Barons Update

[ljbab728]

Marlie \m(a)-rlie, mar-lie\ is a variant of the female names Marlee (English) and Marlene (German), and the meaning of Marlie is "marshy meadow".

So the team is a marshy meadow? I think I like a dead dog better? LOL

[MDot]

So the team is a mashy meadow? I think I like a dead dog better? LOL

Couldn't agree more. LOL

Maybe they were at one point located in Germany and it was an all-womens hockey team that decided to move overseas to Toronto and they wanted their name to be something iconic yet nostalgic at the same time while also not being the actual name of something/someone (i.e. Seattle SuperSonics referring to the presence of Boeing in Seattle at the time of their incarnation but not specifically saying "Boeing" in any advertisement)? Food for thought, I suppose... LOL

It could also go with why their geography is so screwed up, because to Germany, Toronto is west and they're playing in the Western Conference when they clearly should be playing in the Eastern Conference. You're welcome. =)

[Snowman]

I believe it's a dog that dies.

More importantly, what is a team based in Toronto doing playing in the Western Conference? It defies all logic. LOL

Most of the teams are in the north east sections of the US and south east-ish of Canadian

[MDot]

Most of the teams are in the north east sections of the US and south east-ish of Canadian

Ahh, it makes perfect sense now. I feel bad for Abbotsford, B.C. all the way out there by themselves. =(

[White Peacock]

Per Wikipedia:

The team is named after the former Toronto Marlboros junior hockey team, but the abbreviated "Marlies" name was chosen to avoid any potential association with the similarly named cigarette brand.

[White Peacock]

Ahh, it makes perfect sense now. I feel bad for Abbotsford, B.C. all the way out there by themselves. =(

It sucks for their travel requirements for sure; but they're Calgary's farm team, so they don't have far to go if they get called up.

[MDot]

Per Wikipedia:

The team is named after the former Toronto Marlboros junior hockey team, but the abbreviated "Marlies" name was chosen to avoid any potential association with the similarly named cigarette brand.

Well, neither name is exactly ideal so I guess just go with the one that doesn't get you sued a crapload of money. LOL

[White Peacock]

True that. It's not like they have to worry about infringing on any other team called the Marlies.

Here's hoping we take them down and advance to the cup finals!

[MDot]

Here's hoping we take them down and advance to the cup finals!

[White Peacock]

The Fox 25 sports guy mentioned the subject of "what is a Marlie?" last night. He reads these forums perhaps?

[Richard at Remax]

$11 tickets and $1 beer again for game one against Toronto

[ahlokc]

Barons win 5-1! Ties the series at 1 a piece. Also games 4 (May 23 @ 6pm) and 5 (May 25 @ 6pm) in Toronto will be on cox cable channel 3 and 703.

[t3h_wookiee]

Anybody who wasn't at the game Friday night missed a hell of a game!! Even had a brawl the Blazers would've been proud of in the last two minutes. Was great to see us fight back as hard as we did after Game 1. Game 3 is Monday at 2pm in Toronto (it is Victoria Day there, hence the middle of the day start time) and there's a watch party for it at Buffalo Wild Wings on NW Expy.

[White Peacock]

See you all in October. Toronto won tonight's game, bringing the series tally to 4-1 in favor of the Marlies, knocking the Barons out of the playoffs run.

Still, it was a damn fine season. They were the regular season Western Conference champions (a long form of saying first seed), and were second in the league. They made it to the Western Conference Finals against the #2 seed, and were outplayed too many times to go any further. All this in their second season of existence in OKC, so I'd say they're on the path to greatness, if we're able to keep them here for a few more seasons.

Now that the Barons are out, and none of my teams are in the NHL playoffs at this point, I suppose I'll be rooting for the Thunder for the rest of the playoffs season.

[Sonny_Crockett]

I went to quite a few Barons games this past season, mostly because of the NBA lockout int he beginning. Sadly the lockout hurt the Barons as the new NBA schedule had many Thunder home games on the same night the Barons were playing across the street at the Myriad. The Barons organization is trying to market the team in OKC but still they can't get any attendance in the old Myriad.

[BoulderSooner]

I believe it's a dog that dies.

More importantly, what is a team based in Toronto doing playing in the Western Conference? It defies all logic. LOL

the western open was founded in chicago

[Richard at Remax]

It looks like the Barons studied the Thunder schedule this season before releasing their own. Both have 7 nights where they both play at home this upcoming season. I dont know what the number was last year but it seemed like more. Plus the Barons have 11 home Saturday night games while the Thunder have zero. I expect attendance to go up a bit this year. If not then they are in trouble.

[kevinpate]

I would guess the Sat. games would help them quite a bit. I know that caught my eye.

[OkieHornet]

how does the possibility of an nhl lockout affect the barons this season?

[Richard at Remax]

What I have been lead to believe is that Barons and AHL shouldnt be affected at all. If there is a lockout many of the young players and rookies will play in the AHL to get some experience and playing time until the NHL hammers their issues out.

[swh113]

how does the possibility of an nhl lockout affect the barons this season?

Most, if not all, of the Oilers with 2-way contracts will play in OKC. The AHL will play regardless of what happens with the NHL.

See here for a discussion of the Oilers with respect to the last lockout: http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/201...monton-oilers/

[OkieHornet]

thanks for the info. wasn't sure how it would work with our team being officially affiliated with an nhl team this go-around of (possible) lockouts. the last one i remember brenden morrow playing for a short time with the blazers. would be fun to see some of the oilers' recent #1 picks in okc.

[Sonny_Crockett]

The reason for the conflicting schedules between the Thunder/Barons was because of the NBA lockout. The lockout forced the NBA to reschedule all of the games and since the AHL was already in play, many teams had conflicting schedules with their NBA counterparts (Houston, Cleveland-Lake Erie, San Antonio). Fortunately the Barons and Thunder had separate arenas but had many games going head to head. Fortunately this season the Barons will only have 7 head to head games with the Thunder. The Barons biggest problem is marketing as they still can't fill out the old Myriad even on $1 beer night or $1 hot dog night.

[betts]

I bought tickets for opening night. I decided that I need to support hockey in OKC as well as basketball, and I remember loving hockey live. It's just almost impossible for me to watch it on television as I can't follow the darn puck.

[White Peacock]

Lots of NHL players will be playing in the KHL (Russian professional league). The KHL is nowhere near the quality of play you find in the NHL, but my god do they have the money! So if possible, most players would prefer to play for a spell in the KHL for the duration of the lockout, than to play in the AHL. That said, there are some ace players in Edmonton, so I wouldn't at all mind seeing them play in OKC for the duration of the lockout. Just imagine if we had Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins!