The Oil Barons on the road tonight in Olds against the Grizzlies. Rookie Dylan Seymour takes a 3 game goal scoring streak into the game. Seymour also scored the game winning goal in both of the games against Grande Prairie.

The MOB and Grizz have met twice this season with Olds winning 2-0 at the AJHL Showcase weekend and the Barons bouncing back with a 5-3 win at Thickwood Height’s Arena.

On Friday the Barons will visit Brooks….should be a physical contest with the way the MOB have been playing as of late.

Brad Stebner and Jordan Mirwaldt will take part in the AJHL All-Star game in Calgary this weekend.

Chatted with Mirwaldt before the team left town on Wednesday and he said he was hoping to have some success in the big game. Last year in the MJHL All-Star game he managed to bury a goal.

As for skills competition….Mirwaldt said jokingly that he would like to compete in the fastest skater competition…..I suggested a face off showdown…..but for real….how a break away contest for Mirwaldt…could probably hold his own.

As for Stebs….how about a competition where people try to take him to the outside and he just pokes the puck off their stick with his 10 foot reach…..not exciting but he would win it.

Not to sure why the Storm posted this video online….Seymour takes one good shot from Juell and then goes to town on him.

Unfortunately I wasn’t on the road with the Oil Barons this weekend….but I sure wish I was.

The MOB started things off with a big 8-1 win in Drayton Valley….but after that things really picked up.

The Barons managed to take all four points from the Grande Prairie Storm. 3-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. Halcrow picking up the first win and then Legatto getting the 2nd win.

Looks as though last weekend’s brawl and clear biased from the officiating against the team has really brought the guys together. They won all three of these games without their captain Michael Perry.

The Barons are now closing in on Bonnyville for home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

This recent surge should make the race down the stretch very interesting.

Gord as he was ejected on Sunday.

Seven members of the Oil Barons have been suspended by the AJHL following a fight filled weekend at Thickwood Height’s Arena against the St. Albert Steel.

Here’s how the suspension’s break down:

Head Coach Gord Thibodeau: 2 games
Assistant Coach Ron Foy: 1 game
Michael Perry: 3 games
Mason Conway: 2 games
Erik Toews: 1 game
Adam Johnson: 1 game
Steven Legatto: 1 additional game (three total)

The Oil Barons organization will also be fined for being unable to control the bench.

There was no disciplinary action taken against the St. Albert Steel or referee Corey Moser.

After a frustrating weekend for the Oil Barons and their fans Gord Thibodeau sounded off on our post-game show Sunday afternoon.

The St. Albert Steel had 35 power-plays over a two game set this weekend, including 21 power-plays on Sunday afternoon. The Steel also managed to have ten 5 on 3 power-play opportunities.

Oil Barons GM Gord Thibodeau said if players are held accountable and coaches are held accountable why shouldn’t the referee’s? And he has a valid point.

What will happen to Corey Moser for officiating hands down the worst back to back games in the history of Oil Barons hockey? The answer is very likely nothing.

Thibodeau was ejected from both games over the weekend….he was given a standing ovation as he left the ice during the first period on Sunday. Gord said in the Sunday post-game show that he can understand maybe one poorly officiated game….but says to have back to back games reffed like that proves that it’s personal.

There was a line brawl on Saturday night…goalies included….you can point to the Oil Barons instigating it….but really it comes down referee Moser losing control of the hockey game during the first two periods.

It wasn’t just the penalty calls that got to the Barons. Early in Saturday night’s game the Oil Barons had a goal disallowed that certainly should have counted. Here’s what happened on that play…..a shot was fired towards the net….Oil Barons forward Dylan Seymour tipped the puck with a high-stick….the puck then continued on goal….hitting goaltender Scott MacInnis and bouncing back down to the ice….Seymour then fired the puck into the back of the net….Moser disallowed the goal saying it was a high-stick…when clearly MacInnis had made a save and that meant the puck was once again alive. In fact that was the reason Thibodeau was ejected from the game as he commented on the disallowed goal while leave the ice at the end of the first. In addition to everything Moser wasn’t even in the proper position to make the call as he was just coming in over the blueline….poor positioning the entire weekend.

The AJHL should be embarrassed by what happened at Thickwood Height’s Arena this weekend and the blame needs to fall on Corey Moser. Personal vendetta’s should not show their heads during a hockey game.

I also would like to point out that several parents of Oil Barons players made the trip to Fort McMurray for the weekend….and this is the product they get to see on the ice??

I know it’s difficult for the AJHL to find officials….but it would be nice to see some actions taken when things happen the way they did this weekend in Fort McMurray. A suspension for Corey Moser…maybe a fine…how about even a letter….will this happen? It should….but who knows.

The Numbers:

St. Albert Power-plays: 35
Oil Barons Power-plays: 11

St. Albert 5 on 3’s: 10
Oil Barons 5 on 3’s: 1

Fights: 13

This was the first time under Thibodeau that the Oil Barons were involved in a six on six line brawl. So it’s not a common occurance.

After calling a terrible game on Saturday night Corey Moser follows it up by giving the Oil Barons 5 minor penalties in the first 7 minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Not sure those are the numbers the AJHL is looking for.

I can tell you this….the fans weren’t expecting this….the previous two games between these teams were entertaining high flying 5-4 games with each team winning one of them….toss Corey Moser in the mix and look what happens.

On a side note: The V.P. of Officiating George McCorry apparently had the weekend off….it seem’s kind of funny that Moser would call a game like this when his boss was gone for the weekend.

The Oil Barons will be in bounce back mode on Wednesday as they fell to the Sherwood Park Crusaders 6-2 on Sunday afternoon and now have to get ready for the Bonnyville Pontiacs.

The Oil Barons managed to take 3 of 4 points from the Grande Prairie Storm and then had a set back against the Cru.

Heading into Wednesday’s game the Oil Barons are five points behind the Pontiacs with 1 game in hand.

Newcomer Jordan Berk looked good in his home debut with the Oil Barons….although an unfortunate helmet falling off incident lead to Grande Prairie tying Friday night’s game with just over 2 minutes left.

Steven Legatto put on a goaltending clinic in the 2nd period of Friday night’s game. Legatto made 3 amazing saves including one save that would have made every highlight reel across the country.

Jordan Mirwaldt will join me to broadcast the opening broadcast of minor hockey week. It’s a Monday night broadcast at 7:00 on Country 93.3

David Maltais is no longer with the Oil Barons….with newcomer Jordan Berk playing well…Maltais has opted to head back to Quebec.

Also it hasn’t been made official yet but Jeremy Roberts will most likely be dealt anytime now….Gord told me that a 3-team deal is in place that would land the Oil Barons a 20-year old forward.

You didn’t hear from me but the 20-year old forward is from a team in the south division that the Barons made a deal with over the off-season. Figure it out….atleast that’s what it looks like will be happening….infact the new player may even be in the lineup against Grande Prairie.

The Barons have kicked off their post Christmas Sked with a win over Drayton Valley and a split in Sherwood Park with the Cru.

The newest Oil Baron, defenseman Jordan Berk has 2 points in his first 3 games. He will make his home debut against the Storm this Thursday and Friday.

I will have the call of both games against the Storm live on Country 93.3, Thursday night the pre-game is at 7:15, and 8:15 on Friday night.

The Storm have been great this year…..but you can flip a coin anytime these two clubs clash.