Oilers vs Canucks

The Oilers took to the ice last night against their newest rival, the Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, the Canucks managed to score 5 goals in the first period! Que Edmonton's back up goalie, Dubnyk. The Oilers were only able to slip 3 goals past Luongo the whole game, and the Canucks got another 2 goals past Dubnyk to secure the win. Final score: Canucks 7, Oilers 3.

Scoring for the Oilers: Brule, McDonald, Penner
Scoring for the Canucks: Burrows, Raymond Sedin, Glass, Ehrnoff, Edler, Samuelsson

The Oilers did have a few good things come out of the game. Penner continued his hot streak earning 1 goal and 1 assist. Brule also had a goal and an assist, maybe Columbus didn't ruin this kids development afterall. Gagner also came away with 2 assists. McDonald and O'Marra got their first points after being called up from Springfield, coninsidenally, it was O'Marra who got the assist on McDonald's goal.

The Oilers get a bit of a break until Thursday when they take on the Detroit Red Wings.

Pats vs Chiefs

The Regina Pats played their final game of the road trip last night against the Spokane Chiefs. The game didn't go exactly how I had hoped... The Pats ended up losing the game by a score of 4-0, handing James Reid the shutout victory. The Pats seemed exhausted in the game, with is understandable but not an excuse. Directly after the game the Pats jumped on the bus and started on the 14 hour trip. The boys are hoping to get home in time to watch the Grey Cup, but they will be cutting it pretty close. The Pats will get a few days off and don't play until Saturday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings. Good Luck Boys!




P.S. GO RIDERS!
That is all.

Oilers Update

The Oilers took on the San Jose Sharks at home last night. It marked the first time that Dany Heatley would play in Oil territory since refusing the trade offer. It was a back and fourth game that saw the Sharks score in the first, the Oilers in the second, and both teams plotting 3 in the third. After 3 periods of play the game went to overtime, which solved nothing, and then continued on to the shootout. The Oilers were unable to cash in on any of their shootout attemps and Pavelski of the Sharks managed to slip one past Delauriers for the win.

Scoring for the Oilers were: Potulny (2), Brule, and Penner.
Scoring for the Sharks were: Marleau (3), Clowe and Pavelski (SO)

The Oilers got some devastating news, as it was announced that their star forward and best player, Ales Hemsky will need shoulder surgury. The Oilers have been flagged with injuries and illnesses all season thus far, and this was just the icing on the cake. As a result, Hemsky is slated to be out for the entire season. Some of the young guns like Cogliano and Gagner, who haven't been producing as of late, will have to step up big for the Oilers in the absence of Hemmer. Hemsky was second on the team in points, scoring 22 in as many games.

The Oilers recent call up, Potunly has been playing very well and now has 7 points in 10 games with the Oil. Penner kept his hot streak going last night and now has 28 points in 26 games.

The Edmonton kids are back in action tonight as they take on the Vancouver Canucks.

Pats Top the 'Tips

The Regina Pats bounced back from their 5-2 to Seattle, with a 4-2 win over the Everett Silvertips. The Pats found themselves down 2 midway through the first, but a goal by Cody Carlson in the dying seconds of the first cut the lead to one. The Pats were able to even things up in the second on a goal from Jordan Eberle, but his night wouldn't stop there. Jordan scored another goal about 3 minutes into the final period to put the Pats up by one, and completed his hattrick on an empty net goal with 9 seconds remaining in the game. Pats take it by a score of 4-2.

Damian Ketlo stood strong, and had a great performance last night, especially in the third period; overall he stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced! The Pats special teams were unreal last night, the penalty killing unit was excellent, killing all 8 penalties! That, combined with going 3/5 with the extra man let the Regina boys secure the win.

The Pats play their final game of the road trip tonight when they wisit Jarod Cowen and the Spokane Chiefs. Good Luck Boys!

Killian Hutt's Revenge.

Killian Hutt played against his former team last night, as the Pats took on the Portland Winterhawks on the road. The Pats were without stars, Jordan Eberle and Colten Teubert as a result of them having to go to a meaningless practice in order to play a meaningless game the next day. On normal occassions, this would spell disaster for the Pats, but not this time. The Pats remaining talented group took it to the Winterhawks and got the win by a score of 6-3. The boys seemed to use this as on opportunity to shine and step up, so there were some unlikely multi-point nights for a few players.

Scoring for the Pats: Hricina (2), Gustaffson (2), Mitchell, Strueby
Scoring for the Winterhawks: Niederreiter (3)

It was really good to see Tommy and Hampus step into a scoring role tonight as they have been struggling to put the puck in the net lately. For Strueby and Mitchell their hot streaks continued; Mitchell got his 7th goal of the season, and Strueby got his 17th of the season.

The Pats now move into sole possession of 4th place in the East Division and are only 1 point behind the Moose Jaw Warriors, and 3 points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Pats also now own two out of the top 3 scorers in the WHL. 1. Brandon Kozun (47) 2. Jordan Eberle (46) 3. Jordan Weal (41) Although it should still be noted the Jordan Eberle has played 6 and 7 games less then Weal and Kozun so he is dominating in his points per game average!

The only down side to the game last night was that the Pats lost vertern winger Brett Leffler to a knee injury. Leffler was the victim of a knee-on-knee hit last night, and didn't return to the game after going off with the Trainer in the third. The opposing player did not even recieve a penalty for the hit. I find this interesting because Georges Laraque was just suspended 5 games for a knee-on-knee hit. I know, I know, this isn't the NHL, but it just goes to show that this instance deserves at the very least a two minute penalty! Assistant coach Shawn Sutter believes that Leffler won't play tonight against Seattle, but should hopefully be back in the lineup for the weekend.

The Pats will once again have to rally together tonight as they face the Seattle Thunderbirds. They will be without Jordan Eberle and Colten Teubert for the second night in a row, and now Leffler as well. However, although this may be an annoying situation for the Pats to be in, it does give them a taste of how things will be when Jordan and Colten are gone for a month with Team Canada. They have already shown that they can beat the number 2 team in the U.S. division without them, hopefully the boys can work their magic again tonight! Good Luck Boys!

4-0

That was the score in the Oilers game last night against the Coyotes, but get this... it was the Oilers who had the four goals!! The Oilers have been on so many wrong-ends of shutouts this year that they finally decided to turn things around and earn a shutout win for themselves. More specifically, it was the backup goalie, Delauriers, who earned the shutout for the team, combined with goals by: Horcoff, Hemsky, Moreau and Souray. This puts the Oilers back on the winning track after a disappointing performance against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday which resulted in a 5-2 loss.

The Oilers have been using numerous call-ups as of late, due to the numerous injured and sick players on the roster. However, things were looking up today at practice for the Oil kids. Although their first string goalie, Khabibulin, was absent, Robert Nilsson and Ryan Stone made their returns. Stone had a hurt knee, while Nilsson had been out with a concussion, but both seem to be feeling much better.

The Oilers are back in action Wednesday as they take on the Los Angeles Kings.

UFC 106

Yes, that's right, I was indeed multi-tasking last night. As I listened to the Pats game I was also watching UFC 106. The co-main event featured a bout between Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Josh "Kos" Koscheck. Anthony has knock out power and Kos has great wrestling and his hands have come a long way since his days on the Ultimate Fighter. The first round saw an illegal knee by Johnson combined with both fighters being poked in the eye. Johnson is no stranger to the eye poke, as he had to have surgury because of it after his fight with Kevin Burns. The fight ended with about 15 seconds left in the second round as Koscheck secured a rear naked choke. If Anthony can make the ability of his ground game match the ability of his standup then this guy could be a very scary contender in the future.

After the match Koscheck made it clear that he doesn't think Dan Hardy is the number one contender in the line to fight GSP. I am going to have to stronly agree! I mean, the best fighter this kid has fought is Mike Swick! Obviously they should have Hardy vs Koscheck seeing as how GSP can't fight until March anyway, and then the winner of that fight should get Georges, even though he will crush either of them.

The main event featured the rematch of Forrest Griffin vs Tito Ortiz. This was Tito's first fight back in the UFC after a brief attempt at commentating, which like I said before, he was brutal at. The fight was back and fourth and ended up going to the distance.. oddly similar to their first fight. The judges scored the bout 29-28 Ortiz, 30-27 Griffin and 29-28 Griffin. Declaring the winner by split decision.. FORREST GRIFFIN! Thank God. It's interesting that in the first fight Tito got the split decision and Forrest got it in the second.. I smell a rubber match!

Tito talked to Joe Rogan after the fight, his lips were moving but all I could hear was "waaa, waa, waa, excuses.. waa!". It was extremely annoying, he yet again brought up his back being "hurt" although I thought surgury was suppose to fix these things, no? But what I found even more annoying was when he said "not everyone would come in and fight with a broken skull!" Oh, come on, give me a break! Yes, we all noticed that you have been sporting a hideous black eye, but a fractured skull.. GET REAL! Do you honestly think that the fight doctors would let you duke it out in an MMA match with a fractured skull? No. The correct answer is NO, the wouldn't!

The next UFC event is the Ultimate Fighter Finale on December 5th, with Matt Hamill vs Jon Jones as the headliner. Then, UFC 107 Penn vs Sanchez is on December 12th!

HUGE.

The Regina Pats got a HUGE win last night over the number one team in the Western Conference. The Pats dominated the highly-toted Tri-City Americans to a 7-1 victory, and handed the Am's their first loss on home ice. It was a great night for "Guhle the Goalie" who bounced back after being pulled in the Brandon game to stop 35 out of 36 shots.

Scoring for the Pats in the win: Jordan Eberle, Weal (2), Mitchell (2), Leffler, and Teubert
Scoring the lone goal for the Am's: Drozd

It's interesting, and kind of annoying, that even though the Pats dominated the game, somehow Tri-City managed to get the third star of the night, and Regina's Cody Carlson, who had three assists, didn't get a star. I don't want to jinx anything but Garrett Mitchell has been on a bit of a hot streak lately, he has 10 points in 16 games so far this season, he only had 15 all of last season. His hard work seems to be paying off!

The boys have a travel day today and then another day off tomorrow. Their next action is Tuesday against Hutt's former team, the Portland Winterhawks. Good Luck Boys!

Pats Win on the Road

The Regina Pats came away with 2 points tonight as they took on the Kootenay Ice. The Pats found themselves down 2 early as Ketlo let in 2 goals on 7 shots. Ew. But, Jordan Eberle scored in the second for the pats and Mulder tipped in Teuberts shot from the point to even things up in the third. Overtime didn't solve anything so off to a shootout the pats go.. The Pats are undefeated in the shootout thus far sporting a 2-0 record (both shootout wins against the Blades) and pushed their shootout record to 3-0 after tonight. The Pats ended up having to use a fourth shooter.. enter Matt Strueby. He played hero tonight, and Ketlo stopped the final Kootenay player and secured the win!

Thank God Ketlo didn't dwell on his early misshaps in the game and came back to secure the win for the boys. The win helps to give the regina kids some confidence as they continue on to face some tough teams in the US division, they head to tri city tomorrow night! This is only the second win on the road for the Pats, who will look to get a few more along this tough swing. Good luck tomorrow night boys!

Karo out....AGAIN!

Karo Parisyan had to withdrawl from his UFC bout, yet again! Karo, who I hate anyway, was suppose to fight Dustin Hazelett this weekend at UFC 106 but has pulled out because apparently he is "addicted to painkillers". He was caught for using pain killers once before after his fight with Dong Hyun Kim which was later ruled a no contest because of it. Previously to that, Karo also pulled out of a fight at the last second because of a "panic attack" which it later came out that the so called "attack" was also caused by pain killers and the fact that he knew he would test positive for them. Dana White claims "he'll never fight in the UFC again!". This is no real big loss for the UFC, he was a lack luster fighter anyway that loved decisions, and you can't drop out of two fights at the last second, on one occasion even after the weigh-in, and expect that everyone will understand.

Dustin Hazelett seems to have gotten a pretty unreal deal out of this whole situation. No, he doesn't get to fight but he gets his full fight purse plus the win bonus! So basically, he may have had to train all this time, which he would have been doing anyway, but now he doesn't have to be nervous, doesn't have to fight, and gets to enjoy watching the fights and basically get paid a very pretty-penny to do so! Dana claims that he gets this because the situation "wasn't his fault".

Well, I say "good riddence" to Karo never fighting in the UFC again, I never liked him anyway!

Pats Hit the Road..

The Pats bus left the Brandt Centre today at 9:00am as the boys head down to the States for a 10 day trek. People keep saying how exciting the boys must be.. trust me, they aren't! Maybe some of the rookies are excited, as it is their first big trip and all, also, most of them are still in high school so I'm sure their pumped to miss about 7 days of school. But for the older boys, their far from excited, if the words "That's going to suck!" mean anything to you. Plus, Rod Pedersen posted a picture of the boys leaving on his blog this morning, and by the looks of things someone brought thier guitar. Oh God, that 12 hour bus ride just got a little longer and a lot more annoying! Hope you remembered to pack your headphones boys!

Oilers vs Avalanche

Despite having numerous players out with various injuries and still suffering with the effects of the flu the Oilers managed to beat the Av's... again! The Oilers handed the Av's their first home loss of the season back on November 8th and beat them last night on Edmonton home ice by a score of 6-4. It was an exciting game that showed the Oilers can battle in it right until the end. The Av's opened the scoring and it seemed like everytime the Oilers would score the Av's would answer and steal the momentum. In the end, it was the full 60 minute effort by the Oilers that got them the "W" and the much-needed 2 points.

Scoring for the Oilers were: Horcoff, Gagner, Brule, Potulny, O'Sullivan and Hemsky (empty net)

The Oilers now have 8, thats right 8 (down from 10) Oilers on the Injured list, this also includes Comrie who is battleing mono at the moment. At one point, the entire original top line of Jacques, Horcoff and Hemsky were all out, Horcs and Hemmer are back in action but Jacques is still having back trouble. Hopefully the Oilers will get more and more players back as they have had to work with numerous call-ups as of late, one of which is also on the injured list!

The Oilers next action is Saturday against Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Heartbreaking.

The Pats played a wild one last night against the Brandon Wheatkings.  The Regina boys found themselves down by multiple goals on a few occasions but managed to battle back.  Especially noticeable was the four goal deficit that they climbed back from in the third period and managed to force overtime.  But, just 2 minutes in Brandon scored to secure the victory.  The Pats managed to walk away with 1 point at least, every point is important with how tight the standings are right now!  

The Pats weekend didn't go quite as they had hoped and they only got 1 out of a possible 6 points.  They were up and down and fairly inconsistent, the scores went: 4-3 5-0 and 8-7 all in favor of the Pats opponents. 

The Pats are set to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings Tuesday night for their last home game of November.  After that, the boys head down to the States for a 10 day trip which none of them seem overly excited about.  Good Luck on Tuesday Boys!

Ouch.

The Pats went into tonight looking to redeem themselves after losing to the Warriors 4-3 last night, but no such luck... this one wasn't even close, the pats dropped to below .500 tonight by a score of 5-0! Ewwww. It's never good to give the opposing goalie a shutout let alone an ex teammate! Apparently, the defense took the night off last night, so it was only fair that the offense took it off tonight. The Pats are right back at it tomorrow, and will have a long bus ride to think about both losses to the Warriors as they head to Brandon bright and early tomorrow to take on Brayden Schenn and the Wheat Kings. It will be a tough game forsure, but nothing is impossible in this league. Hopefully the Pats can get back in the right state of mind for this game, and hopefully back on the winning track! Good Luck Boys!

Well, That Was A Bummer...

The Pats fell to the Moose Jaw Warriors last night by a final score of 4-3. The Pats let a two goal lead slip away and suddenly found themselves down by 2 in the third. Jordan Eberle replied for the Pats and they were now down one, with a little time left on the clock. The Pats were desperate in the final minute and pulled Ketlo for the extra attacker. Brett Leffler was jaming away at the puck when all of a sudden the crowd went wild and it looked as though Leff's had played hero with a little over thirty seconds left. However, the hopes of overtime came crashing in our faces and amidst all the jumping up and down, screaming and high-fiving between pats fans the goal was called off! Devastating and heart-breaking? Yes! The last thirty seconds ran out and the Pats lost what was an extremely exciting hockey game.

My Random thoughts on the Game:
1. The WHL just invested all of this money into having video replay so why don't they use it? Why wouldn't you take a look, just to be sure, if a goal is at all questionable? That way, the game won't be decided on a "controversial" call, it seems like too many are already decided that way.

2. Was it just me, or were there more turnovers in this game than usual for the Pats. It seemed like an awful lot to me, and the D-men were sending bizarre passes to the forwards and couldn't seem to recieve one either. This wasn't the case for the whole game, the D boys were blocking a lot of shots, but it seemed like they just fell apart for the better part of the third period.

3. Drunk people in the boxes are very annoying. As I was waiting after the game, some random drunken idiot yelled at me from the box to go up there and join him. At first I laughed it off and tried to ignore him, but the notions continued. After the third time of him asking and the 10th time of me trying to say "NO!" nicely, I simply yelled up to him, "YOUR FORTY!" (For those of you who dont know I am only 18 after all, and trust me I look it, coming from the girl that got ID'd at a movie!) Anyway, I thought it was a funny comeback and he left me alone after that and was on to his next victim.

4.Why are sick people coming to hockey games? Is it because it's the perfect place to spread germs? I think so! I understand these people are die-hard pats fans, but I mean come on! Listen to the game then instead of coming, caughing all over the place, not even attempting to cover your mouth might I add! Sharing popcorn-disgusting! and to top it off repeatedly licking your fingers-I just threw up in my mouth thinking about it! So, basically what I'm trying to say is.. do us all a favor and stay home from the game if you're sick! PLEASE!

Anyway, the Pats will be looking to redeam themselves tonight when they play Moose Jaw in the Crushed Can. It should be a tough game once again, but none the less, very exciting! Good Luck Boys!

Pats Get Fourth Straight "W"

The Regina Pats were able to get over .500 last night while earning their fourth straight win, coming by a score of 4-2 over the Prince George Cougars. Granted, the Prince George Cougars were without their 2009 Rookie of the Year in Brett Connolly (hip), and boast the worst record in the WHL, but hey, a win is a win.
Scoring for the Pats were: Strueby, Leffler, Weal and Mitchell.
While Jordan Eberle was credited with the assist on three of the four goals.
Scoring for the Cougars were: Jackson and Halliday

Garrett Mitchell was involved in quite the scrap last night. He was throwing overhand rights, uppercuts you name it, and the fight ended with him getting the take down and the ref's stopping the fight. The Prince George player got up and left a trail of blood to the penalty box to which the ref's chipped off; it looked oddly similar to the snowcones they serve at the games. HaHa

The Swift Current Broncos knocked off the Prince Albert Raiders today by a score of 2-1. The Pats seem to be in a three way battle with the Broncos and the Raiders as of late. The Raiders and Pats are now dead even in points with the Broncos 2 ahead and they now tie the Wheat Kings. So basically, it is still anyones season in the East Division with a lot of hockey still to be played!

It was a great night for the boys, who had a work out right after the game, as if they didn't get enough exercise already! The Pats take on the Warriors Friday night at the Brandt Centre, start time is 7:00pm. Good Luck Boys!

Pats On A (Dare I Say it) Win Streak!

*Knock on Wood* That's right, a WIN streak. The Regina Pats got their third straight victory tonight as they beat the Prince Albert Raiders by a score of 6-2. The Pats were coming off of their 4-3 shootout victory over the Blades, the number one team in the division. While the Raiders were coming off of 4-3 shootout loss also against the Blades. The Pats carried their momentum into the game tonight and Jordan Eberle opened up the scoring in the first. The Pats and Raiders went goal for goal during the better part of the second period, but the Regina boys put away three unanswered goals in the third to secure the 2 points. This gives the Pats their third win in as many home games, and more importantly pulls them within two points of the Broncos and Raiders in the East Division Standings.

Random Thought: I'm wondering if right-winger Garrett Mitchell secretly wants to be a goalie as he blocked yet another shot tonight sending him to the bench where he was assessed by the trainer. But, true to Garrett fashion, he went back into the game within a couple of minutes. Also, the Pats were able to get Zemlak's number tonight, who has been unreal as of late earning him the CHL goalie of the week, but the Pats found a way to get passed him.. 6 ways to be exact!

Scoring for the Raiders in the loss were: Herrod and Cedergren
Scoring for the Pats in the Win were: Jordan Eberle (2), Gustafsson, Hood, Delahey and Strueby

The Pats are back in action, yet again at home, Tuesday against the Prince George Cougars. Game action starts at 7:00pm, Good Luck Boys!

Unreal.

That was the only word that I could find to describe the Pats -come from behind- win over the Saskatoon Blades last night. The Pats were down 3-1 after the first period, and the score didn't change until the dying minutes of the third period in which Pats rookie Jason Gardiner played hero, not once but twice! His two goals forced the game into overtime, which was scoreless and the game then proceeded to the shootout. The Pats sent out Jordan Eberle to get things going, he shoots he scores! Saskatoon couldn't reply and surprisingly instead of the Pats usual choice of Jordan Weal for the second shooter, they went with Jason Gardiner. But hey, he deserved the chance to get that third goal as it would seem that he had the goalies number. However, his inexperience in the shootout showed. Was it just me or was he skating very slow combining it with very slow stick handling moves and then topping it off with not shooting the puck? Either way, it was a good attempt and Gardiner was able to laugh off the attempt as he skated back to the bench. Saskatoon as well as Leffler missed there attempts and Ketlo stayed strong in net, giving the Pats the win after stopping every shootout shot he faced.

I must say, I was damn near having a heart attack in those dying seconds of overtime, and it seemed to carry on into the shootout. It was a fantastic game to watch with great hockey action from both ends of the ice. It's always nice to see a team rally together and come from behind to steal the victory. Although, as I was watching the game I did make a few observations...

1. It's interesting that Strueby gets thrown from the game 30 seconds in on nearly an identical play that got him a concussion. Could it be a coinsidence that it was against the very team that did it to him? NO, No it couldn't. However, I do think that the call was a little steep, considering the player he hit came back into the game and Toomey only recieved a four minute penalty for his hit on Struebs. Oh that's right, he did get a one game suspension... after he scored 2 goals in the game including the winner!

2. I have no idea what Jordan Eberle has to do to draw a penalty. It seems as though the Ref's refuse to call anything on him. Sutter says he goes through about 3 sticks a game because guys are always slashing at him, but do they get called? NO! He was getting pushed down, checked from behind and tripped up like none other last night, yet still.. no call!

3. The loss for Saskatoon now puts them with 3 shootout losses on there record so far this season, two of which came from the Pats, Thank you very much.

4. The Pats are suppose to have the 4th best power play in the league, but definitly didn't prove it last night going 0-5 while giving up 2 shorthanded goals. Yuck.

5. To all those people that claim the two Jordans and Leffler are the only chances the Pats have at winning.. HA! I find this funny, considering it was the line of Mitchell-Hutt-Gardiner that did all the scoring tonight! What now?! Looks like the Pats scoring lines just got a little deeper!.. Uh Oh!

Finally, as you may have been able to tell, I highly enjoyed the game! Except for sitting behind this girl that clearly had some sort of form of Swine Flu and wouldn't stop caughing. But hey, at least I was behind her, the people I really feel sorry for are the ones sitting infront of her, Hello germs! Anyway, the Pats take on the Prince Albert Raiders Sunday night at the Brandt Centre at 6:00pm. Hopefully the Pats can carry there new found momentum and confidence and use it to crush the Raiders! Good luck boys!

Pats Dominant in Win Over Tigers

The Regina Pats took the first step towards a winning track tonight, as they beat the Medicine Hat Tigers by a score of 7-4. This game marked the return of pats overage forward Matt Strueby, who played on the top line and scored 2 goals.. not bad at all! The pats power play was once again one of the best in the league and went 3/5 with the man advantage. Other Pats scoring tonight were: Leffler(2), Cody Carlson (his first as a Pat), Garret Mitchell (his first of the season), and Jordan Eberle.

In all, it was a great hockey game, with lots of back and forth action. It seemed as though everytime the Pats scored the Tigers replied and tried to take the momentum away, but the Pats kept battling in it and scored 3 unanswered goals in the third to take the win and gain 2 points. The Pats next action is Friday against the Saskatoon Blades at the Brandt Centre. It wouldn't suprise me if there were a few MMA bouts in this one as it was the Blades forward Travis Toomey that hit Strueby from behind in the last game resulting in Struebs missing three games with a concussion. I'm sure the Pats would love to put another blemish on the Blades record; who, rumour has it, are trying to stack their team with some trades and try to make a run for the Memorial Cup. Some would say this is too early in the season, not to the Blades apparently! Either way, it should be a great hockey game! Action begins at 7:00pm Friday at the Brandt Centre! Good luck boys!

Oilers Can't Handle the Islanders

It wasn't a very good day in Oil Country, as the boys lost 3-1 to the New York Islanders. The Oilers offense has been struggling lately, they seem snake-bitten around the net, and combined with the lasting effects of the flu has made for some "unique" line combinations which don't seem to be treating the Oilers too well. Although..the Oilers got off to a great start as the captain, Ethan Moreau, netted the first goal of the game. However, they had no reply for the next 3 goals, all of which were scored by the Islanders. Tavares scored another goal for his National League team tonight, which puts him with 10 points in 13 games.. not bad at all. The Oilers next action is Thursday against the New York Rangers, hopefully a healthy roster with pleanty of offensive power is in the stars for that one!

Metz down to SJ

It was announced today that Brayden Metz has "asked" to be sent down to the Melville Millionaires. A friend of Metz told me earlier that he had told her that "he would be coming back"(to Melville), he said this over a month before the announcement, so perhaps his mind has been made up for a while now. On the one hand, I suppose Metz may have made a good decision, perhaps he knows himself well enough to know what he wants and how committed he is. On the bright side, he is also giving the opportunity for some other player to get a chance to wear blue and white that truely wants to. However, on the other, I hope that Metz realizes how many players, virtually everyone in the SJHL, MJHL or any other Junior A league that they, would give anything to have the option to play in the dub. Just think about Czibere or Perrault, some of his own teammates had to give up so much just to be sent down to where Metz is requesting to play.

You never know what the future will bring, but if Metz really wants to be a National Leaguer some day they I suppose he will have to find some other path to get him there. Perhaps the Junior A to college route is where he wants to go, but I hope he realizes exactly what he is giving up when he asked for this. I hope that everything works out for the best with Metzy and his new team, because if it doesn't... he has no one to blame but himself.