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Barons Weekly Update

February 28, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Oklahoma City Barons News Release


Season record: 35-15-2-3, 1st, West Division, +11 pts.

THE WEEK PAST: The Barons regained a share of the AHL standing points lead by winning 2 out of 3 and increasing their total to 75 points in 55 games. OKC begins this week tied with East Division-leading Norfolk in points, while second to Atlantic-leading St. John's in point percentage, .682 to .689. On Wednesday, the Barons scored 5 unanswered goals to beat the Texas Stars 5-1 at the Cox Center and conclude a 4-game homestand with a split. OKC then visited Charlotte for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday to kick off a season-high 6-game trip. The Checkers downed the Barons 6-2 on Friday, but OKC responded with a tying goal by Antti Tyrvainen with 2 minutes left on Saturday to force overtime and eventually a shootout. The Barons overhauled the Checkers in a 7-round shootout with a winning goal by Josh Green as the final shooter in a 3-2 final.

THE WEEK AHEAD: After a few days at home, the Barons return to the road to continue a 6-game trip with their first visit of the season to Carver Arena in Peoria on Friday. OKC beat the Rivermen 3-1 in the only previous matchup this season Dec. 9 at the Cox Center. On Saturday, the Barons take on Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena, where they won a pair of games 5-4 on Thanksgiving weekend. Overall, OKC is 3-0-0-1 against the Griffins. On Sunday, OKC makes its only visit to Allstate Arena to face the Chicago Wolves in a 4 pm contest.

STILL ON TOP IN NET: With All-Star Yann Danis in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers this past week and David LeNeveu starting all 3 games for the Barons, OKC's goalies maintained the top two goals-against averages in the AHL through the weekend. Danis leads all netminders with enough minutes to qualify at 1.98, with LeNeveu second at 2.13. Danis is fourth in wins (21), second in shutouts (5) and third in save percentage (.926). Olivier Roy was reassigned from the Oilers' ECHL Stockton affiliate Feb. 20 to take Danis' place in OKC. Roy made his Barons' debut in relief of LeNeveu in Friday's 6-2 loss. Roy allowed 2 goals on 20 shots while not factoring in the decision.

DEFENSIVE GEMS: The Barons have allowed the league's fewest goals (121), 15 fewer than the closest team as of the start of this week. OKC's average of 2.20 goals allowed per game is almost a quarter of a goal per game lower than the next team Toronto, at 2.43. The Barons' home penalty killing percentage (89.3) is No. 1 in the AHL, while their overall penalty killing rate (86.3) is tied for second.

RANKING MEMBERS: All-Star winger Philippe Cornet is tied for ninth in the AHL in goals (22) and is part of a group that includes teammate Ryan Keller tied for the league lead in game-winners (6). Cornet is tied for the lead (with Syracuse's Riley Holzapfel) in shooting percentage at 25.6. Cornet's 22 goals have come on 86 shots. Keller is tied for fifth in plus-minus (+20). Hunter Tremblay is tied for second in shorthanded goals with 4.

THIS AND THAT: OKC is 8-3-0-1 in the Eastern time zone this season with 2 games remaining in the east, both at Grand Rapids March 3 and March 31. Sixteen of the AHL's 30 teams are represented in the league's top 30 point scorers as of Monday, Feb. 27, but the Barons are not one of them. Ryan Keller paces the Barons with 41 points, tied for 32nd. The Barons wrapped up the regular season series with Charlotte by going 3-4-0-1 against the Checkers, winning once in regulation on Yann Danis' 30 saves in a 1-0 game Nov. 11. The Barons did not score a power play goal against the Checkers this season, going 0-for-25. Four of the Barons' 7 shootouts this season have stretched beyond the scheduled 5 rounds. OKC has had a pair of 6-rounders, a 7-rounder and a 9-round tiebreaker. Two of the other 3 needed only 4 rounds to decide a winner. The Barons improved to 4-3 in shootouts with Saturday's win at Charlotte.

This week's games (times listed as Central)

Date Opponent Time Arena Radio

Friday, March 2 @ Peoria 7 pm Carver Arena KXY 96.1 FM

Saturday, March 3 @ Grand Rapids 6 pm Van Andel Arena KXY 96.1 FM

Sunday, March 4 @ Chicago 4 pm Allstate Arena KXY 96.1 FM



American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2012


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.

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