Condors Weekly: Condors sweep opening weekend

Bakersfield, Calif. -The Condors commenced the 2011-12 season with a pair of wins, including a 3-1 triumph in front of nearly 7,000 fans in their home opener Saturday night. Bakersfield has staked themselves to a 2-0-0 record and an early lead atop the Pacific Division and Western Conference with the wins.

THIS WEEK (ALL TIMES PACIFIC):
Wednesday, Oct. 19 @ Utah (6:05 p.m.)
Friday, Oct. 21 @ Utah (6:05 p.m.)
Saturday, Oct. 22 @ Las Vegas (6:05 p.m.)

WEEK IN REVIEW (Home team in CAPS):
Friday, Oct. 14
Condors 5 vs. ONTARIO 4
The Condors held leads of 2-0 and 4-2, but Ontario came back to tie the game up in the third. F Michael Gergen deposited a tally on the power play with about five minutes left in regulation to give the Condors the lead back for good. LW Jesse Gimblett (1g-1a), LW Matt Marquardt (1g-1a) and F Casey Pierro-Zabotel (0g-2a) each had multi-point games in the winning effort. G Bryan Pitton made 32 saves for the win in net.

Saturday, Oct. 15
CONDORS 3 vs. Colorado 1
Attn: 6,788
RW Scott Freeman broke a 1-1 tie with a power play marker early in the third period, and the Condors went on to defeat the Colorado Eagles, 3-1 on Saturday night. An energetic crowd was also brought to their feet by goals from LW Jesse Gimblett, F Peter Boyd, 29 saves from G Matt Keetley and a Pacific Division Championship banner ceremony before the game.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“I’ve been on the phone all day between roller coaster rides.” – Head Coach Matt O’Dette, who continued to do team business while taking the team to Six Flags Magic Mountain during training camp. One of those phone calls landed F Peter Boyd for the Condors.

PLAYER AND TEAM NOTES:

• The Condors have won 12 straight regular season home games, dating back to last season when they won their final 11 to tie a team record. Bakersfield has more home wins than any team in the league over the previous two seasons.
• Head Coach Matt O’Dette picked up his first wins as a head coach over the weekend.
• F Peter Boyd and F Mike Kramer both recorded their first professional goals over the weekend.
• LW Jesse Gimblett had 1g-1a in both Friday and Saturday’s contests.
• The Condors penalty kill was successful on 15 of 16 opponent power plays in the two-game weekend set for a 93.8% efficiency.
• The Bakersfield Home Opener crowd of 6,788 was the 3rd largest crowd in the league over the weekend, out of 18 games played.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE: (practice times subject to change)
Monday, Oct. 17 – 8:30 a.m. practice, Bakersfield Ice Sports Center
12 p.m. Condors 14th annual Charity Golf Tournament, RiverLakes Golf Course
Tuesday, Oct. 18 – 10:45 a.m. depart for Utah
Wednesday, Oct. 19 – 6:05 p.m. game @ Utah
Thursday, Oct. 20 – TBA
Friday, Oct. 21 – 6:05 p.m. game @ Utah
Saturday, Oct. 22 – 7:05 p.m. game @ Las Vegas
Sunday, Oct. 23 – no practice
Monday, Oct. 24 – TBA

ON THE DOCKET:
The Condors take to the road this week for three games in four nights in two different cities. On Wednesday they open a two-game series in Utah against the Grizzlies, and wrap it up on Friday. Both games start at 6:05 p.m. (Pacific). After Friday’s game they travel to Las Vegas for their first meeting of the season against the Wranglers, at 7:05 p.m. from Orleans Arena.

All games, home and away, can be heard over the airwaves at Fox Sports Radio 970 AM, online at foxsports970am.com, and on your smartphone through the iheartradio app. You can also watch the games streaming live through America One.

CONDORS LEAGUE LEADERS:
Condors – 6,788 avg attendance (3rd, ECHL)
Condors – 2 wins (t-1st, ECHL)
LW Jesse Gimblett – 4 points (t-3rd, ECHL)
C Mathew Sisca – 3 points (t-6th, ECHL)
RW Scott Freeman – 3 points (t-6th, ECHL)
LW Jesse Gimblett – 2 goals (t-2nd, ECHL)
RW Scott Freeman – 2 goals (t-2nd, ECHL)
C Mathew Sisca – 3 assists (t-2nd, ECHL)
F Peter Boyd – 1 shorthanded goal (t-1st, ECHL)
F Michael Gergen – 1 game winning goal (t-1st, ECHL)
RW Scott Freeman – 1 game winning goal (t-1st, ECHL)
LW Jesse Gimblett – +3 (t-5th, ECHL)
D Erik Burgdoerfer – +3 (t-5th, ECHL)

CONDORS LEADERS:
Points: LW Jesse Gimblett, 4
Goals: RW Scott Freeman/LW Jesse Gimblett, 2
Assists: C Mathew Sisca, 3
PIM: D Erik Burgdoerfer, 6
+/-: D Erik Burgdoerfer/LW Jesse Gimblett, +3
GAA: G Matt Keetley, 1.00
Save %: G Matt Keetley, .967
Wins: G Matt Keetley/G Bryan Pitton, 1

GET TICKETS:
Individual tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster and the Rabobank Arena Box Office. Box Office hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Friday, and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, with extended hours on game and event days. You can also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or visit them online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket packages start at just $48! Call the Condors office at 324-PUCK (7825) or go online to www.bakersfieldcondors.com for more information.

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