Saturday, October 2, 2010

Introducing Russ Jericho


Fellow Oilers/Barons/Thunder fans,

My name is Russ Jericho. If my name seems familiar as of recently, that might be because I've been mentioned a few times here already, via Twitter and my graphic contributions here thus far (September & October schedule wallpapers).

Let me tell you a little bit about me, I'm one of the more "unusual" fans, so to speak... I'm a hockey fan, yes, but I'm born and raised in the United Kingdom. I'd go so far as to say I'm the biggest Oilers fan and probably the only Barons fan in the UK. Hockey's not the most talked about sport over here, as the UK is dominated by football, the sport most of you know as "soccer". I can't stand the sport, I can't stand this country much either, and if I had the money I'd get a one-way ticket out of this dump!

I've a bit of an outspoken nature... Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's bad... But if you want a straight answer, I'm the sort of person that gives it to you straight, no BS.

I'm also a married man with two wonderful children, my step-son, Kai (5 years) and my daughter, Alexa (7 1/2 months). They're my world, and if you don't hear from me for a while, it's because my job as a Dad is more important than anything else.

What my blogs will consist of are my general thoughts and feelings on the Oilers and the Barons organisations and the plugging of my artwork, all of which will be Oilers and Barons related media.

I'll also be the first person to jump to the defence of my hockey teams too, I'm allowed to criticise my team, but if some non-fan does, they better be prepared for war!

What I'm doing at this minute is complaining my ass off to EA Sports because they've totally F'ed up the Barons Home and Away jerseys in NHL 11. If you're a fan, and you have this game, you already know what I'm talking about! I also try to correct player equipment settings and have realistic audio in-game too. There's nothing worse than scoring an awesome goal with Ales Hemsky to hear "¡OlĂ©!" by the Bouncing Souls!

Expect to see some tidbits from me on Twitter and Oilers/Barons NHL 11 edits on http://petrpuck.blogspot.com/.

Well, that's me.

GO OILERS GO!
GO BARONS GO!

-Written by Russ Jericho-

Hunt Brings Thunder to Worcester

Stockton Thunder players Chris D'Alvise and Matt Jones were released from the AHL's Worcester Sharks training camp, per a press release on Worcester's site. The only remaining Thunder player still on the roster is left-winger, Garet Hunt.

Anyone who has seen the Thunder play knows who Garet Hunt is. His role on the team is to be a fighter, an enforcer. He's been voted Stockton Thunder's "Fan Favorite" the last two seasons. People love to watch him fight. Most of his opponents have a height advantage on Hunt, but he is no joke. His fists pummel his rival so fast they become a blur. He does have a lot of female fans swooning over his good looks-but my god, he's also got a mean game face. I sit near the penalty box and have had the pleasure of seeing Hunt give the "death stare" several times.

I don't want to say his role as the team's enforcer is diminishing, but this past '09-'10 season, I noticed that Hunt wasn't just doing a lot of fighting, he was all over the ice-blocking pucks, taking more shots on goal, and trying to create more scoring chances for his team.

Garet Hunt's stats from the '08-'09 season and the '09-'10 don't vary much. According to the statistics on the ECHL's website, in '08-'09 he played a total of 76 regular and playoff games, had 8 goals, 11 assists, and had 270 penalty minutes. In '09-'10 he played a total of 65 regular and playoff games, scored 8 goals, 9 assists, and had 223 penalty minutes.

These stats don't tell me much, it's watching Hunt active on the ice that I sense and see a lot of improvement with his speed and shooting. He works hard off the ice too. I've bumped into him at the gym several times and have seen his intense workouts. Watching his interviews and fights via Worcester's site, I see he's bulked up a lot more since last season.

I was happy to hear that he had been invited to the Worcester Sharks' training camp. He's been making an impression there. Although the Sharks lost the exhibition opener on 9/29/10 4-0 to the Providence Bruins, Garet Hunt had a short but spirited fight with Jack Christian.

Exhibition game number two on 10/01/10, versus the Stockton Thunder's previous AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons, went much more favorably. The final score was 2-1. And again, Hunt fought. But he also scored the game winning goal.

It's a fact of life that in the ECHL we see a lot of players come and go on a regular basis. Garet Hunt will be greatly missed if Worcester decides to keep him. But it's pretty awesome that he is getting a chance to show the AHL what an impact player he can be, and we wish him luck. He's a guy that's been working hard to move up and he deserves this chance.

-Written by Lyndall Mae-

Big Mac Looks Yummy And Hall, Khabibulin, Peckham Out Stink Each Other / A Game Recap


BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

I'll be honest and tell you that I never watched the game. I had a pre-planned (before schedule came out) poker game that I went to. I didn't do as well as I hoped. I doubled my money, but I wanted it all. lol

So for the player grades, please go the the Cult of Hockey (that's where we stole them from in the first place) as our good friend David Staples has them there. I'll provide a link.

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FINAL SCORE

EDMONTON OILERS - 1

CALGARY FLAMES - 5

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Hall-Horcoff-Eberle
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
Jones-O'Marra-Reddox
Big Mac-Vande Velde-Stortini

Whitney-Gilbert
Smid-Foster
Peckham-Vandermeer

Khabibulin
Dubnyk

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

LINK

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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.


PLEASE GO HERE TO READ THE PLAYER GRADES FOR THIS GAME

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EDMONTONOILERS.com RECAP

EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

None -
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POST GAME VIDEO

LINK

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are changing the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers. One reader at a time.

Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Friday, October 1, 2010

Oilers vs Flames LIVE TweetCast


Welcome to another fine TweetCast from OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com

GAME PREVIEW from Church of Eberle

Hall-Horcoff-Eberle
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky (I'm not sure which of these 2 lines are line 1)
Jones-O'Marra-Reddox
Big Mac-Vande Velde-Stortini

Whitney-Gilbert
Smid-Foster
Peckham-Vandermeer

Khabibulin(He gets the whole game)
Dubnyk




Stockton Thunder, Why?

I wanted to introduce myself to the Oilers Jambalaya readers so they could get a feel of where I'm coming from when I write about the Stockton Thunder. I still feel like a "newbie" fan. I got hooked on hockey a few years ago after watching Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco in net on television (during a free preview of Center Ice) and have been obsessed with the sport, and goalies, ever since. And because of my obsession, my boyfriend and some friends eventually took me to the Stockton Arena to see my first live hockey game.

If I remember correctly, the Idaho Steelheads were in town to play the Stockton Thunder. My friends and I sat in the upper level seats, right behind the goal where the Thunder shoots twice. The speed of the skaters, bodies smashing against glass, puck ricocheting around the rink, and the applause from the crowd was and still is intoxicating.

I attended a few more games after that and eventually became a season ticketholder. I've been a season ticketholder for three years and have been lucky to see some amazing talent on the ice. NHL and AHL games are exciting to watch live, but there's something different about ECHL games that I absolutely love.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what that is. These minor league teams are operating on tight budgets. There are players from all walks of life-fresh out of college, veterans that were drafted by an NHL team but never got to play in the big show, guys that were sent down from an AHL team for more training/experience, etc. These guys aren't making big bucks in the ECHL, but they play grittier and they play hard and for the love of the game-only a small percentage of people make it into the NHL and these guys are aware of that.

What I find really special about the Stockton Thunder is that despite the economy and the newness of the sport in this region (even with the San Jose Sharks nearby), this team gets a large, rowdy crowd night after night. Players love it here, and I hear great compliments about the arena and city from even the opponents' fans.

I hope I can do the Thunder some justice by being able to share information with the readers. Check back soon for more about Coach Thomas' new (and evolving) 2010-2011 Stockton Thunder.

Thanks for reading!

--Lyndall

Two Guys & Hockey Talk NHL News (CLICK PIC FOR LINK)

The Faithful Followers

Oilers Jambalaya is in no way, shape or form associated with the Edmonton Oilers or the Bakersfield Condors. This is a fans blog for fans. We happen to love those teams, so we write about them.