Oklahoma City Barons Providing Hope After Devastating Tornado

OKLAHOMA CITY -- How do you recover from something that destroys an entire community? It's a question that residents of Moore, Oklahoma are asking themselves after a F5 tornado ripped through their suburb on May 20. One of the things providing strength for the city is the Oklahoma City Barons, the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. With the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated from the NBA playoffs, the small hockey team is what the city will look to for hope. The Barons took a 2-1 series lead over the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL Western Conference Finals after a 4-1 victory in Game 3 on Wednesday. Oklahoma City will also have back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday night for Games 4 and 5, in which residents of the areas effected by the twister can get into for free with proof of residency.

After a F5 tornado ripped through nearby Moore, Oklahoma, the Oklahoma
City Barons are assisting the community both financially and spiritually.
Photo Courtesy: Yahoo!

Despite the series lead in the Western Conference Finals, the big news may be what the Barons are doing off of the ice for the community. Following the tornado, the AHL announced that they would donate all ticket revenue back to the community through the United Way's Oklahoma relief fund. Before Game 3 of the AHL Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, the Barons placed 26 candles on the ice, one for each life claimed from the devastating twister. T-Shirts will also be available for purchase to go towards relief efforts in the community for a minimum $10 donation.

Despite the Oklahoma City community coming together, other areas have also greatly contributed. One of these companies is Meijer stores, located in Grand Rapids, MI who presented the Oklahoma City Barons with $50,000 before Game 2 in Grand Rapids.

Apart from the financial help, this team has the entire Oklahoma City community behind it. Sports are a way to distract people from tragic events, especially during playoff time. It may not be any big team with stars such as Kevin Durant, but it's a ray of hope, something for residents to look forward to, and something for the residents to follow as the rebuilding efforts get under way.

The Bright Future of Petr Mrazek

21 year-old goaltender, Petr Mrazek has several people buzzing about his
bright future in a Red Wing uniform.
Photo Courtesy: Griffinshockey.com

After Jimmy Howard busted onto the Detroit hockey scene in the 2009-10 season, everybody knew the Red Wings had found their goaltender for the future. However, with the 141st pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft, the Red Wings chose 18 year-old goalie, Petr Mrazek out of the Czech Republic. At the time, who would think much of a fifth round pick making a large impact on the NHL's top franchise in just a few seasons? However, that's what is beginning to happen, slowly but surely.

The young phenom would start off his career in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye. Despite only starting three games, Mrazek posted a record of 2-1, and was quickly called up to the AHL to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Mrazek would immediately make an impact, putting up a tremendous 16-7-3 record with the Griffins. After a couple of seasons in Grand Rapids, on February 7, 2013, the Red Wings made the call to give Mrazek his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues on the road, in which he would stop 26 of 27 shots in a 5-1 victory. Mrazek would make one more start for the Red Wings, giving up three goals in a losing effort to the Minnesota Wild, and he would be sent back down to Grand Rapids.

Since then, Mrazek has been standing out, especially during the Calder Cup playoffs. The 21 year-old standout has already broken one of Jimmy Howard's Griffins playoff records with two shutouts. Also, Mrazek was one of the main pieces that helped the Griffins slip past the Houston Aeros in a best-of-five series, shutting out of the Aeros in the pivotal game five, and allowing a goal against average of just 2.20.

Following that shutout, the Griffins would advance to take on the Toronto Marlies in the Western Conference semifinals without home ice advantage. However, in game one, Mrazek would pick up where he left off against the Aeros, completing another shutout. During several home games throughout the series, former Red Wings goalie, Chris Osgood would be seen high above the ice in Van Andel Arena, cheering on Mrazek and muttering to himself on what the goaltender could improve on. As the games got more intense, Mrazek continued to come through, making Osgood proud, and leading the Griffins to the series victory over the Toronto Marlies in six games.

Next, the stage increased once again as they advanced to play the Oklahoma City Barons in the Calder Cup Western Conference Finals. During game one of the series, Mrazek would stop 27 of 28 shots faced, completing the 2-1 victory. Just one night later, Mrazek was back out in between the pipes, this time in a losing effort, allowing four goals on 37 shots in the 4-2 loss to even the series at one game a piece.


Moving forward, this young phenom will look to compete to become Jimmy Howard's full-time backup in Detroit. After watching Jimmy Howard in a Griffins uniform just a few seasons ago, fans in Grand Rapids are being spoiled by the elite goaltenders coming through Van Andel Arena. Watch for #34 to make his impact sooner rather than later in Joe Louis Arena.

Griffins Look to Advance to the Calder Cup Western Conference Finals

Van Andel Arena will be the host of Game 5 of the Western
Conference Semifinals, as the Griffins look to advance
tonight.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Following a 4-1 victory in Game Four of the AHL Western Conference Semifinal game against the Toronto Marlies, the Grand Rapids Griffins on the cusp of the advancing. Now up in the series three games to one, the Griffins can wrap up their spot in the Western Conference Finals tonight at Van Andel Arena. The winner of this series will go on to face the Oklahoma City Barons, affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. If the Griffins advance in this series against Toronto, they will receive home advantage during the next round.

Tonight, the Griffins will once again look to their goalie, Petr Mrazek to provide the stellar saves he has throughout the Calder Cup playoffs. Offensively, 22-year old Tomas Tatar will be leaned upon. Tatar is tied with the team lead in the playoffs with nine points, six of which are goals. Another young player to be leaned upon will be 21-year old Landon Ferraro, who is tied for the team lead with seven assists during the playoffs. Ferraro has been stellar on the offensive end for Grand Rapids, and also added the go-ahead goal last night in the third period to beat the Marlies.

Griffins head coach, Jeff Blashill has had the team ready to play in nearly every game during the Calder Cup playoffs, and will look to do the same tonight. One thing that really stood out to Blashill in Friday night's Game Four, was the puck pressure that his team placed on Toronto. "We had very good puck pressure, both up the ice and coming back, and when we do that, we're a good team," said Blashill, in just his second season as Griffins head coach. The Griffins tilted the ice in game four, outshooting the Marlies, 36 to 18, which would ultimately result in a 4-1 victory.

Matt Campbell Looking to Continue Success at Toledo

Toledo Head Coach, Matt Campbell will aim for a MAC
Championship this season, after a tremendous 9-4 season
last year.
Picture Courtesy: espn.com

After taking over in 2011 as an interim head coach, Toledo's Matt Campbell has been running the spread offense to perfection. Campbell took over for Tim Beckham, who left to become the head coach at the University of Illinois after going 21-16 in his three seasons at Toledo.

Following Beckham's decision to leave the Rockets, Campbell would become the interim head coach for the Military Bowl, against Air Force. After a 42-41 victory over the Falcons, Campbell would be named the 25th head coach in Toledo Rocket football history. At the age of 31, Campbell also became the youngest coach in the FBS division.

Despite the young age, Campbell quickly took the Mid-American Conference by storm with his dynamic spread offense which consisted of constant speed. After a tremendous 9-3 regular season, the Rockets were invited to take on Utah State in the Idaho Potato Bowl, in which they lost 41-15. Despite the bowl loss, the Toledo offense ranked well with Campbell at the helm, ranking 48th in passing, 35th in rushing, and 44th in points per game with 31.5.

After a successful first season, Campbell is looking to expand his offense and schemes through recruiting. The Rockets were able to sign 23 players in the 2013 recruiting class, including four-star wide receiver, Rodney Adams. Adams chose the Rockets over top programs such as Oklahoma, Florida, and Florida State. Other than Adams, Campbell and his staff were also able to sign eight three-star recruits.

Looking forward, the Rockets currently only have one 2014 commitment in inside linebacker, William White of Detroit Cass Technical High School. However, Campbell is knocking on the same doors as several large universities for big time recruits. Several top players are considering the Rockets as their college destination, inclduing 14 four-star recruits. This list includes Marshon Lattimore, a four-star athlete from Cleveland. Lattimore has offers from Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, and several others, but Toledo seems to be right in the race for the dynamic play maker.

This upcoming season, Toledo may possibly be the favorites to take home the MAC championship, with quarterback Terrance Owens returning. Owens was able to throw for 2714 yards last season, fitting in well with the upbeat tempo of the Rocket offense. Also returning will be leading rusher, David Fluellen, who rushed for 1498 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Fluellen was able to average 5.8 yards per carry during last year's campaign, and will only look to improve with more weapons around him.

Matt Campbell is one of the top upcoming coaches in the country, and his dynamic offense and immense recruiting skills have the Toledo Rockets ranked 24th in the nation in the first pre-season poll. With so many weapons coming back, the Rockets should be a force to be reckon with down the road, not only in the Mid-American Conference, but in all of the FBS.