OKC Barons Ready For 3 Games In 3 Days

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Barons split a home-and-home series with San Antonio in their only action last week. David LeNeveu made 22 saves on Friday at the Cox Center in OKC’s second 1-0 win this season. The other 1-0 victory was against Charlotte at the Cox Center Nov. 11. In the Barons-Rampage rematch Saturday at the AT&T Center, San Antonio never trailed in edging the Barons 2-1.

THE WEEK AHEAD

OKC plays its second and final field trip matinee of the season on Thursday at Houston to begin a stretch of three games in three days. Opening faceoff is at 11am in the third of eight matchups with the Aeros. The Barons blanked the Aeros 2-0 behind goalie Yann Danis on Oct. 16 at the Cox Center and followed with a 5-4 shootout win at Houston Oct. 29, also with Danis in net. The Barons won their home field trip game against Toronto 3-1 on Nov. 8.

SWEET SIXTEEN

OKC begins the week with 16 wins, sharing the league high with Abbotsford, which has played two more games. The Barons’ 33 standing points match West Division rival Abbotsford for not only the top spot in the division, but the overall AHL lead. Two of the other division leaders, Charlotte and St. John’s, have the second highest point total at 32. OKC’s .717 standing point percentage is second in the league behind the .727 mark for St. John’s. 

CORNET STILL LEADS

Despite being kept off the scoresheet by San Antonio this past weekend, left winger Philippe Cornet remains the AHL’s leading goal scorer with 15 through Sunday’s games. With teammate Ryan Keller, Cornet shares the league lead with four game-winning goals.  He continues to top the AHL in shooting percentage at 39.5 (15 goals on 38 shots).

NOT CAUGHT SHORT

Rookie Hunter Tremblay maintains the league lead through Sunday’s games with 3 shorthanded goals. Three of Tremblay’s four goals this season have been shorties, including each of his last three.

NINE WIN NOVEMBER

The Barons wrapped up November with a 9-3-0-0 record, matching January of last season (9-4-1-1) as the winningest month in franchise history. Gilbert Brule was the club’s top scorer in November with 6 goals and 6 assists. Philippe Cornet was next with 10 points on 8 goals and 2 assists.

PLUS PLANTE

Alex Plante enters this week in a multiple-way tie for third in the AHL with a +12 rating. In his 11 November games, Plante was +13, the highest rating in the league for the month. 

NETMINDER NOTES

In his last 4 starts beginning with a win over Abbotsford Nov. 18, David LeNeveu is 3-1-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage. In that time, LeNeveu has stopped 98 of 102 shots and put together a 3-game winning streak until the 2-1 loss at San Antonio on Saturday.  LeNeveu played in the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic at Grand Rapids while a member of the Springfield Falcons. The Barons’ other goalie, Yann Danis, was co-MVP of the 2006 Classic (with fellow goaltender Wade Flaherty) at Winnipeg. This season’s AHL All-Star Classic is Jan. 29-30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., with the game itself on Jan. 30.

UPCOMING GAMES

Thu December 08 at Houston –11am CT

Fri December 09 vs Peoria – 7pm CT

Sat December 10 at Texas – 7pm CT

NHL AFFILIATES

Oklahoma City Barons – Edmonton Oilers

Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues)

Texas Stars (Dallas Stars)

OUR BARONS AT A GLANCE

Record: 16-6-0-1, 33 points

Standing: T-1st, West Division

Cal Bears, Texas Longhorns Set For Holiday Bowl

The University of California Golden Bears and University of Texas Longhorns have accepted invitations to play in the 34^th annual Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl, 2011 President Chuck Wasker announced today.  The game kicks off at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 28^th at Qualcomm Stadium. 

The 2011 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl will mark the fifth meeting of the two teams.  Texas has come out on top in each of the four contests.  The two most recently squared off in 1970.  Texas won the game at home, 56-15. 

“We feel so fortunate to have secured two of America’s most storied college football programs for this year’s game,” said Wasker.  “We cannot wait to roll out the red carpet for these two teams and their throngs of fans.  It will be quite a show at Qualcomm Stadium on December 28^th.”

Coach Jeff Tedford brings his Cal Bears to San Diego with a 7-5 overall record, 4-5 in the Pac-12.  This will mark the team’s third appearance in the bowl game, having split the first two.  Most recently, they defeated Texas A&M 45-10 in 2006.  In the 2004 game they fell to Texas Tech, 45-31. 

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to play in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl,” said Tedford. “They do a great job of putting on a first-class event both for our players and fans. We look forward to playing a university with a great tradition such as Texas.”

Cal’s offensive unit showed tremendous improvement in 2011, increasing its total production from 334.00 yards per game and a No. 90 national ranking in 2010 to 418.67 yards per game and a No. 37 national showing this season. The passing game led the way for the improvement, moving in the national rankings from No. 94 (175.08) to No. 38 (251.50 ypg). Much of the damage on offense was done by Keenan Allen, a first-team All-Pac-12 choice that is second in the conference in receptions (7.42) and third in receiving yards (105.08) per game. He is also second on Cal’s all-time single-season lists in both receptions (89) and receiving yards (1,261), while adding a team-high six touchdown catches.

Cal featured the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year in Mychal Kendricks. The linebacker led a defense that paced the Pac-12 in pass defense (209.08 ypg, No. 43 NCAA) and tackles for loss (7.67 tflpg, No. 5 NCAA), while ranking second in total defense (339.42 ypg, No. 26 NCAA).  Kendricks is tied for third in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss per game (1.08 tflpg) and fourth in tackles (8.00 tpg), while leading the team in both with totals of a career-high 96 tackles and 13.0 tackles for loss. He also co-leads the squad with a pair of interceptions that he has returned for a team-high 62 yards, while adding 3.0 sacks (team-high -30 yards), two pass breakups and two fumble recoveries that he has returned for a team-high 33 yards.

Texas enters the game with a 7-5 overall record, 4-5 in the Big 12.  Coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns are making their fifth trip to San Diego for the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl.  They are 2-2 in the previous four games, most recently beating Arizona State 52-34 in 2007.

"I'm really looking forward to playing in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl and getting out to San Diego once again,” said Brown. “The RedCoats do such a wonderful job of making it a special week with great hospitality, fun events and topping it off with a terrific game experience. The city of San Diego is not only an ideal location, but it really embraces the teams and is a great host."

Texas enters the game as the Big 12 leader in total defense (315.3 ypg/14th NCAA) and rushing defense (103.7 ypg/11th NCAA). The Longhorns also rank second in the Big 12 in pass efficiency defense (111.88 rating/14th NCAA). Led by a trio of senior starters in linebackers Emmanuel Acho (120 tackles/18 TFL) and Keenan Robinson (92 tackles/8 TFL) along with safety Blake Gideon (77 tackles/two interceptions), Texas has posted its defensive success despite facing three (Baylor 2nd; Oklahoma State, 3rd; Oklahoma, 4th) of the nation's top four (and six of the top 15 – Texas A&M, 7th; Missouri, 12th; Texas Tech, 14th) ranked teams in total offense.

The Longhorns offense is led by a ground attack that averages 210.4 yards per game and ranks 19th nationally. Texas is averaging 404 yards of offense and nearly 30 points per game. Although they've been limited with injuries over the last few weeks, true freshman running backs Malcolm Brown (707 yards and 5 TDs) and Joe Bergeron (454 yards and 5 TDs) are expected back at full speed for the Holiday Bowl. They combined to produce 1,161 yards, 10 TDs and four 100-yard rushing games in their first season at Texas. With a young QB duo of sophomore Case McCoy and true freshman David Ash taking the snaps, the Longhorns passing attack has been led by another true freshman, Jaxon Shipley. Shipley missed three games with a knee injury but leads the team with 40 catches for 593 yards and three TDs and is coming off of a four-catches for 121 yards at Baylor.

"It's always an exciting game and playing Cal will be a fun challenge for us,” Brown continued. “Jeff Tedford is a great friend who is a tremendous football coach. He's the winningest coach in Cal history, so he's had the Bears playing at a consistently high level for a long time, and we look forward to playing them."

Tickets for the 2011 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000, or by visiting BridgepointEducationHolidayBowl.com.

LA Tech To Play TCU In Poinsettia Bowl

The TCU Horned Frogs accepted an invitation to play the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the seventh annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, 2011 President Chuck Wasker announced today.  The football game will be played Wednesday, December 21^st at 5 p.m. (PST) at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. 

“We are excited to pit two conference champions against one another in this year’s bowl game,” said Wasker.  “We expect these two teams will put on quite a show!”

TCU finished the regular season 10-2 overall and 7-0 in the Mountain West.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to play in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl,” said TCU head coach Gary Patterson.  “Our players have had an unbelievable experience in our past trips to the game. The bowl committee and the redcoats are outstanding with their hospitality. Bowl games are a great reward for our players. We are looking forward to making the trip to San Diego.

"We have a lot of respect for Louisiana Tech and coach Sonny Dykes. They're conference champions and have had an outstanding season with some very impressive wins. They've gone on the road and beat an SEC team. They are very skilled on both sides of the ball."

This year’s game will mark the Horned Frogs third appearance in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.  They defeated Northern Illinois 37-7 in 2006 and beat then undefeated Boise State 17-16 in 2008.

TCU ranks among the national leaders in total offense with its average of 443.9 yards per game. The Horned Frogs have scored at least 27 points in each game this season while reaching the 31-point mark in 11 of 12 contests. Sophomore quarterback Casey Pachall, who ranks in seventh nationally in passing efficiency, is on pace for several TCU single-season passing records. He has completed 67.8 percent of his attempts with 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Fellow sophomore Josh Boyce has 56 receptions for 932 yards, leaving him just 68 yards shy of becoming just the second 1,000-yard receiver in TCU history. Waymon James (824 yards), Matthew Tucker (684 yards) and Ed Wesley (649 yards) lead a potent TCU ground attack.

2011 Rose Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player Tank Carder headlines TCU's defense. Carder has 66 tackles, including 4 1/2 for loss. He has returned both his interceptions for touchdowns. Sophomore defensive end Stansly Maponga tops the Horned Frogs in tackles for loss (12), sacks (8 1/2), forced fumbles (5) and fumble recoveries (2). Linebacker Kenny Cain is TCU's leading tackler with 67 stops. TCU has led the nation in total defense five times in the last 11 seasons. 

This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

The 2010 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl featured a 35-14 San Diego State Aztecs victory over the Navy Midshipmen.

Tickets for the game can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000, or by visiting PoinsettiaBowl.com.