Barons Weekly Update

Published on December 5, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Oklahoma City Barons News Release


Week 9, Dec. 2-3 (2 games, 1-1-0-0)

Season record: 16-6-0-1, T-1st, West Division

* THE WEEK PAST: The Barons split a home-and-home series with San Antonio in their only action last week. David LeNeveu made 22 saves on Friday at the Cox Center in OKC's second 1-0 win this season. The other 1-0 victory was against Charlotte at the Cox Center Nov. 11. In the Barons-Rampage rematch Saturday at the AT&T Center, San Antonio never trailed in edging the Barons 2-1.

* THE WEEK AHEAD: OKC plays its second and final field trip matinee of the season on Thursday at Houston to begin a stretch of three games in three days. Opening faceoff is at 11 am in the third of eight matchups with the Aeros. The Barons blanked the Aeros 2-0 behind goalie Yann Danis on Oct. 16 at the Cox Center and followed with a 5-4 shootout win at Houston Oct. 29, also with Danis in net. The Barons won their home field trip game against Toronto 3-1 on Nov. 8.

* SWEET SIXTEEN: OKC begins the week with 16 wins, sharing the league high with Abbotsford, which has played two more games. The Barons' 33 standing points match West Division rival Abbotsford for not only the top spot in the division, but the overall AHL lead. Two of the other division leaders, Charlotte and St. John's, have the second highest point total at 32. OKC's .717 standing point percentage is second in the league behind the .727 mark for St. John's.

* CORNET STILL LEADS: Despite being kept off the scoresheet by San Antonio this past weekend, left winger Philippe Cornet remains the AHL's leading goal scorer with 15 through Sunday's games. With teammate Ryan Keller, Cornet shares the league lead with four game-winning goals. He continues to top the AHL in shooting percentage at 39.5 (15 goals on 38 shots).

* NOT CAUGHT SHORT: Rookie Hunter Tremblay maintains the league lead through Sunday's games with 3 shorthanded goals. Three of Tremblay's four goals this season have been shorties, including each of his last three.

* NINE WIN NOVEMBER: The Barons wrapped up November with a 9-3-0-0 record, matching January of last season (9-4-1-1) as the winningest month in franchise history. Gilbert Brule was the club's top scorer in November with 6 goals and 6 assists. Philippe Cornet was next with 10 points on 8 goals and 2 assists.

* PLUS PLANTE: Alex Plante enters this week in a multiple-way tie for third in the AHL with a +12 rating. In his 11 November games, Plante was +13, the highest rating in the league for the month.

* NETMINDER NOTES: In his last 4 starts beginning with a win over Abbotsford Nov. 18, David LeNeveu is 3-1-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage. In that time, LeNeveu has stopped 98 of 102 shots and put together a 3-game winning streak until the 2-1 loss at San Antonio on Saturday. LeNeveu played in the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic at Grand Rapids while a member of the Springfield Falcons. The Barons' other goalie, Yann Danis, was co-MVP of the 2006 Classic (with fellow goaltender Wade Flaherty) at Winnipeg. This season's AHL All-Star Classic is Jan. 29-30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., with the game itself on Jan. 30.

This week's games (times listed as Central)

Date Opponent Time Arena Radio

Thursday, Dec. 8 @ Houston 11:00 am Toyota Center 1340 The Game

Friday, Dec. 9 Peoria 7:00 pm Cox Convention Center KXY 96.1 FM

Saturday, Dec. 10 @ Texas 7:00 pm Cedar Park Center KXY 96.1 FM



American Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central