Oil Patch
Oil Kings Are 2012 WHL Champions
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/13/12 at 11:45 PM ET
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It was a long road and a hard fought battle, but with their 4-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in front of 12514 fans, the Edmonton Oil Kings have earned their first modern franchise trip to the Memorial Cup.
In this year’s Memorial Cup the WHL champions, the Oil Kings will face off against the QMJHL champions the Saint John Sea Dogs , the OHL champs the London Knights and the host team the Shawnigan Cataractes of the QMJHL.
Filed in: WHL, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Kristians Pelss | Oil Patch | Permalink
Oilers Need BPA Not Another GM
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/10/12 at 11:30 PM ET
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“In Stu we trust,” that has been the catch phrase in Edmonton every spring since the Oilers first drafted first overall. After another miserable season and with the Taylor or Tyler decision before the team, fans were torn. Some were on Team Taylor, some Team Tyler and all cheered for the Oilers to take a difference maker and turn the team around. Because no one seemed to have a clear idea of what would happen, nor who would be the better player everyone decided to keep their favourite in mind but trust that Oilers’ head of amateur scouting, Stu MacGregor and his team would pick the right player. But what about now, two years later?
Filed in: Edmonton Oilers | Oil Patch | Permalink
Tags: 2012+NHL+entry+draft,
WHL Finals All Knotted Up
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/09/12 at 10:15 AM ET
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With Tuesday night’s 4-3 OT Oil Kings win, the best of 7 WHL finals series with the Portland Winterhawks is evenly split 2 and 2. Each team has won one home game and one road game, telling you that this series could certainly go either way.
Ryan Dittrick of EdmontonOilers.com was in Portland for game 4 and reports:
“What can you say? What a hockey game to coach,” said Head Coach Derek Laxdal. “Both teams going at it back-and-forth like a heavyweight bout. It’s good to tie the series 2-2 instead of going back home down 3-1. Now it’s a three-game series. It’s been a great series so far and I don’t expect anything less Thursday night.
“We were one player short with the suspension (to Henrik Samuelsson), and I thought our guys gave it a gutsy effort right from the get go. Even though we let them back in the game at 3-3, I thought our guys hung in there and found some energy. It was an incredible game by both teams.”
“It wasn’t exactly the way we wanted to win the game, giving up a two-goal lead in the third period,” Rachinski added. “But we hung in there—they brought it pretty hard and we were able to weather the storm.
“[The puck] ended up hitting their D man and it popped right to me. I saw an opportunity to shoot. I didn’t even see it go in, but once I saw the reaction from the guys, it was a pretty special feeling.”
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Hearing the pleas of the families in Edmonton, the Oil Kings have reduced ticket prices for the upper bowl seats for game 5 in Rexall Place. You can purchase $20 tickets (plus $2.75 service fee) through Ticketmaster to see what may be the Oil Kings final home game.
Filed in: WHL, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings | Oil Patch | Permalink
Barons Battling
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/08/12 at 11:00 AM ET
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It’s been two back to back overtime victories, but with those victories the Barons have now taken a 2-1 series lead over the San Antonio Rampage. After dropping the first game 6-4 the Barons regrouped and settled into the knowledge that this would be a hard fought best of 7 series.
There may not have been any dancing by Rampage goaltender Jacob Markstom yet, but maybe he’s just waiting for his song.
Filed in: Edmonton Oilers, Anton Lander, Linus Omark, Magnus Pääjärvi, Oklahoma City Barons, Chris VandeVelde | Oil Patch | Permalink
LA Kings Entertain Both on and Off of the Ice
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/07/12 at 11:30 PM ET
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Life gets to be serious, too serious at times. And so we turn to things like sports to ease our worries and take our minds off of the mundane and stressful aspects of our day to day. Sometimes that is still not enough when we read about coaches getting fined for openly criticizing the league, or when your team is losing, or even when your favourite player is being suspended, is injured or is in need of a new contract. For times like these, the Los Angeles Kings social media department comes to the rescue.
Filed in: | Oil Patch | Permalink
One More Defenceman Isn’t a Solution
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/07/12 at 12:00 AM ET
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The summer to do list of the Edmonton Oilers must look a little something like this:
1. Improve defence
2. ???
3. Playoffs
Through the 2011-12 season the Oilers faced a number of challenges, most of those stemmed from a weak defensive core. Especially with Ryan Whitney lost somewhat long term to a nagging ankle injury, and then a knee injury and then an ankle injury again, the Oilers were forced to quicken the development of young and rookie defencemen like Jeff Petry and Theo Peckham. Going into the next season however, the Oilers will have a few choices.
Filed in: Edmonton Oilers | Oil Patch | Permalink
Matheson : “Typical MacTavish. Making the most of every situation, be it crisis or opportunity.”
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/06/12 at 08:45 PM ET
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Craig MacTavish may be best known outside of Edmonton for being the last NHL player who didn’t wear a helmet, or perhaps you do recognize the name as the coach that led the 2006 Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup finals. But no matter what you know, or think you know about MacT, Jim Matheson’s article in the Edmonton Journal will be sure to teach you a thing or two.
If you’re close to Craig MacTavish, you’ll have a nickname; it’s an honour he bestows out of affection and a dry, spontaneous sense of humour.
So when the former Edmonton Oilers player and coach was told he had a cancer that starts in the lymphocytes, white blood cells that form part of the body’s immune system, he used an acronym to nickname that, too.
Known as MacT to fans and Mac to his friends, he repeats the name non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, then slowly pronounces the first letter of each word.
“I am back in the NHL,” MacTavish, 53, says before breaking into that familiar belly laugh.
He isn’t back in the National Hockey League, but he’s only a skate blade away.
Filed in: AHL, Chicago Wolves, Craig MacTavish, Edmonton Oilers, Ex-Oilers | Oil Patch | Permalink
OKC Barons Delight, But Only Very Few Fans
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/05/12 at 12:30 AM ET
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There may have been nothing that would attract sports fans to the Cox Convention Centre for the Oklahoma City Barons’ Thursday night playoff game against the San Anontio Rampage. Tickets were only $11 a piece, there were free t-shirts and 10oz beer was just $1. Even better, you could get 16oz for just a dollar more. Despite the entertainment value, Neal Livingston reports on Copper & Blue that a mere 2833 fans walked through the turnstile.
Filed in: Edmonton Oilers, Oklahoma City Barons | Oil Patch | Permalink
WHL Honours Oil Kings and Tyler Bunz
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/02/12 at 10:30 PM ET
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The WHL season is not quite finished, but most of the hardware has already been awarded. Wednesday afternoon the WHL held their awards luncheon in Calgary where the Edmonton Oil Kings and Oiler prospect Tyler Bunz all walked away happy. Bunz took home the WHL goaltender of the year award, the Oil Kings were named the scholastic team of the year and Oil Kings’ GM Bob Green was named WHL Executive of the Year the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy.
Filed in: Edmonton Oilers, Prospects, Tyler Bunz, WHL, Edmonton Oil Kings | Oil Patch | Permalink
Oilers Still Have Room For More Contracts
by Lisa McRitchie on 05/01/12 at 10:30 PM ET
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When it comes to the number of contracts the Oilers have, you have to know that there will be some changes. The current contracts roll over on June 30th, and the new contracts take affect July 1st. What this means is that Pelss’ contract doesn’t count until July 1st, and the same is true for the Tyler Bunz contract.
Filed in: Edmonton Oilers, Prospects, Olivier Roy | Oil Patch | Permalink
About Oil Patch
Lisa McRitchie is a fairly new writer, online at least, but makes up for inexperience with passion for the game of hockey and memories of Mrs. Leskiw’s English AP class; who knew they would pay off one day.
Oil Patch focuses on the Edmonton Oilers, the Edmonton Oil Kings, The Oklahoma City Barons and Team Canada Hockey with game coverage, news updates, speculation and interviews.
Although the Oilers have had a difficult past decade… or three, here at Oil Patch, the future looks bright.
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