Barons shutout Rampage in front of intimate crowd

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla – Cold, quiet and empty was the scene in Oklahoma City Wednesday morning after a vicious Winter storm brought snow, ice, bitter cold and nasty winds.   Somehow though, 418 people braved the conditions to see their hometown Barons shutout the visiting San Antonio Rampage at the Cox Convention Center by a score of 2-0.
 
The game with a morning start was pegged as a field trip day for area schools with upwards of 5,000 students expected to attend.   But with school called off due to the worsening conditions, very few children or fans for that matter saw the defensive masterpiece.
 
Barons veteran goaltender Martin Gerber was everything but the cheese his homeland is known for as he had no holes in his game.   The Swiss netminder was stellar the full sixty minutes posting his fourth shutout of the season, the second against San Antonio.   He trails three other goaltenders for the AHL lead in shutouts.
 
While it was largely a defensive battle, there was some scoring.   Midway through the first period, Alexandre Giroux lit the Oklahoma City side of the scoreboard with a well-placed shot that beat Rampage netminder Matt Climie from high in the slot.   It put Giroux just one behind the AHL goal scoring lead held by Portland Pirate right wing Mark Mancari with 28 goals.
 
Both teams battled with end to end action and solid body-checking in the corners, but the action never resulted in more than one goal.   Oklahoma City finished the first period with a 12-8 lead in shots and 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.
 
The second period began right where the first period left off with more crisp passing and heavy checking.   Most stoppages in play where met with players shoving and yelling at each other with Rampage right win J.D. Watt trying to desperately goad any Oklahoma City player he could in hopes of providing a spar to San Antonio’s stagnant offense.   He had no such luck.
 
While the Rampage had chances through the period, Gerber kept the Barons in the game with point blank saves, one after the other.   With a little over six and a half minutes to go, a scramble ensued in front of the San Antonio net.   When the puck squirted out, Oklahoma City centerman Chris Vandevelde sent a 15-foot shot past Climie’s glove side to make it a 2-0 lead for the Barons.
 
San Antonio’s best chance to break the shutout occurred with three minutes to go while shorthanded.   Rampage centerman Bracken Kearns missed a wide open net as Gerber was unaware the puck was loose to his left.   He thought it was underneath him and with the missed chance, Gerber’s shutout was still intact.   The period ended with the shots favoring Oklahoma City 25-20 and the resulting 2-0 lead from their good chances and timely moments.
  The Rampage intensified their efforts and sent waves of shooters out to crack the goose egg on their side of the scoreboard.   As San Antonio buzzed the crease, Gerber became frustrated and took a slashing penalty as Rampage left wing Ryan Hollweg was on the receiving end of a chop.   Perhaps San Antonio had gotten under Gerber’s skin enough to get back into the game.
 
Forty-five second into the penalty, San Antonio unleashed a series of shots from Mathieu Beaudin, Ned Lukacevic, Brett MacLean and Alexandre Picard.   Gerber turned them all aside and it seemed at this point the Rampage would not be able to solve the veteran.
 
Midway through the final period, Gerber face a tricky drive that seemed to fool him.   Referee Ryan Hersey lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle, but it didn’t take long to realize the puck had squirted through Gerber’s legs and about a foot behind him.   The loose puck wouldn’t go any further as it was picked up for the ensuing face-off, another chance denied for the Rampage.
 
Oklahoma City seemed to lay back into a defensive shell for the final ten minutes with several golden chances for San Antonio to score, particularly in the final thirty seconds.   Although the Rampage gained the edge in shots for the period 13-4 and 33-29 in the game, the mark that really mattered was the 2-0 count in goal for Oklahoma City.
 
 
The victory improved the Barons record to 28-19-2-5 and 63 points, just one behind San Antonio who fell to 31-19-2-0.   The AHL West Division is stacked tight with the top seven teams within six points of each other.
 
After the game, the Barons, seeing that after sixty minutes of play and the low turnout that most every fan ended up knowing each other on a first name basis (kidding), invited everyone in attendance to pose for a group photo. Special thanks to Steve Christy for the images of Wednesday’s game.
 
Contact Dennis.Morrell@prohockeynews.com