight. Hall was the best on that line and Brule was second best. He had 5 hits and 2 shots. He even took some draws tonight and went 8/4 for 67%. Maybe tonight was the spark Brule needed?

#77 TOM GILBERT - (5) He had a team high 3 blocked shots. Gilbert again logged a lot of time on the ice with 23:19. Other than Penner, Gilbert took the only other Oilers penalty. He was out chanced by a 1/6 margin and a lot of it was because of his mediocre partner Smid.

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (7) He was all over the place. He scored a goal and made some nice plays. He had 4 shots and played 23:19. His fancy moves worked for him tonight. Ales Hemsky is ready for this season. He's going to prove the doubters wrong.

#89 SAM GAGNER - (7) His assist streak is over, but his solid play is just getting better. He was an amazing 13/5 for 72% on the dot tonight. Maybe his best game on faceoffs ever? Gagner played 19:15 and although he didn't create a ton of chances with Hemsky, they sure are seeming to be clicking. He had 4 shots on goal.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (7) The kid fired off 8 shots on goal. Wow! A team high. He was really enjoying his time on that line with Horcoff and Eberle. No complaints about Paajarvi. Can you imagine these 3 kids in the future?

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EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

mc79hockey Scoring Chances

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

Dustin Penner - With 4:52 played into the 3rd period, Penner took a high sticking penalty. While on his way to the box, he argued that his stick was broken from a slash (it was) and therefore the Wild should have a penalty as well. He bitched to the point of receiving a 10 minute game misconduct. Did the misconduct hurt the team? Debatable.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are trying to change the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers... one reader at a time.

Special thanks to David Staples of Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal for allowing us to use his grading system.

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

OKC Barons Defeat Monsters 3-0 / Recap With Video Highlights

I missed listening to the first half of the Barons game last night, but I stayed in the action by following along to the LIVE TweetCast.

The Barons won their third straight game of the season and also notched the first ever shutout in the teams short, but exciting history.

- The three goals came from Shawn Belle, Alex Giroux and Liam Reddox.

- Petiot, Petry, Belle, Moran and O'Marra each had one assist.

- Alex Plante duked it out with Curtis Fraser

- Omark was roughed up, so Ryan O'Marra dropped the gloves with David Liffiton. Good to see the team is starting to stick up for each other.

- Martin Gerber was in net and was outstanding. He made some huge saves on his way to the Barons first shutout. He was also the games First Star.

- Alex Giroux was the games Second Star and was great. He took 5 shots on net.

- Shawn Belle was the Third Star.

- Liam Reddox played a great game and had 6 shots. He's proving he has lots to offer, even if he is small.

- 2784 fans were at the game last night. The Barons had $1 beers on special at the game, so I'm a little surprised the arena was so empty.

- This was the first game in OKC where they had the two referee system.

OFFICIAL GAME SHEET

OilFieldHockey Recap

OKCBarons.com Recap

OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS WIN 3-0 OVER LAKE ERIE MONSTERS

Oklahoma City Barons Win 8-2 In A Dominating Fashion

Holy cow! What a game from the Oklahoma City Barons today. They beat the Houston Aeros 8-2 and it wasn't without some emotion. Everyone was getting into it tonight, including Linus Omark.

If you didn't catch the game tweets, no problem. Here is the TweetCast of the game.

FINAL SCORE

OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS - 8

HOUSTON AEROS - 2

PLAYER AND GAME NOTES

- Alex Giroux scored twice.

- Vande Velde, Hartikainen, Petry, McDonald, Omark and Reddox each had a goal.

- Shawn Belle had an amazing 4 assists in this game. Marquardt and Moran each had two assists.

- Liam Reddox had a team high, 7 shots on goal.

- Bryan Pitton won in his first game as an OKC Baron with 29 saves. He also had an assist to go with the win.

- Brad Moran was a team high, +3 on his +/- rating.

- Phillipe Cornet was the only Barons player to not register a stat. No shots, no assists, no goals. Nothing.

- Milan Kytnar was the only Baron player to finish as a minus with -1.

- Linus Omark had a team high, 12 penalty minutes. 10 minutes of it was a game misconduct.

- Barons went 3/8 on the PP and killed off all 9 penalty kills.

- As good of a player as Belle is, he does need to work on his penalty troubles. He had 3 separate infractions. Two for interference and one for closing his hand on the puck when he lost his stick.

- Johan Motin dropped the gloves sticking up for Omark.

- Ben Ondrus is the full time Captain and Shawn Belle and Brad Moran wore the assistant captain A's today.

TODAY'S 3 STARS

1st OKC - A. Giroux
2nd OKC - S. Belle
3rd OKC - L. Reddox

GAME SHEET CLICK HERE

ATTENDANCE IN HOUSTON: 3278

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Stockton Thunder Lose Opening Game 6-3 / A Game Recap

GAME RECAP: Ontario 6 - Stockton 3

10/15/2010 11:15 PM - Thunder set back on Opening Night before 6,117 fans
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FINAL STATS: Box score
VIDEO: Highlights and postgame locker room comments
AUDIO: Game highlights

STOCKTON, Calif. - Kellen Briggs made 24 saves and the Ontario Reign led wire-to-wire, capitalizing off five unanswered goals to send the Stockton Thunder to a 6-3 defeat on Opening Night, before 6,117 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday night.

The Thunder, who were led offensively by Fraser Clair with three points (2g-1a), dropped its fourth straight season opening defeat. Ontario's Tim Kraus, Jordan Morrison and rookie Aaron Lewadniuk each chipped in with two points.

Ontario got out to a fast start with three goals in the first ten minutes and took a 3-0 lead after the first period.

Shawn Collymore buried a one-timer from between the circles just 53 seconds into the game, followed by a Jeff Corey goal where he turned the defense inside-out, from off the rush and slipped a backhander through Tyson Sexsmith's five hole for a 2-0 edge with 2:31 into the first period.

Kyle Kraemer's bid from 40 feet out, straightaway, slipped through traffic and boosted the Ontario lead to 3-0 with 10:23 gone.

Ontario padded the lead to 4-0 in the second period on Matt Delahey's drive from the right point for a power-play goal at 1:32. Chaz Johnson then capitalized on a rebound at the left goal post following Sexsmith's stop on Eric Doyle's bouncing shot, boosting the edge to 5-0 at 7:48.

The Thunder finally got on the board with 4:05 left in the second when Clair banged in a rebound from the right circle, after Chris D'Alvise and Jason Pitton failed to connect on a two-on-one, tic-tac-toe style set-up.

The goal sparked a response by the Thunder who used a more physical approach to outshoot Ontario, 24-18 over the final two periods and claim three goals in the final 25 minutes.

Following Lewadniuk's first pro goal at 9:34 of the third period where he cashed in a rebound at the left goal post, Clair cut the deficit to 6-2 following a turnover with 4:09 to play, going to the backhand on Briggs from the right circle.

Jesse Gimblett, who began the third period with a scrap against Ontario's Luke Beaverson at 6:14, collected the first goal of his professional career with 21.4 seconds to play when he capitalized with a screen in front of Briggs and re-directed Clair's wrist shot from the left circle for a power-play goal.

Sexsmith took the loss in net with 24 saves.

NOTES: The Thunder scratched Trevor Hunt (injured reserve), Jordan Foreman (injured reserve) and Scott Howes (healthy) ... Sexsmith stopped a penalty shot by Tim Kraus with 15:28 left in the first period, closing the five-hole on Kraus' wrist shot ... the Thunder were outshot, 30-27 by Ontario but had a 13-8 shots edge in the third period ... the Thunder went 1-for-3 on the power-play ... Stockton's last season opening win was in 2006-07, when they opened on the road with a 6-1 victory over Bakersfield.

Stockton and Ontario will play in a rematch tomorrow at Stockton Arena, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (1280 KWSX/StocktonThunder.com).

A two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season in 2009-10. Season Tickets, mini-plans and individual tickets for 2010-11 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/

-Reprinted at OilersJambalaya.com with permission from the Stockton Thunder-

Oilers Get Lost In The Wild / A Beers And Jeers Game Recap

BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another fine Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

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FINAL SCORE

EDMONTON OILERS - 2

MINNESOTA WILD - 4

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner/Gagner/Hemsky
Hall/Horcoff/Eberle
Paajarvi/Cogliano/Brule
Jones/Fraser/Stortini

Whitney/Foster
Smid/Gilbert
Peckham/Vandermeer

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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PAQ TWINN'S GAME SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

- This period started off slow, a feeling out process for sure. Oilers had 4 PP opportunities but couldn't really get anything going. Only the 4th line got anything positive going with their crashing and banging. The other 3 units have struggled as a collective but are a bounce away from doing something constructive. Oilers out shot the Wild 10-5.

2ND PERIOD

- The Oilers started playing an uptempo style and it worked as Penner and Gilbert both scored to make 2-1 for the good guys. After getting into some penalty trouble the Wild scored 2 power play goals late in the period. The Wild out shot the Oilers 11-6.

3RD PERIOD

- The Wild continued to out play the Oilers. Hemsky was a force tonight and was Khabibulin for the most part. Everyone else had their moments but tonight was a growing pain game. They're going to happen, this is a young team after all. They still have much to learn.

Next up is BOA #2 as the Oilers take on the Flames in Calgary on HNIC. Until then, GOILERS!!!

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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.

#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (4) JEERS Brutal. He was burned on the Wild's first goal and he seemed to never find his stride. He had the games Bad Timing Penalty (see below).

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (4) I'm sure the Hall fans rejoiced when he picked up a +1. I didn't. You can tell he's not really ready. He tried a few moves that would have thrilled the crowd in juniors (as I write this Tom Renney is saying the same thing. lol), but that don't fly in the NHL. He is smart. He goes to the right area's, but he needs to be more aggressive. Time will help him. One shot isn't very good and snipers, need to shoot.

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (7) BEERS Smid was a workhorse tonight. He played well with Gilbert. He was one of the best defencemen tonight for the Oilers. While he's not the offensive guy on the line, he made 3 big hits.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (6) He played pretty good but made mistakes. Tough gig for Whitney, but he seems up for the task. He played a team high 28:44. That's almost half a game!

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (6) Horcoff was not bad. He took a lot of faceoffs and was 38% effective. He assisted on the Tom Gilbert goal and he keeps the points total moving. He had 2 shots, 2 takeaways and 1 hit.

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (4) Why in the hell Renney is still rolling with Cogs at center is mind blowing. He stinks at it. Plain and simple. Put his speedy legs on the wing and watch him get breakaways. He can't win faceoffs and this is getting painful to watch. Sure, a lot of the faceoff wins are because the wingers get to the puck quick (and the Oilers as a whole suck at it), but once in a while you need to win a clean one. He was 1/6 for 14%. Brule went 4/1 for 80%. You tell me who should be the center?

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (6) Hard to not like him. He's always in the right spots and is smart like Hall. A few times he tried to shield the puck and much like Hall, that's hard to do when your not in juniors. He had 2 shots and a hit. On a side note: I liked his PK positioning. He's going to be a good PK guy down the road.

#16 COLIN FRASER - (5) He was the best Oilers 4th liner tonight. But that's not saying much. He had 2 shots and mixed it up a few times, but an energy line is supposed to create energy. I didn't feel that tonight from that line, especialy when the team needed it. He did do well on faceoffs as he was 7/5 for 58%. That's a good sign.

#22 JF JACQUES - (0) DNP Injured

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (5) He was OK. He had 4 shots on goal and took two penalties. It must have been strange/hard for him coming back to Minnesota, so I'll go easy on him tonight. He, along with Whitney played against the good lines tonight. But only 1 hit?

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (6) He scores!!! The flying fridge was at it again. He took 4 shots and made some nice heads up plays. He still looks slow to me. No spring in his step. Maybe this goal motivates him to get it going.

#28 RYAN JONES - (4) He did a whole lot of nothing. 1 hit? On the crash and bang'em line? Oy! At times in the 1st period, I really did notice him buzzing around, but if he's going to make an impact, you have to at least crash and bang... all game.

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (8) BEERS He seems to be wearing the same helmet as last year. He was great when he was playing then, just like he's doing now. He kept the Oilers in this game, but the team let him down. We trashed and joked about Khabi all summer long. Vodka jokes were common like knock knock jokes are. But the man is solid. He's proving all us doubters wrong.

#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (0) BACKUP DNP

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)


#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (3) JEERS Wow! He played a whopping 5:16 and made zero impact on this game. OK, I lied. He had 1 shot and it was a scoring chance. Other than that, sweet fu*k all! No hits, no blocked shots, no nothing. Very disappointing tonight.

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (4) The train wreck that was... that sums up Peckham. Sort of. Other than his big hit, and it was a good, hard hit, Peckham was not good. Not a good fit with Vandermeer tonight. Is it too late to get Richard Petiot back up here?

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (4) Brule looked like he was busting his hump out there, but he was falling and missing easy passes. He does take a good faceoff draw (4/1 for 80%). Maybe he should be moved to center? Try it Renney!!!

#77 TOM GILBERT - (7) BEERS I was mad at him at the beginning of the game because he's so timid and not really wanting to get physical. But he can move the puck well and that helps for his lack of being mean. He had 3 shots to go with his goal and he also had 2 blocked shots. He had something like 24 friends and family at the game so it was good he at least scored for them.

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (7) He created a ton of chances tonight. Which is cool, because if you look at his pass to Penner, it's a text book saucer pass. Hemsky picks up an assist but only takes 1 shot and misses the net. How can a snipe like Hemsky not shoot? He needs to step it up with more than just fancy passes.

#89 SAM GAGNER - (6) He's making strides to become a #1 center. His down low work is improving. Just like everyone else, he needs more than just 2 shots on a stat sheet. Oh right, he picked up his 3rd assist of the season.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (5) Cogliano and Brule don't compliment him at all. It's a strange mix. I'd like to see Paajarvi swap with Penner. Give him a chance to play with his new road trip roommate, Ales Hemsky. In 15:04 of ice time, he only managed 2 shots. His bright spot, he drew two penalties. His speed caused the Wild to have problems with him.

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EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

mc79hockey Scoring Chances

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

Jim Vandermeer - Paajarvi takes a penalty and the Wild score to tie it up at two. 6 seconds after that PP goal was scored, Vandermeer takes a interference penalty to give the Wild more momentum and yet another power play. Less than a minute into this PP, the Wild score again to go ahead 3-2. That was literally game over at that point for the Oilers.

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POST GAME VIDEO

coming soon

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are trying to change the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers... one reader at a time.

Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Oilers Win 3-2 Over The Panthers / Not A Game Recap

Well, it's thanksgiving and we have eaten, drank and now, we've watched an Oilers game (and depends who you are, listened to the OKC Barons game on the web radio). I'm in no shape (full and drunk) to write an actual recap of the Oilers game, so I will tomorrow.

However, I will tell you that the Oilers won by a 3-2 margin over the Florida Panthers, yet they looked like a bad bag of halloween candy. All crappy tasting but you still want more, if you know what I mean.

If it wasn't for Khabibulin playing a little better than average, the Oilers would have been killed tonight. Seriously... No jokes from me about Khabi. I will also like to state that Khabi didn't have to make any crazy, stand on his head, blow my mind, type of saves tonight, but he was the best Oiler out there. Without a doubt.

Every single Oilers defenceman looked like they forgot how to skate (Peckham was best defencman tonight) and the forwards didn't take nearly enough shots. While on one hand, I thought it was a good/decent game by the Oil, some thought it stunk (not denying that either).

But a win is a win and I won't bitch. I like a W over an L. Don't you?

Recap will be posted tomorrow. Trust me, you didn't miss much.

If you really, really want to read a recap tonight, go to http://www.oilonwhyte.com/. Our good friend Chappy has one already done.

And if you still want more, head to http://www.edmontonoilers.com/ for their recap. You know, they have videos and what not.

HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!



-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Houston Beat the OKC Barons 6-1 / A Game Recap

HOUSTON DROPS OKC 6-1 IN OPENER

(by Chris Wescott, )
 
The Houston Aeros spoiled Oklahoma City’s inaugural season opener, beating the Barons 6-1 at the Cox Convention Center in OKC. The Barons trailed early and could never catch up to Houston, despite out-shooting the visitors, 31-26.

The Aeros scored the first goal of the game at the 11:09 mark of the opening period. Colton Gilles was assisted on the play by Jared Surgeon. Houston went on to score two more un-answered goals before Oklahoma City would get on the board.

The crowd of over 9,800 fans went wild when Teemu Hartikainen scored the first goal in Barons’ franchise history at the 10:53 mark of the second period. Hartikainen took a long distance pass from Brad Moran and broke in on Aeros goaltender, Matt Hackett, putting the puck in the net and pulling the Barons within two.

Houston then went back on the offensive attack, scoring three more times and shutting down any hope of a Barons comeback.

The crowd did have something to cheer about in the third period, when OKC defenseman, Shawn Belle, engaged Jarod Palmer in the first fight in Barons’ history

Just moments later, Ben Ondrus would enter the penalty box for a fight of his own when he went toe-to-toe with Joel Broda of the Aeros.

Barons’ starting goaltender, Martin Gerber, faced all 26 of the Aero’s shots, making 20 saves.

Oklahoma City (0-1-0) looks to rebound from the loss quickly, as they host the Chicago Wolves tomorrow afternoon at 3:05 p.m. at the Cox Convention Center in OKC

-Written by Chris Wescott of the OKC Barons-