Condors Weekly - Playoff-bound Condors prepare for Victoria
Bakersfield wins seven of their last nine to secure the 7th seed
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Bakersfield Condors picked up a 6-3 triumph in the regular season finale Friday night in Las Vegas to lock up their fourth straight Kelly Cup Playoff berth. The Condors finished 7-2-0 down the stretch to overtake both Stockton and Phoenix in the National Conference standings.
The Condors finished 26-37-9 on the season with 61 points; third in the Pacific Division and seventh in the conference. They travel to Victoria, British Columbia this week to open their best-of-seven series against the Salmon Kings, who claimed the West Division title.
THIS WEEK (ALL TIMES PACIFIC):
- Thursday, April 10 @ Victoria (7:05 p.m.)
- Saturday, April 12 @ Victoria (7:05 p.m.)
WEEK IN REVIEW (Home team in CAPS):
Thursday, April 4
PHOENIX 4 vs. Condors 1
LW Mark Derlago scored the lone Condors goal in Phoenix Thursday night, but the RoadRunners scored once in the first and twice in the second to pace a 4-1 win. G Yutaka Fukufuji stopped 25 of 29 shots in the loss, which snapped the Condors season-best five-game winning streak.
Friday, April 5
Condors 6 vs. LAS VEGAS 3
LW Mark Derlago recorded his third hat trick of the season, including two goals in the final period, to lead the Condors to a 6-3 win over the Wranglers in the regular season finale. RW Chris Di Ubaldo, F Tim Konsorada and D Jay Langager also lit the lamp for Bakersfield, who finished their series with Las Vegas 4-5-1, including four wins in the last six meetings. The win against Vegas clinched the 7th seed in the National Conference for Bakersfield.
DERLAGO WRAPS UP RECORD SEASON IN STYLE
Condors rookie LW Mark Derlago wrapped up a memorable season in impressive fashion, notching a goal in each of his last four games, including his third hat trick of the season on Friday - the first time a Condor has ever recorded three hat tricks in a single season. Though left off the ECHL All-Rookie Team, his 39 goals led all ECHL rookies and were third overall in the league, the highest ranking ever for a Condors player as well as the highest goal total in the Condors four-year ECHL history. Derlago, who also played four games in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose (2g-3a) in March, had the third-longest goal streak in the league this season, and tied a Condors record, with seven consecutive games scoring a goal (10 goals during the streak). He put home 31 goals in his last 35 games of the season.
PLAYER NOTES:
