Just at the rink in Camrose getting ready for tonight’s tilt….

Gage Olsen had been traded to the Calgary Royals……the Barons will receive future considerations in return.

Not much else….Larochelle from the Kodiaks…MOB fans remember him as the goalie from Games 4,5 and 6 last year….anyway, he’s been traded to out East and is closer to home.

Legatto starts for the Barons tonight

It was quite the surprise on Wednesday night when the MOB skated out onto the ice without Michael Perry, Dakota Dubetz, Kyle Johnson, Ben Lauder and Dave Carr…..the Captain, his three assistants and a veteran in Carr were sitting as Oil Barons GM Gord Thibodeau looking to send a message to the team.

The message apparently worked as they players who were on the ice managed to pick up a hard fought 3-2 win over the Pontiacs. Rolling and Toews looked good player together and each picked up a goal and assist. Jordan Mirwaldt buried the winner in the third and then the MOB was able to hang on to pick up the win.

The Barons leave after practice today and head out on 3 games in 3 days through the south division. Games in Camrose, Drumheller and Calgary will all be broadcast on Country 93.3.

NOTES:

Erik Toews scored his first goal with the Barons.

Ben Lake played with Jordan Mirwaldt and Jeremy Roberts in the final two periods and looked pretty good.

Brendan Wright and Kris Steedsman once again brought a physical presence on the back end.

Mason Conway scrapped Hennessy after Hennessy laid a cheap shot on Branden Gracel behind the play.

For the first time since joining the team Matt Hallick was held off the score sheet. However he did look pretty good centering MacKenzie Caron and Branden Gracel.

The Oil Barons blew a pair of leads on Tuesday night as the Pontiacs fought back and topped the MOB 4-3.

The Barons led 2-0 heading into the third. Rookie goalie Kirby Halcrow was unable to control a rebound which handed the Pontiacs their first goal. On the 2nd goal Ben Lauder got caught making a bad line change and that led to scramble in front of the Barons net and the puck in the back of the net.

Michael Perry gave the Barons the lead back by tipping a puck, while laying on his stomach past Tyler Pugh.

The Pontiacs had a 5 on 3 opportunity in the final 2 minutes. The MOB killed off one of the penalties but Bonnyville managed to tie the game with less than a minute to go.

In double overtime Tyler Henry was left ALL ALONE in front of Kirby Halcrow and he made no mistake putting the winning goal right upstairs.

Oil Barons coaching staff couldn’t be happy with the mini collapse.

NOTES:

Matt Hallick scored his first goal in his third game with the Barons. He now has four points in total and a point in every game since joining the MOB.

Dakota Dubetz hasn’t scored since October 18th….it was a beauty slapshot from the left face circle but none the less he has gone 12 games without a goal…he has been picking up helpers along the way but after Saturday night’s game he told me that he think’s he’s the most Snake Bitten guy in the AJ right now.

Kirby Halcrow look good for the Barons, except for the one rebound that lead to a goal. The 17 year old has played well in the 10 games where he has saw action.

Ashton Hewson from the Pontiacs is sure a big guy…he’s not very quick, but he’s got a nice set of hands and a pretty good vision. However on the faceoffs he broke Jordan Mirwaldt’s stick twice with slashes and finally a third time was called for a penalty. Good player though.

Ben Lauder didn’t play another shift after the Pontiacs 2nd goal. Maybe he was injured but the more likely reason is because he made a bad line change which in part lead to the puck ending up in the Barons net.

Broadcast tonight will begin at 7:15 on Country 93.3 with the puck drop schedule for 7:30.

The Oil Barons will need to find consistency offensively if they hope to take a pair of games from the Pontiacs this week.

The MOB looked great on Friday against the Grizzlies, it was a 5-3 win that had a little bit of everything. Nice goals, nice saves, three fights…a penalty shot. The Barons didn’t allow an even strength goal in the game against the Grizz. Overall it was one of their more impressive victories of the year….then came Saturday.

After scoring on a 5 on 3 early in the game it looked as though the MOB would pick up right where they left off on Friday. Unfortunately the teddy bear goal was the only bright spot of the night. Chances after that were few and far between and according to Dakota Dubetz…when they did have chances they shot it right at Brooks goalie Robbie Gunderson. The physical play on the forecheck was essentially MIA on Saturday night and the boys will have to find that if they want to stick it to the Pontiacs.

The Barons and Bonny have met twice so far this year with the Pontiacs winning 4-2 in Bonny and the MOB winning 6-5 at Thickwood Height’s Arena.

The Pontiacs have been dealing with some injuries as of late with star defenseman Steven Siego out of the line up along with leading scorer Kirk Belyk and newcomer Ashton Hewson who has 21 points in 14 games. No word yet on any of those three’s status for the pair of games this week. However if they aren’t in the line up it’s all more reason for the Barons to pick up 4 points.

NOTES:

Both games will be broadcast live on Country 93.3…

The Barons are currently ranked 7th in the AJHL Power Rankings which are published every Monday at www.therobbhunter.com

Matt Hallick has 3 assists in 2 games with the Barons….he was also used on the point during the power-play as the coaching staff tries to get the man advantage clicking.

859 teddy bears were gathered during the Teddy Bear toss on Saturday night…the bear I through from the both hit the glass and didn’t make the ice…hopefully someone tossed it on…clearly I’m not a pitcher.

Despite threatening to toss Assistant Coach Ron Foy on to the ice during the teddy bear toss Gord Thibodeau opted to let Ron remain behind the bench.

Both Matt Hallick and Erik Toews will be in the line up for the Oil Barons tonight. No word yet on who they will be lining up with.

Hallick and Toews are expected to bring a little more grit to the MOB.

I will have interviews with both of them during the broadcast tonight on Country 93.3. We will also have comments about both players from Coach Gord Thibodeau.

The Barons and Grizzlies have met once this season, at the AJHL Showcase Weekend. Olds picked up a 2-0 win thanks to a 42 save shutout performance by Marc Boulanger.

Oh and one more quick note….former Baron Adam Manah will be joining me in the booth for both weekend games as my color man. Should be a good time and a great broadcast.

Pre-game show both nights is 8:15 PM

The Oil Barons have sent veteran 20-year old forward Matt Williams and his younger brother Andy Williams to the Brooks Bandits. Coming north to the Barons is a pair of 19-year old forwards in Matt Hallick and Eric Toews.

Matt Williams had struggled in the past 14 games scoring just twice. In the first 11 games of the year he found the back of the net 11 times.

In Hallick the MOB get a big, strong forward that has 14 points in 16 games this season. Toews has 10 points on the year but it expected to contribute on the penalty kill.

Both teams will get a look at their new and old players on Saturday night as the Barons host the Bandits.

Toews and Hallick are expected to arrive in town in time to practice with their new Baron teammates on Wednesday.

The Oil Barons are back to practice after having Friday, Saturday and Sunday off.

The Barons are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Sherwood Park Crusaders. When the team hits the ice on Friday night against the Olds Grizzlies they will be coming off a stretch of 8 days without a game.

The MOB will most likely be looking to a address a couple of things heading into the weekend.

- Matt Williams needs to find his scoring touch, he started the season with 11 goals in his first 11 games, since then he has scored just 2 goals in his last 14 games. Against Sherwood Park he was not in his regular spot alongside Dakota Dubetz as Head Coach Thibodeau is most likely trying to wake him up.

- The power-play away from home continues to be inconsistent. This may be why the team is so impressive at home with a record of 11 and 2. The man advantage on home ice for the MOB is the 2nd best in the league firing at just over 24 percent. Away from Thickwood Height’s Arena the power-play is less than 17 percent effective. Good thing for the Barons….their next four games are all on home ice.

Broadcast Booth:

Former Oil Baron Adam Manah will join be in the broadcast booth this weekend. Adam will look after color commentary duties.

Upcoming Games On Country 93.3

Fri. Nov. 21st vs Olds Grizzlies – 8:15 Pre-Game Show
Sat. Nov. 22nd vs Brooks Bandits – 8:15 Pre-Game Show (Teddy Bear Toss Night)
Tue. Nov. 25th vs Bonnyville Pontiacs – 7:15 Pre-Game Show
Wed. Nov. 26th vs Bonnyville Pontiacs – 7:15 Pre-Game Show
Fri. Nov. 28th at Camrose Kodiaks – 7:15 Pre-Game Show
Sat. Nov. 29th at Drumheller Dragons – 7:15 Pre-Game Show
Sun. Nov. 30th at Calgary Canucks – 2:15 Pre-Game Show