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

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.

Another Turnpike rivalry game has come and gone, and with the usual drama one has come to expect in a Blazer-Oiler lovefest.  After trailing 2-0, the Blazers managed to tie it up at 4:24 in the second.  Oiler Mike Wiggins scored his second goal of the night at 15:41 of the second, making it 3-2.  Late in the third, it appeared that the Blazers had tied it up yet again, but the goal was waived off by referee Paul Mariconda.  There was no question the puck went into the net...the question was whether Oiler Jaroslav Cesky knocked the goal off before or after the puck was shot.  Since instant replay cannot be used in making such decisions, the referee's call stood.  The Blazers pulled Centomo in the last minute of play, but were unable to get the game tying goal.  Tulsa added an empty netter to make the final score 4 to 2.

 As tempting as it can be to blame such a loss on the ref, it was a combination of factors.  Tulsa played to win, and their new goalie Jason Montgomery stood on his head several times.  The Blazers just couldn't find the back of the net, despite outshooting the Oilers 46 to 23.  All the Blazers can do at this point is chalk it up as a loss, move on, and get revenge in Tulsa next Friday.  ;)

Click the pic of Rattray in the penalty box to see pix from the game.  It's so weird seeing him back in an Oiler uni.

Definitely one of the most impressive Lubbock teams I've seen.  Former Blazer Chris Dashney has put together a good squad.  The Cotton Kings led 3-0 for the first period and a half, then OKC rallied and tied it up about halfway through the third.  Overtime period was scoreless.  After allowing the first two Lubbock shooters to score, Sebastien Centomo turned away everything else that was fired at him, and Peter Robertson got the game winning goal against Kyle Stanton.

Lubbock defenseman Marc Bianchi got 2, 5, and 10 for an altercation with Graham Dearle, and spent much of the third in the penalty box.  Like so many other fighters, he was an amusing penalty box guest and even took the time to "interact" with some fans.

Click the pic of Bianchi and his teammate Chris Barth to see shots from the game.

Tonight was "Military Appreciation Night" at the Blazers game, with various branches of the military represented.  The Blazers themselves wore special Armed Forces jerseys that were auctioned off after the game.

There was a scary moment midway through the first period...Wichita goaltender Sebastien Laplante caught a puck in the wire cage of his mask.   Thankfully, the puck lodged about halfway through the wire cage instead of going all the way through, but it still caused some damage.  Laplante was reported to have received stitches under the eye and was kept in the hospital overnight for observation.  I hate to see a player get injured, no matter what colour sweater they wear.  Hopefully Sebastien will have a quick and complete recovery.

Click the pic of the National Guardsmen to see shots from the game.

The Oklahoma City Blazers moved up the start time of their game against the Rocky Mountain Rage, so that the game would not have to compete with OU and OSU football.  So, instead of our usual 7:35 start time, the puck dropped at 3:05.  As soon as the change in start time became public, hubby and I began plotting to head up the pike after our game, and catch Tulsa playing the RiverKings. 

Of course, the Blazers-Rage game ended regulation in a tie, went to overtime, and then went to a shootout that lasted nine rounds.  The Blazers managed to pull off a 2-1 win on a shootout goal by Marc Connors.  Click on the ref in the penalty box (how appropriate! LOL) to view pix from the game.

On to game 2!  Because our own game ran so long, we missed most of the first period.  Once again, the game went to OT, but ended 51 seconds later with a goal by RiverKing Jason Sessa, giving the 'Kings a 5-4 win.  I didn't take as many pix of this game because I was tired, but there are a few up.  Click on Banga celebrating a goal to see them.

Now, to get some much-needed sleep before returning to my "real" job.  :)

Memphis came to OKC with revenge on their minds, after Tuesday's loss to the Blazers.  The RiverKings' Jason Sessa earned first star of the game with two goals. Steve Makway was an entertaining and frequent penalty box guest, making one visit per period to the sin bin and spending his down time commenting on the heckling going on behind the bench.  Click the image of Makway reacting to the hecklers to view pix from the game.

The Blazers continue their winning ways with a come-from-behind victory over my hometown team.  Mike Beausoleil scored the game winner on a sweet wrap-around. 

 It was great to be home, even for just one night.  My mom was kind enough to watch Matthieu, so my dearly beloved actually got to sit and watch the game from beginning to end, instead of trying to convince our little one to stay in his seat.  :)

 Click the image for photos from the game.

It's nice to see the Blazers performing so well together this early in the season. :)

The team lost in a shootout at Wichita on October 21st.  The Thunder have some of the most diehard fans in the league, and it's always a challenge playing in their barn.  It was a typical Blazer-Thunder lovefest, including a line scrum less than three minutes in that even got the goalies involved.  Surprisingly, both netminders were allowed to stay in the game.  Click the image for pix from that game.

 Night before last (October 27), the Blazers got the first win of the season in the Turnpike Rivalry, beating the Tulsa Oilers 5-3.  Somehow, beating Tulsa is more satisfying than defeating any of the other teams.  :)  Click the image for pix from that game.

 Last night (October 28th) against the Amarillo Gorillas was the "Connors Brothers Show," with goalie Sean posting his first shutout of the season and Marc scoring his first two professional goals, including the game winner.  For their efforts, Marc was named first star of the game, and Sean was second star. 

The Gorillas played much better than the score indicates...I thought their team looked better than it has in years. 

 Click on the image for pix from the game.

Whew, all caught up!  :)

Every year, at the end of hockey season, I always feel a bit of relief.  Don't get me wrong, I love going to the games, and shooting them is still my passion after twelve years, but now that Dennis and I have a VERY active three-year-old, all the traveling gets tiring after a while.  It's nice to have a little break.

That feeling of relief lasts for about two weeks.  Then I start counting down the months and weeks until training camp begins.  After that comes the daily countdown to the Blazers first home game and Ben Buckland's declaration that at last, "It's HOCKEY TIME in Oklahoma City!!!"

The B's first home game this season was against the always-feisty Bossier-Shreveport MudBugs.  The 'Bugs were dealing with some immigration issues and had to quickly round up some substitute players, including retired CHLers Jim Sprott and Karlis Zirnis.  Gotta give the 'Bugs props...their pieced-together roster showed up not just to play, but to win.  Zirnis, who hadn't played pro in about a year and a half, scored two goals.   

To add to the excitement, after a couple of players checked into the boards, the small glass pane between the penalty box and the photographer's well shattered.  It was weird...one moment I'm standing there taking pix, the next, "BOOM!" the glass literally exploded, covering the floor, bench, myself, and my camera bag with broken pieces.  Several pieces went over the top of the glass and onto the ice.  We took a few minutes so some Ford Center staffers could sweep the glass from the penalty box into the photo well, and the linesmen cleared it off of the ice surface, and the game commenced. 

 In the end, the Blazers got the win, breaking the "first home game" curse that had plagued the team since moving to the Ford Center, but it was a hard-fought win and the MudBugs deserve a great deal of credit for not forfeiting or just going through the motions.  The spirit and determination of their hastily-assembled roster reminded me exactly why I love this game so much.  :)

Click the image for game night pix: