Brandon Rush
10-10-2010, 12:32 PM
Article posted on OKCBarons.com, plus my responses...
The Barons had a night of firsts, some good and some bad, on Saturday evening, in the first American Hockey League game played in Oklahoma City.
Some highlights (and lowlights) in the Houston Aeros‘ 6-1 beating of the Barons:
Crowd’s first cheers for the Barons: At 6:27 p.m., the late-arriving crowd cheered the Barons onto the ice for the team’s inaugural pre-game warmup.
well... when you are trying to cram 4-5,000 thru three entrances, its going to take a while to get in...
First impression: The new video/scoreboard is a big improvement over the board that had been used in the Cox Center and, formerly, the Myriad.
uhhhh, yeah, its been there for the last two Arena Football League seasons, and the Womens Big 12 Basketball Tournament 2 years ago...
First “woooooooo!” from the crowd: When the Barons’ unveiled their “opening” on the video/audio board, and when goaltender Martin Gerber led the team onto the ice, to a standing ovation from the crowd.
First impression: The folks who renovated and cleaned the Cox Center deserve a standing ovation.
indeed, now if we can just get rid of the silver ceiling in the common areas, and add food options, all would be right with the world for that building...
First boos: When the Houston Aeros skated onto the ice before all of the Barons had been introduced to the crowd.
actually it was for the on-ice officials who came out under the cloud of darkness, but whose counting...
First impression: The Cox Center, with a capacity of 13,399, is a good fit for hockey, much better than the larger Ford Center would have been.
agreed, would much rather be in the CC for hockey and concerts
First singing of the national anthem: By Leodis Jackson, in an outstanding rendition. Jackson is a student at UCO’s Academy of Contemporary Music.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! he sounded like he didn't know the tune, and surely didn't hit or hold notes...
First impression: The crowd was excellent, at 9,818, on opening night. And it was paid attendance.
ill always fight the butts in seats vs. tickets out war... but this number seemed close
First comments from Mayor Mick: In pre-game comments to public address announcer Ben Buckland, Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett said, to cheers, “This is a great crowd. I know we all want to give our thanks to Bob Funk Jr. for bringing Triple-A hockey back to Oklahoma City."
had Triple-A hockey ever been in OKC before? I'm not brushed up on my OKC hockey history...
First game-opening song from the sound system: “Saturday’s Alright for Fighting” by Elton John.
First penalty: Houston’s Colton Gillies was called for high sticking 6:24 into the game. The Barons had two shots on goals over the next two minutes, but no goals.
theme of the night...
First shots on goal for Houston: The Aeros didn’t have a shot on goal until exactly 10 minutes had been played, or half of the first period. The Barons had seven shots on goal at that point, but the game was scoreless.<.
First goal: 11:09 into the game, Houston took a 1-0 lead when left wing Colton Gilles 18 scored on centering pass from defenseman Jared Spurgeon. The Aeros outshot the Barons 10-1 in the final 10 minutes and two seconds of the first period
First penalty on the Barons: Defenseman Richard Petiot was whistled for interference 15:01 into the game.
First feisty goalie: The Barons’ Martin Gerber, not happy about how he was treated in net by Houston’s Robbie Earl, jumped on the winger and threw a right hook. A short chat followed. No penalties.
liked that the guys who haven't had a lot of on-ice time together were there to defend their goalie...
First two-man advantage: Houston had a 5-on-3 advantage for 20 seconds midway through the second period. The Aeros didn’t score.
on a BS call i might add...
First Barons goal in their history: At 10:53 of the second period, eight seconds after Barons winger Teemu Hartikainen zipped out of the penalty box, he caught a 60-to-70 foot pass from Brad Moran. Hartikainen then scored a breakaway goal. It also was the first 4-on-4 goal in a Barons game.
GREAT heads up play
First 10-minute misconduct penalty: On Barons forward Alexandre Giroux with 14:51 left in the third period. Giroux has led the AHL in goal scoring for two straight seasons.
I was largely unimpressed with his effort last night
First fight: With 12:21 left in the third period, Barons defenseman Shawn Belle (6-2, 232) landed some solid lefts while whipping Houston defenseman Jarod Palmer (6-foot, 200).
Belle looks to be a good scoring ability away from being a full time NHLer... seems to have all the intangibles
First boos from crowd: About 11 minutes into the third period, boos were heard, as the Barons looked sluggish midway through a power play. Cheers soon replaced the dissent, with 8:17 left, when the Barons’ Ben Ondrus (6-foot, 205) had a scrap with Carson McMillan (6-2, 213), who was taken down onto his back to end the fight. More boos came with 3:35 left, when Houston upped its lead to 6-1.
allready addressed
First impression of Barons: They’ll be better - much better. One reason: the Barons have been together for only a matter of hours, and playing as a team is obviously vital in hockey. On the flip side, the Houston Astros had been playing together for almost two weeks going into Saturday’s game.
The Barons had a night of firsts, some good and some bad, on Saturday evening, in the first American Hockey League game played in Oklahoma City.
Some highlights (and lowlights) in the Houston Aeros‘ 6-1 beating of the Barons:
Crowd’s first cheers for the Barons: At 6:27 p.m., the late-arriving crowd cheered the Barons onto the ice for the team’s inaugural pre-game warmup.
well... when you are trying to cram 4-5,000 thru three entrances, its going to take a while to get in...
First impression: The new video/scoreboard is a big improvement over the board that had been used in the Cox Center and, formerly, the Myriad.
uhhhh, yeah, its been there for the last two Arena Football League seasons, and the Womens Big 12 Basketball Tournament 2 years ago...
First “woooooooo!” from the crowd: When the Barons’ unveiled their “opening” on the video/audio board, and when goaltender Martin Gerber led the team onto the ice, to a standing ovation from the crowd.
First impression: The folks who renovated and cleaned the Cox Center deserve a standing ovation.
indeed, now if we can just get rid of the silver ceiling in the common areas, and add food options, all would be right with the world for that building...
First boos: When the Houston Aeros skated onto the ice before all of the Barons had been introduced to the crowd.
actually it was for the on-ice officials who came out under the cloud of darkness, but whose counting...
First impression: The Cox Center, with a capacity of 13,399, is a good fit for hockey, much better than the larger Ford Center would have been.
agreed, would much rather be in the CC for hockey and concerts
First singing of the national anthem: By Leodis Jackson, in an outstanding rendition. Jackson is a student at UCO’s Academy of Contemporary Music.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! he sounded like he didn't know the tune, and surely didn't hit or hold notes...
First impression: The crowd was excellent, at 9,818, on opening night. And it was paid attendance.
ill always fight the butts in seats vs. tickets out war... but this number seemed close
First comments from Mayor Mick: In pre-game comments to public address announcer Ben Buckland, Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett said, to cheers, “This is a great crowd. I know we all want to give our thanks to Bob Funk Jr. for bringing Triple-A hockey back to Oklahoma City."
had Triple-A hockey ever been in OKC before? I'm not brushed up on my OKC hockey history...
First game-opening song from the sound system: “Saturday’s Alright for Fighting” by Elton John.
First penalty: Houston’s Colton Gillies was called for high sticking 6:24 into the game. The Barons had two shots on goals over the next two minutes, but no goals.
theme of the night...
First shots on goal for Houston: The Aeros didn’t have a shot on goal until exactly 10 minutes had been played, or half of the first period. The Barons had seven shots on goal at that point, but the game was scoreless.<.
First goal: 11:09 into the game, Houston took a 1-0 lead when left wing Colton Gilles 18 scored on centering pass from defenseman Jared Spurgeon. The Aeros outshot the Barons 10-1 in the final 10 minutes and two seconds of the first period
First penalty on the Barons: Defenseman Richard Petiot was whistled for interference 15:01 into the game.
First feisty goalie: The Barons’ Martin Gerber, not happy about how he was treated in net by Houston’s Robbie Earl, jumped on the winger and threw a right hook. A short chat followed. No penalties.
liked that the guys who haven't had a lot of on-ice time together were there to defend their goalie...
First two-man advantage: Houston had a 5-on-3 advantage for 20 seconds midway through the second period. The Aeros didn’t score.
on a BS call i might add...
First Barons goal in their history: At 10:53 of the second period, eight seconds after Barons winger Teemu Hartikainen zipped out of the penalty box, he caught a 60-to-70 foot pass from Brad Moran. Hartikainen then scored a breakaway goal. It also was the first 4-on-4 goal in a Barons game.
GREAT heads up play
First 10-minute misconduct penalty: On Barons forward Alexandre Giroux with 14:51 left in the third period. Giroux has led the AHL in goal scoring for two straight seasons.
I was largely unimpressed with his effort last night
First fight: With 12:21 left in the third period, Barons defenseman Shawn Belle (6-2, 232) landed some solid lefts while whipping Houston defenseman Jarod Palmer (6-foot, 200).
Belle looks to be a good scoring ability away from being a full time NHLer... seems to have all the intangibles
First boos from crowd: About 11 minutes into the third period, boos were heard, as the Barons looked sluggish midway through a power play. Cheers soon replaced the dissent, with 8:17 left, when the Barons’ Ben Ondrus (6-foot, 205) had a scrap with Carson McMillan (6-2, 213), who was taken down onto his back to end the fight. More boos came with 3:35 left, when Houston upped its lead to 6-1.
allready addressed
First impression of Barons: They’ll be better - much better. One reason: the Barons have been together for only a matter of hours, and playing as a team is obviously vital in hockey. On the flip side, the Houston Astros had been playing together for almost two weeks going into Saturday’s game.