The Blazers continued their tradition of holding practice at Braum's Ice Rink in downtown OKC.  The fans are invited to attend, and it's always fun to see the guys having a good time.  It's not all fun and games, though...the team seperates into three groups for a scrimmage, with the winning team getting a trophy and some bragging rights amongst their teammates.  :)

http://sports.webshots.com/album/556363208wcZeGN

Interesting night...lots of back-and-forth scoring, a hat trick, a line brawl, and a goalie fight.  Doesn't get much better!

Blazer Jared Dumba scored the first goal of the evening late in the first, sending the team to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.  In the second, alternating goals by Brad Patterson, Mike Burgoyne, and Jeff Christian turned the period into a nail-biter.  Christian scored a second goal at 18:43 to make it 3-2 Youngstown, but Dallas Flaman answered with a goal of his own at 19:18 to tie it up.  In the third, it was all OKC, with a goal by Peter Robertson and two more goals by Mike Burgoyne to complete the hat trick. 

I didn't see what started the line scrum in the third, but I did see Blazer goalie Sean Connors wander out of his crease toward center ice.  The referee tried to dissuade him, but Connors continued his trek to center ice and threw down with Youngstown goalie Brad Roberts.  The fight looked pretty even until Roberts began bleeding, at which point Connors basically called it off and gave Roberts an "attaboy" smack on the hip.

Click the pic of the goalie fight to see shots of the game.

Oklahoma City started out strong in this game, taking a 2-0 lead to the locker room after the first period.  The Mudbugs, however, were not content to roll over and quit...a goal from Ty Hennes put the 'Bugs on the board at 4:14, and Forbes MacPherson scored on a rare penalty shot less than three minutes later.  I'm sure many Blazers fans were afraid the team was going to give the game away, but they came back late in the third with a goal by Dallas Flaman to make it 3-2.  The MudBugs pulled goalie John Decaro for the extra attacker, but AJ MacLean managed an empty netter to finish off the night.

 This was one of those games that could very easily have gone the other way.  There were several near-misses, funky bounces, and "holy crap!" saves...the Blazers were fortunate to pull out the win.

Click the pic of Chris Brassard (probably my favourite MudBug), declining to be photographed.