Wayne Gretzky Collage made by @SAVEMEX29

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Player Movement Begins, Brad Moran Reportedly Headed To Sweden

Originally reported by Smålandsposten and then reported by other Swedish outlets, it looks like Brad Moran will be heading back to Sweden to play for Vaxjo Lakers HC. The Lakers will be making their debut in the Elitserien this season after earning their promotion from HockeyAllsvenskan last season.

Moran had played for Skellefteå AIK previous to signing with the Oilers and playing for the Barons this last season. Moran had 71 points in 79 games with the Barons and 82 points in 110 games with Skellefteå AIK over two seasons. Other centers Ryan O'Marra and Chris VandeVelde both got Oilers callups ahead of Moran during the season. It's definitely going to be a difficult spot to fill for the Barons, as Moran had been the team's best center throughout most of the year.

EDIT: Vaxjo Lakers HC put out a press release stating that Brad Moran has indeed signed a two-year contract with them.

-Written by Eric Rodgers-

Oklahoma City Barons Game 6 Recap; Bulldogs Close Out The Series

And so it unfortunately ends. The Barons played well through the first 55 minutes, but couldn't keep it up. The Barons had a lot more quality chances at scoring but Drew MacIntyre did well to keep the puck out of the net. Two scoreless periods saw the Barons outshoot the Bulldogs 18-9 and Alexandre Giroux would finally break through at 5:41 of the 3rd to start the scoring. Nigel Dawes wouldn't have any of it though, scoring 62 seconds later to tie the game back up at 1. The Barons would have some good chances to take the lead back and would have a better chance as Aaron Palushaj would take a tripping call at 14:18. The beginning of the end though would come at 15:28 when Jeff Petry would take a tripping call of his own to help break up what might have been a breakaway by Hamilton. Palushaj would come out of the box and would later assist on Frederic St. Denis' goal to give the Bulldogs the 2-1 lead. The Barons would pull Martin Gerber for the extra attacker as time wound down, but Nigel Dawes and J.T. Wyman would each put in an empty netter to make the score 4-1 as the final horn sounded.

But wow, what a season. It's been a fun ride. Some end of season thank yous. First, many thanks to Smokin' Ray for giving me the opportunity and platform to do this. After meeting him and Scott from OilFieldHockey after the name "Barons" was unveiled, I had no clue I'd be where I'm at right now doing this. Second, thanks to Josh Evans and the Barons staff. They've been very inviting and I've gotten to meet some good people within the org. Third, many thanks to the players. For what they've done in the community this season and getting to know them during the STH events, they're all class acts. It's going to suck seeing those that pursue other opportunities leave. Many thanks as well to Ryan Aber of the Oklahoman. He was the only constant source of media coverage for the team this season and it was much appreciated.

Finally, many thanks to all of you. A year ago, I never thought I'd be where I am right now. Having 469 followers at the time of writing this on my Twitter account is far beyond where I thought I'd be at the end of the season. A lot of that is due to retweets and mentions from Dan Tencer, David Staples, and the great people at Copper and Blue. Lots of thanks to them as well. I appreciate all the support from all of you and I look forward to doing this again next season. Be sure to keep up with my Twitter, @AHLBarons, during the offseason for all the goings ons over the next few months. Next season's looking to be a good one.

-Written by Eric Rodgers-

Oklahoma City Barons Game 6 Preview vs. Hamilton Bulldogs

Win or it's over. The Barons head into today facing their first playoff elimination game in franchise history. The last time they had this kind of pressure though, they went into San Antonio and beat them 7-2 and into Austin the next night and beat the Stars 2-0. Different teams, different situation, but the pressure to win was still there and they didn't fold.

Following the Barons first loss, Todd Nelson changed the lines around to find some chemistry. After a shutout loss in Game 5, it'll be interesting to see if they get shuffled for tonight's game. Probably the biggest question is if Anthony Aiello will get the start again, with both Colten Teubert and Kevin Montgomery still out with upper body injuries. Brandon Davidson has been practicing with the main group as the 7th defenseman.

The top two keys to today's game, first is shutting down Nigel Dawes. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in the games that he has scored this series. The second is the top line of Alexandre Giroux, Brad Moran, and Colin McDonald. To have the top 3 scorers on the team during the regular season have only 1 goal and 1 assist each this whole series is not good. If they're able to get back where they were and the other 3 lines back to where they were in Game 3, winning these next two games won't be hard.

The Barons look to become the 7th AHL team to win both games 6 and 7 on the road. Binghamton became the 6th team last night, closing out the Manchester Monarchs in overtime. Elsewhere, the Lake Erie Monsters look to close out the Manitoba Moose for the 2nd time. The Moose avoided elimination in their last game winning 2-0. The Monsters hold on to a 3-2 series lead there. Their game is at the same time as the Barons.

Puck drops at 3:00 Central/2:00 Mountain today. You can listen on 96.1 KXY in OKC, or on The Team 1260 in Edmonton. You can watch the game on AHL Live as well($$). And you can follow me on Twitter, @AHLBarons, as well. Hopefully I'll be writing up one of these tomorrow, but time will tell.

-Written by Eric Rodgers-

Oklahoma City Barons Game 5 Recap; Barons Get Blanked

For the 5th time this season, their 3rd time on home ice, and the 2nd time against Hamilton, the Barons were shutout. After averaging 35 shots for and 27 shots against in Games 1-4, the Barons were only able to put up 20 shots, with 6 of those coming in the last 3 minutes. The Power Play woes continued, with the Barons going 0/7 on the night, 1/26 on the series.

The 1st period started off on a low note. After an Alex Plante slashing call, the returning Aaron Palushaj would pick up a loose puck in the crease during the PP and put the puck past Martin Gerber. Not helping was 2 Barons players getting caught together and Palushaj was able to break free. The Barons would only be able to put 3 shots on goal in the period and that would be the score as the teams headed to the locker room.

The 2nd period wouldn't be much better for the Barons. They couldn't connect on 2 PP chances and would have to kill what was essentially a 4 minute penalty after a questionable Goalie Interference call to Chris VandeVelde and an obvious slash in front of the referee to Alex Plante right after VandeVelde's penalty was over. The Barons were able to hold off the Bulldogs, but at 18:33 Nigel Dawes would get the puck and score to make it a 2-0 Bulldogs lead. Gabriel Dumont would take a kneeing penalty before the horn would sound to end the 2nd.

The Barons wouldn't be able to score on the Dumont PP, or the Dany Masse high stick call drawn by Zack Stortini early in the period. The Barons would only be able to get 2 shots on net for the majority of the period, and Gerber would be pulled with 2:10 left for the extra attacker. After Alex Plante almost tucked it into the empty net as he picked the puck up, they Barons would rush and Alex Henry would give the Barons a chance with a crosschecking penalty at 18:19. The Barons would manage 6 more shots in the period, but Drew MacIntyre would stand tall and earn the shutout as the final horn sounded.

The Barons now face a tall order of winning 2 in a row in Copps Coliseum as the teams head back to Hamilton. If they want any chance at it, they're going to have to start scoring on the PP and most of all, just shooting the puck period. There was reluctance to shoot in Game 5, and the Bulldogs were quick to exploit that. Obviously a 46 shot game will net you some goals, and if the defense helps the goalie, it'll make it into a win. Game 6 is Sunday with the puck drop at 3 Central/2 Mountain. If you're in the OKC area, there will be a watch party for the game at Rococo North Park location at May and 122nd.

-Written by Eric Rodgers-