Condors Season In Review, pt. I – on-ice accomplishments

CONDORSTOWN, Calif. – Although the playoffs were not in the cards for the 2011-12 Bakersfield Condors, there was also much to celebrate about the team, which featured league leaders in rookie scoring, shorthanded efforts and penalty minutes, three ECHL Player of the Week winners, and four players placed in the American Hockey League.

League Leaders:
Among league leaders, F Tyler Helfrich (pictured) finished tied for 6th in rookie scoring with 50 points, while F Robby Dee was 9th with 48 points. Dee also ranked 4th among first year players with 24 goals on the season, and became just the fifth rookie in team history to score at least 20 goals.

The Condors led the league with 13 shorthanded goals on the season as a team. Rookies again led the way for Bakersfield, as F Peter Boyd tied for the league lead with six shorthanded points (4g-2a). Boyd and fellow rookies, Dee and RW Scott Freeman, all tied for 3rd in the league in SHG with four. No rookie in the ECHL had more than three shorthanded goals.

Late addition LW Kyle Calder made an impact in his 27 games in Condorstown, scoring 12 goals and 23 points. His 23.1% shooting percentage ranked 4th in the ECHL.

The Condors were no strangers to the penalty box, either, ranking 3rd in the ECHL with 72 major penalties. Veteran F Hans Benson racked up 16 majors in 2011-12, 5th in the league. Meanwhile D Tyson Gimblett (pictured) finished tied for 2nd among rookies with 12 major penalties and led all rookies with 152 penalty minutes.

To the AHL:
Dee earned the first AHL opportunity of his career in January, with a two-game stint in Abbotsford with the Heat (in which he scored a goal). Rookie F Alex Hudson spent a month in the AHL with the Los Angeles Kings AHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs. G Matt Keetley got the call twice from the AHL, heading to Syracuse in one stint and Houston in another. Additionally, rookie G Scott Greenham saw two games of action with the Houston Aeros, and most recently has joined the Hershey Bears for their playoff push.

Honors:
Three Condors were awarded the Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week this past season as well, just one shy of the Condors single season record. Helfrich was honored from Dec. 26 – Jan. 1, F Evan Trupp (pictured) won the award for his efforts from Feb. 6 – 12, and Boyd claimed the honor for Mar. 12 – 18.

Coming up:
Condors Season in Review, pt. II – In the Community (Apr. 17)
Condors Season in Review, pt. III – Off the Ice & In the Stands (Apr. 24)

Get Tickets
Ticket plans for the 2012-13 season are on sale now. Any new ticket package purchased in the month of April will receive free tickets to the Gaslight Melodrama hit show “Go! Condors!” For more info, log on to www.bakersfieldcondors.com or call the office at 324-PUCK (7825). The Condors office is open all summer, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.