The Oil Barons came back up higway 63 on Sunday night with a just point to show for their efforts. The effort itself was hit and miss all weekend.

The Barons were not good for the first 42 minutes against St. Albert on Friday and found themselves trailing 4-0….the MOB managed to fight back and tie things at 4 before falling 5-4.

On Saturday the effort was a little better and the Barons managed a 2-2 tie thanks in large part to an OUTSTANDING goaltending performance from Steven Legatto.

The MOB played their best game on Sunday firing about 50 shots on Bonnyville goalie Julien Laplante, the Pontiacs held on for a 4-2 win.

So the Barons picked up just 1 point of a possible six. One of the things you have to look at that the Barons were tied or leading in the 3rd period of all three games but had trouble finishing the games.

New defenseman Cory Demko is expected to arrive in Fort McMurray on Monday. The MOB acquired him from Estevan late last week. The 20 year old should  be a good addition to the back end.

Pontiacs back for a rematch on Tuesday at Thickwood Heights Arena. 7:30 Puck Drop on Country 93.3

The Oil Barons will welcome Jeremy Roberts back to the lineup tonight. He hasn’t played this season due to an injury.

The lines at practice this week were like this:

Caron – Mirwaldt – Perry
A. Johnson – Dubetz – Williams
Roberts – Lake – Carr
Olsen – Rolling – Lauder

Dylan Seymour is serving a 3 game suspension this weekend.

And expect a trade to be announced during the broadcast on Friday night… www.mymcmurray.com it looks like a minor deal.

All three games are on Mymcmurray.com this weekend.

After taking a pair of hard fought games over the weekend the Oil Barons will head out on the road for their second three game trip of the season.

This weekend will mark the MOB’s first test of the season against teams from the North Division. Friday night the Barons will be in St. Albert, Saturday they will play the Spruce Grove Saints in a feature game in Stony Plain and then on Sunday it’s a 6 PM start against Bonnyville.

Taking a look at some of the MOB leaders heading into fourth weekend of the season. Michael Perry and Matt Williams both have six goals on the year while Mackenzie Caron is right behind them with 5. 20-year old Jordan Mirwaldt leads the team and the AJHL in assists and points as he has 11 helpers and 15 total points in his first 7 games. The most surprising stat is the Barons penalty minutes leader, it is a guy name Ben….not Lauder though…it’s 150 pound rookie Ben Lake. Lake has 29 penalty minutes on the year, five more than Lauder. Lake is by no means a guy who will rack up alot of PIMs this season, he just happened to be involved in a skirmish on Saturday against the Royals.

All three games this weekend will be on MyMcMurray.com

In a rematch of last year’s AJHL final the Oil Barons outshot the Camrose Kodiaks 44-22 and finished with a 5-2 victory. Once again the Barons got goals from 3 of their 4 lines. In the teams past 3 games they have scored 20 goals and on the year the Barons are averaging 5 goals a game.

Matt Williams leads the way with 5 goals and 3 helpers while Jordan Mirwaldt and Dakota Dubetz also have 8 points on the year.

New blueliner Mason Conway has looked good in his first two games with the MOB. He has been paired up with Kyle Johnson and the two seem to read situations well.

The Barons held their Meet and Greet with family and billets on Satruday night after the Camrose victory….it was nice to see some parents travel along way for open weekend on home ice.

This weekend the high scoring but high risk Drumheller Dragons come to town along with the Calgary Royals. That will make 7 straight games against the South Division for the Barons. GM Gord Thibodeau says he would like to play some teams from the North so he can see how the Barons stack up and if any changes need to be made.

The Oil Barons have picked up 19 year old defenseman Mason Conway and 18 year old foward Brian Doust from the Okotoks Oilers in exchange for future considerations.

Doust is tiny but had 17 goals as a 17-year old last season. Conway is a 6′1 defenseman.

The Oil Barons wrapped up their 3 day road trip with a 10-2 bare butt spanking on the Calgary Royals.

The Barons scored 4 times on the power-play and received a goal from all 4 lines. Infact of the 10 goals scored 9 of them came from different players….Matty Williams scored a pair.

The Oil Barons had 10 players average a point per game over the weekend.

Ben Lauder scrapped Bradley Drobot on Sunday afternoon, arguably the league’s most feared pair of heavy-weights…..Drobot had the advantage early but once Lauder tied up his right arm he landed a couple of hard shots and the Linesmen had to jump in when Lauder buckled Drobot’s knees….I’d say a good Draw.

Oil Barons will most likely add a defenseman on Monday….GM Thibodeau says the deal is close to being done. A nice vet would be a good addition to the backend.

Oil Barons opened the 08-09 campaign with a 4-2 win over the Canmore Eagles. Final shots were 44-19.

The line of Michael Perry, Jordan Mirwaldt and Mackenzie Caron combined for 7 points. Perry led the way with 2 goals and an assist.

Kyle Johnson and Matty Williams added goals.

Steven Legatto was not very busy.

Ben Lauder was willing to go with anyone but no member of the Eagles would answer the bell.

Eagles don’t look very strong this season.

Okotoks should be a real good test on Saturday night.

Oil Barons defenseman Brad Stebner has committed to Michigan Tech University for the 2010-2011 season.

That is good news for the MOB as he will play this season and next in Fort McMurray.

Stebner had 4 goals and 11 points in his rookie season. This year he will need to step up as right now it looks like he is considered a Top 3, maybe even Top 2 guy on the MOB backend.

There is a Michigan Tech – Barons connection here….former Baron and Fort McMurrayite Colin Murphy spent 4 years at Michigam Tech. This summer Murphy signed a two-way deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Oil Barons roster to begin the 2008-2009 season is starting to take shape.

Steven Legatto will carry the majority of the workload between the pipes. He will give the Oil Barons consistently solid goaltending, something the team lacked last year as 5 different goalies started a game. 17-year old Kirby Halcrow will start the year as Legatto’s backup.

The blueline only has 2 returning players in Kyle Johnson and Bred Stebner. I’d expect a big year from Stebner and more of the same from what we saw last year from Johnny. Some new d-men you might want to keep an eye on are 20-year old Jeff Wright and Fort McMurray’s Brendan Wright.

Up front the team will not have the luxury of Jack MacLellan and Tyler Gron this season. The likes of Dakota Dubetz and Matty Williams will be looked upon to carry the offense. Jeremy Roberts, who will likely play alongside Dubetz and Williams, will also need to show some finish this season.

Jordan Mirwaldt and Mackenzie Caron are both new editions that will be given every chance to succeed in the offensive zone.

Key rookies up front….Ben Lake out of Calgary, wizard with the puck and Gage Olsen, also from Calgary, attempts to run everyone over….regardless of the size.

16 year old Dylan Seymour has also stuck with the team out of camp. He saw action in one game last year and scored a goal.

I will have the call of the Barons opener on the road….6:45 pre-game show from Canmore on Country 93.3