"Don't You Push Me Down" - OKC Barons' Second Attempt To Close Out Houston

Unable to close out the series against the Houston Aeros on Sunday night, the Oklahoma City Barons had another chance to do so on Tuesday night. On a night that the Thunder and Redhawks were both in town, as well as the first day of the city's annual Festival of the Arts, it was a full night in downtown Oklahoma City. Yann Danis was in net for the Barons, as Mike Brodeur was in net once again for Houston. As they have been all series, the lines stayed the same for Todd Nelson's team.

Barons lines:

Magnus Paajarvi-Josh Green-Teemu Hartikainen
Hunter Tremblay-Mark Arcobello-Tyler Pitlick
Philippe Cornet-Anton Lander-Ryan Keller
Antti Tyrvainen-Chris VandeVelde-Tanner House

Dan Ringwald-Bryan Helmer
Bryan Rodney-Colten Teubert
Dylan Yeo-Alex Plante

Scratches: Martin Marincin, Taylor Chorney, Tyler Bunz, Kirill Tulupov, Curtis Hamilton, Andrew Lord, Ryan Martindale, Kevin Montgomery, Triston Grant.

The Barons were thrown to the fire quick in Game 4, as Tremblay was whistled for a hooking call, following a breakaway chance by Pitlick that got away from him when the puck started to roll. The Barons killed the chance and quickly started to turn things their way. At 6:13, Arcobello picked up a puck from Pitlick and drove in on the right side on a 2-on-1 chance. Brodeur reacted for the pass that never came and Arcobello made it 1-0 Barons. Nick Palmieri was called for interference a couple minutes after, but the Barons' power play woes continued, and they were unable to convert. The period was drawing to a close, but the Barons' early faceoff troubles worked against them as the Aeros won a draw, and Nate Prosser was able to sneak the puck past Danis and tie it at 18:09. The Barons shots were held in check, but they outshot the Aeros 9-5 after one.

The Barons got a quick start in the 2nd period, as Teemu Hartikainen shot a puck from the right circle towards the net, and the puck was tipped by Josh Green in front and it dribbled past Brodeur to give the Barons back the lead, forty-five seconds into the period. The Barons were put right on the penalty kill on a Keller interference penalty that the team killed. Later, the Barons were once again hurt off the draw as Carson McMillan won a draw that went to Kris Foucault and he scored to tie it back up, 2-2 at 4:15. At 8:51, Pitlick had the puck behind the Houston net, drove towards the left side and handed the puck off to Yeo, who one-timed it and scored on Brodeur, putting the Barons back on top, 3-2. The Barons were put on the power play a few seconds later on a Steven Kampfer tripping penalty but couldn't convert. The Aeros were given a chance of their own on the power play as well, but were unsuccessful. Two periods of play in the book, the Barons led 3-2, and the shots count 17-10.

Twenty minutes from winning the series, the Barons got two power play chances in the first eight minutes of the period, but it didn't come until after the second one that the Barons scored. Lander was given a birthday present as he picked up a giveaway and passed it to Cornet. Cornet hesitated a moment and put it past a sprawled out Brodeur, giving the Barons a cushion, 4-2 at 8:28 of the 3rd. Houston had a chance to tie it up on a Yeo hooking penalty, but failed to do so. Teubert was hit in the face with a shot, halfway through the period. He left the ice for the remainder of the game and was taken to a local hospital following. Pulling Brodeur with 2:45 left in the Aeros season, Green scored from his own blueline and put it away for the Barons 5-2.

The win marks the first series win in franchise history for the Barons. Outshot 11-10 in the 3rd, it was the first time all series that the Aeros outshot the Barons in a single period. The Barons get a brak befor the second round as they can face anyone of Milwukee, Abbotsford, and San Antonio. The Barons will use the chance to rest up and heal in minor injuries they have.