After this weekend, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons are no closer or farther away from second place after a 4-2 yesterday, and a 3-0 loss tonight to the Grande Prairie Storm. The MOB remain six points behind the second place Storm and now have another threat to worry about. The suddenly hot Sherwood Park Crusaders are now only two points behind the MOB for third place.

The Oil Barons kept working hard Friday in the offensive zone forcing the Storm into several penalties. The MOB scored all four goals on the PP going 4/12 on the night. Branden Gracel, Chad Golanowski, James Isaacs each had a goal and an assist while Gui Glasspoole found the back of the net as well. Travis Dunstall and Zahn Raubemheimer replied for Grande Prairie. Joey Quattrocchi made 19 saves for the win, while Chad Carder kicked aside 26. The Storm were 0/5 on the PP.

Tonight, Dunstall managed to score as he was coming out of the penalty box which gave the Storm all the offense they would need. After a scoreless second, Dan Coreale took a pass from Raubenheimer to make it 2-0 with 7:33 left in the third. Then with Ben Lake in the box Raubenheimer fired home his 44th of the season to seal the deal. Jesse Kallechy was strong in goal making 43 saves, while Carder kicked aside 29 shots for the shutout. The MOB take on the Bonnyville Pontiacs Wednesday night as the Casman Centre. Face-off is at 7:30, but if you can’t be there, we’ll have the call on Country 93.3 starting with the pre-game show at 7:15.

The 2010 Alberta Winter Games get underway this morning in the Lakeland Region. To keep track of our hometown stars, follow this link:

https://ssl.rampinteractive.com/albertagames/results.aspx

Once you’re there, look for the “Community” scroll box under the “Final Results” section. Find Fort McMurray and then click “view report”. The games wrap up Sunday.

Former Fort McMurray Oil Barons defenseman Mike Schreiber has a chance to win the Hobey Baker Award, which goes annually to the top player in the NCAA. Schreiber is a senior with the Union College Dutchmen. He played for the Oil Barons from 2003-2006 and won a league title in 2006. TO vote for Schreiber, follow this link:
http://www.hobeybaker.com/voting/

The four Fort McMurray Oil Barons who suited up for Team North made the hometown proud after the North earned a 14-9 win over the Southern squad at the Scott Safety AJHL All-Star game. North Captain Brad Stebner had a goal and three assists, forward Branden Gracel had three helpers, blueliner Mason Conway had two assists, while Markus Gerbrandt scored as well. All four Barons were in the starting lineujp, along with Spruce Grove netminder Vince Marozzi, and Lloydminster centre Brett Slobodzian.

The south jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead as Eric Slemp, Corey Campbell, Jordan Kwas, andCullen Bradshaw managed to beat Marozzi, who leads the AJHL in GAA and save percentage. Then Bryce Williamson of the St. Albert Steel got the first north goal of the game, followed by Slobodzian and Gerbrandt. Slobodzian finished the evening with the hat trick, while Spruce Grove defenseman Kodie Curran led the way with five points.

The banquet followed the game and was truly an outstanding evening. TSN and former MOB voice Dan O’Toole emceed the event had played a mock Sportscentre broadcast talking about the weekend and festivities. Edmonton Oilers President and CEO Patrick LaForge spoke and had the crowd at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre laughing pretty hard. Then NHL legend Jeremy Roenick took the mic next and didn’t disappoint. He reminded the young all-stars to never give up, and keep following their dreams and goals. Roenick then took time to take some questions from the crowd. In true JR fashion, he was very blunt in his answers. One fan asked him why Patrick Marleau isn’t the captain of the San Jose Sharks, and Roenick was very forthcoming in saying that Marleau isn’t captain material. He even talked about Alexander Ovechkin’s goal celebrations. Instead of saying he should be more modest; Roenick says hockey needs more personalities like that. At the end of the day, Fort McMurray came through again hosting a truly outstanding all-star weekend.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons battled hard, but it was the mighty Spruce Grove Saints coming out on top 6-3 at the Casman Centre. The Saints opened the scoring at the 5:05 mark as Adam Henderson found Jordan Draper who got it past Jesse Kallechy for a 1-0 Saints lead. The Oil Barons struck back on the power play when Chad Golanowski got the puck in the slot from Branden Gracel just under three minutes later. However, the Saints stuck back on the powerplay when Wes McLeod fired a shot from the point, and David Glen got the tip in at the 10:24 mark. However, the MOB mentality came though again as Brooks Robinson brought the puck in, it rolled wide, and Gracel was there to bring the loose puck home to tie the game with 3:29 left in the period.

In the second, the Barons controlled the play for a good portion of the second, but it was the Saints skating into the dressing room with a 4-2 lead as former Oil Baron Shaun Rolling, and Glen scored. After an extended period of MOB pressure, Saints Coach called a timeout to settle his team down which was key for Spruce Grove.

The Barons came back at the 1:41 mark of the third when Adam Johnson dug the puck out of the corner, and Kris Steedsman fired his fourth of the season over Travis Rolheiser to bring the MOB to within one. However, Josh Lazowski and Kodie Curran scored in the second half of the frame to put the game away.

The Oil Barons are off until next Friday when they host the Grande Prairie Storm in a series which could very well decide second place in the north division. Coming up tomorrow is the Scott Safety All-Star game at the Casman Centre. The game is on Country 93.3 starting at 3:30.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons’ final trip to Bonnyville for the regular season was a success as the MOB snuck past the Pontiacs 2-1. Branden Gracel and Chad Golanowski each had a goal and an assist. The Pontiacs struck first as Denis Cadrin got the puck in the slot and fired it past Jesse Kallechy for a 1-0 lead. However, the MOB mentality came through as Golanowski took a great pass from Gracel from the hash marks ti tie the game just over 2 minutes later. In the second, the Pontiacs then got nailed for two many men on the ice as they had six skaters on. At the 15:11 mark, Brad Stebner fired a shot on goal, and Gracel was able to tap home the rebound to put the Oil Barons up for good. The MOB then went into shutdown mode in the third period limiting Bonnyville to only six shots in the frame. Jesse Kallechy kicked aside 24 shots for his 16th win of the season. With the win, the Oil Barons surpass last season’s total in which they won 31 games, and tie the 67 points the accumulated in the 2008-09 campaign. The MOB are back in action tomorrow when they take on the Spruce Grove Saints at the Grant Fuhr Arena. The pre-game show starts at 6:45 with the puck drop set for 7:00 on Country 93.3.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons defeated the Calgary Canucks 4-2 at the Thickwood Heights Arena to improve to 12-1 over their last 13 at home. The combination of Dylan Seymour, Ben Lake, and Adam Johnson was on fire. Lake had two goals and an assist, Johnson had three helpers, while Seymour had a goal and an assist. Brooks Robinson scored his first as an Oil Baron as he rushed the puck in on the right side and cut in front to beat Dusty Nickel of the Canucks. The MOB downed Olds 6-2 the night before.

The Barons hit the road this coming weekend as they visit the Bonnyville Pontiacs Friday, and the Spruce Grove Saints Saturday. The game will be joined in progress once the Minor Hockey Week game is done on Country 93.3.

The home of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons will soon have a new name. The Casman Group of Companies and the Oil Barons signed a 10 year agreement with $500,000 with an option to extend the deal another 10 years. Oil Barons President Andrew Boutilier and Casman Group CEO Jeff Fitzner both made the announcement.

The Casman Group and the Oil Barons started talking over a year ago. A formal cheque presentation will take place at the AJHL All-Star game January 30th.There will also be a Family Skate coming up from 3-5 in the afternoon January 31st at the Casman Centre. Fans will have a chance to skate with the Oil Barons and MOB voice Ken Trenton will also be there as well.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons are celebrating Minor Hockey Week Satturday night.

Any player showing up at the Thickwood Heights Arena wearing their minor hockey team jersey will get in for free.

The MOB will take on the Calgary Canucks.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons swung a deal moving Brad Ryan to the Okotoks Oilers in exchange for 17 year old forward Gui Glasspoole. Head Coach and General manager Gord Thibodeau says Glasspoole is a talented 6’1, right handed shooting forward. Glasspoole finished sixth in the Alberta Midget Hockey League in scoring last year with 45 points in 34 games with the Calgary AAA Royals. He also played five games with the Medicine Hat Tigers registering an assist.

In Ryan, the Oilers add a physical veteran blueliner who put up 13 points in 35 games with the Oil Barons so far. Thibodeau added that this trade not only brings them a talented forward, but also allows rookies Shay Laurent and Matt Szpak to get more ice time and further their development.