Barons Update

[jedicurt]

Barons had a big win infront of a weekday crowd of 2400... Beating the League Best Texas Stars not only gives the Barons a great moral win that will hopefully push them to play better (as they out skated the best team in the league for a full 60 minutes), but they jumped from 12th to a tie for 9th in the conference, and are solidly in the playoff race to get to a wildcard... only the top 8 teams from each conference make it.

[jedicurt]

Barons pull off a win in OT against the Texas Stars... we are now in 9th place in the conference, and clearly still in the playoff race. Next home game is
friday, march 8th

[jedicurt]

wanted to make sure that everyone saw this

Barons building a brand in Oklahoma City | News OK

and don't forget. last three games are this friday, saturday, and sunday. and they will determine our playoff seeding

[jedicurt]

Barons make the playoffs! they are the 5 seed. If any of you haven't had a chance to watch a game, they are playing the first two playoff games on Friday and Saturday night. the AHL is best of 5 for the first round, with the lower seed getting the first two games, then 3 at the higher seed

[Anonymous.]

That's cool that they are having some success.

[jedicurt]

That's cool that they are having some success.

yep. third straight year with 40+ wins and third straight playoff appearance

with no Thunder game on friday, it would be great to see a wonderful attendance night, but not sure that is going to happen. Although it is nice to start to see some Barons gear when i'm around OKC now. it is sparse, but i do see people wearing it

[Deyro01]

Went to the Game 1 playoff game last night. Barons lost 4-3 in OT. Good game overall though. Im new to OKC and a rabid hockey fan (from Pittsburgh) and its a shame this team doesnt get the attendance it deserves (probably 1500-2000 last night). For 35 bucks last night we parked, got tickets, t-shirts, 4 hot dogs (dollar dog night), and 4 beers (2 dollar beer night). Ridiculously cheap for the entertainment value. Hopefully in the next few years this team starts to gain a larger following. Its tough when the Thunder are as good as they have been.

[ahlokc]

After being down 2-1 in the Quarterfinals and facing elimination the Barons took the Charlotte Checkers by storm and won the series in Charlotte. First game was a 8-1 win and the second a 6-2 win! They will play Texas in the semifinals. The rest of the playoffs are now a best of 7 series.

Here is the schedule:
Game 1 - Thu May 9 7:30 PM Oklahoma City at Texas
Game 2 - Sat May 11 7:30 PM Oklahoma City at Texas
Game 3 - Mon May 13 7:00 PM Texas at Oklahoma City
Game 4 - Wed May 15 7:00 PM Texas at Oklahoma City
Game 5 - Thu May 16 7:00 PM * Texas at Oklahoma City
Game 6 - Mon May 20 7:30 PM * Oklahoma City at Texas
Game 7 - Tue May 21 7:30 PM * Oklahoma City at Texas

[Anonymous.]

Went to the Game 1 playoff game last night. Barons lost 4-3 in OT. Good game overall though. Im new to OKC and a rabid hockey fan (from Pittsburgh) and its a shame this team doesnt get the attendance it deserves (probably 1500-2000 last night). For 35 bucks last night we parked, got tickets, t-shirts, 4 hot dogs (dollar dog night), and 4 beers (2 dollar beer night). Ridiculously cheap for the entertainment value. Hopefully in the next few years this team starts to gain a larger following. Its tough when the Thunder are as good as they have been.

Serious? That barely buys a corndog and a couple beers @ a Thunder game. And forget paying less than that for ONE ticket.


I feel as if they should advertise the cheap entertainment aspect more. Or maybe the dollar dogs and 2 dollar beer nights is rare and prices are normally terrible. I know Redhawks push their "thirsty thursday" bit pretty decently.


Thanks for the post.

[jedicurt]

Well, OKC still has one team in the playoffs. chance to close out against Texas tonight and move on to the Western Conference Finals! Come out and support our team. tickets as low as $10

[Richard at Remax]

I'll be there. If you hear two guys boo'ing loudly at just about anything, it's my friend and I

[jedicurt]

I'll be there. If you hear two guys boo'ing loudly at just about anything, it's my friend and I

well i will be there as well. so that means a guaranteed attendance of at least 3! that's a start

[jedicurt]

Barons have a countdown to an big announcement on their website. The rumors circulating around Edmondton is that the Oilers and the Dallas Stars are going to play a NHL Preseason game here in OKC this fall. I'm pretty excited for this, and hopefully it will be something that will draw out some of the old Blazers fans and get them to start coming back to watch hockey.

[Fantastic]

Barons have a countdown to an big announcement on their website. The rumors circulating around Edmondton is that the Oilers and the Dallas Stars are going to play a NHL Preseason game here in OKC this fall. I'm pretty excited for this, and hopefully it will be something that will draw out some of the old Blazers fans and get them to start coming back to watch hockey.

It would be tough for me... Edmonton is our parent franchise... BUUUUUUUT... I've been a Stars/North Stars fan since I was a kid (long before they moved to Dallas)... would it be inappropriate to wear a Stars jersey AND and Oilers hat???

[jedicurt]

It would be tough for me... Edmonton is our parent franchise... BUUUUUUUT... I've been a Stars/North Stars fan since I was a kid (long before they moved to Dallas)... would it be inappropriate to wear a Stars jersey AND and Oilers hat???

not at all... i plan on wearing my custom made 99 Gretzky Stars Jersey. That'll really confuse everyone

[jedicurt]

Barons will play the Grand Rapids Griffins in Grand Rapids on Friday and Saturday, before returning home on wednesday 5/29 and friday 5/31, and Saturday 6/1 if needed. Lets go into Grand Rapids and get at least one if not both games and have a chance to close out the best of 7 and the Western Conference Finals here at home.

[Jake]

OKC Barons | The Official Site of The Oklahoma City Barons

BARONS HOSTING NHL PRESEASON GAME ON SEPTEMBER 27
By Josh Evans, OKC Barons

The Oklahoma City Barons, in partnership with the Edmonton Oilers, have scheduled an NHL Preseason Game in Oklahoma City on Friday, September 27. The NHL Showcase presented by Mercy, features the Dallas Stars against the Barons parent club, the Edmonton Oilers.

The preseason contest against the Dallas Stars is the first of a unique promotions calendar for the Oklahoma City Barons. Shortly after the preseason game, the team’s home opener follows. The Barons also announced that the largest promotion in Oklahoma sports history will continue.

“Drive Away Every Saturday” gives one lucky fan the opportunity to win a new car just by coming to a Barons game every Saturday night during the regular season. Last season, the Barons gave away over $400,000 worth of automobiles & accessories. The vehicles included a Cadillac CTS Coupe, a Dodge Challenger, a Jeep Wrangler and a Ford F-150.

This is the fourth NHL preseason game to be played in Oklahoma City. The first featured the Dallas Stars against the St. Louis Blues in September 1995. The second pit the St. Louis Blues against the Boston Bruins in September 1997. The most recent was the Los Angeles Kings against the Phoenix Coyotes in October 2002. Oklahoma City did host a regular season NHL game in 1992 when the New York Islanders took on the Oilers in a neutral site contest.

Ticket packages including the NHL Showcase presented by Mercy are on sale immediately by calling the Barons office at 232-GOAL. Barons Season Seat Holders will have a ticket to the NHL Showcase presented by Mercy included their Season Seat packages.

[Fantastic]

So, game got canceled tonight (well, last night if you want to be specific about it)... Wife and I were all suited up in Oklahoma City Barons gear when we were ushered to the underground parking garage, there we found... THE ENEMY!!! The Grand Rapids Griffins practicing the WRONG sport (soccer)! Well... that explains ALOT!!! LOL

Seriously, though, those guys were alot of fun to be around down there, and they took our CRAZY Oklahoma weather in stride!

Won't get to go to the game tomorrow as I have to work, but will most certainly be redeeming my tickets on Sunday... That reminds me... the game was rescheduled for 4:00pm on Sun!!! If you didn't get your tickets for this one, come chear on the ONLY team in OKC currently in the playoffs... If we win tomorrow, we could close out the series on Sunday...

THINK OUTSIDE THE BALL... JOIN THE FIGHT... and BE THERE!!!!!!!!!

[betts]

I hope to be there today, if I can get done with work early enough. Hockey is a lot of fun to watch in person. I'm not so much of a tv hockey fan - I have trouble following the puck.

[skanaly]

So no more playoff games in OKC...sad stuff

[jedicurt]

And now we start to see the players leave. Antti Tyrvainen has signed with a team in Finland, Niko Hovenin is signing somewhere, there have been two different places named, And Teemu Hartikainen is going to the KHL in russia

[jedicurt]

#23 Kristians Pelss may have drowned this week in Latvia. Atleast that is what the media in Latvia is reporting. What has been confirmed is that his family says that he has been missing since monday. A sad time for the Pelss family and the OKC Barons family. I hope that the media reports are not correct and that he is found soon.

[Laramie]

The American Hockey League needs two cities which could really boast attendance for Oklahoma City and they would be great for travel. Tulsa and Wichita both have arenas seating in excess of 15,000; if the AHL could expand or relocate into those markets, you would see Oklahoma City back to drawing crowds in excess of 10,000 on a regular basis.

[Dubya61]

Speaking of hockey and proximity of other league teams looks as though the Barons may be or have lost one of their closer rivals. The Houston team is no longer shown on the AHL league maps. They were ranked 7th in attendance last year. This isn't good for OKC to lose one of their closest opponents, especially when they only had three to start with.

Can’t help but think that the powers to be at Prodigal Sports, as well as the two remaining Texas teams, are in the ear of league officials about how that league is become upper Midwest and Northeast eccentric.

If one looks at the league map there are now only three teams in the southwest and none in the western USA. Perhaps this is part of the reason that the Barons were last in the league in attendance.
Can’t help but think that f the league could add teams in Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Houston, Omaha, Tulsa and Wichita. not only would the Barons it would also help the two Texas teams. It would be better exposure for hockey in general.

The Minnesota Wild have moved their AHL affliliate (the Houston Aeros) closer -- to Des Moines, Iowa, and they're calling 'em the Iowa Wild. It should create a nice synergy like the Dallas and the Texas Stars have, through (semi-) collocation.

Houston Aeros Move to Iowa is Official - Hockey Wilderness

I, too, would love to see more local rivals, but I can't see the AHL expanding beyond the current 30 -- one affiliate/farm club for each existing NHL team. Further, I can't see (and certainly don't hope for) the NHL expanding.

Your assessment of the AHL's gravity being in the Northeast is spot on. though. The worst team in the league for location, IMHO? Abbotsford Heat, up near Vancouver. Des Moines and Oklahoma City are probably their nearest colleagues. I don't think they were ever a real presence west of the Mississippi and certainly NEVER known beyond the Rockies. I don't know why they weren't able to leverage a true coast-to-coast league with the dissolution of the IHL and the WCHL. It's a mystery to me why these leagues don't translate to the west very well.

[Kokopelli]

I agree having Des Moines in the league will create a nice synergy and from a proximity standpoint its not bad for OKC. Could have been worse, like Peoria moving to Utica. It was just surprising considering how well Houston was performing attendance wise.

Speaking of team affiliation and collocation of teams (by the way nice word) there are some long distance ones in the league like; Colorado with Cleveland, Phoenix with Portland Me, L.A. with Manchester, Anaheim with Norfolk and San Jose with Worchester.

Instead of expansion I was thinking more in terms of relocating some of the existing teams. The list of candidates would be Abbotsford, Adirondack, Albany, Binghamton, Hamilton, Springfield, Worchester. Those struggling with attendance.
Of those seven candidates, six are in the Northeast the area in which the AHL is top heavy.