Red-hot Condors have won 8 of their last 9 games, return home this weekend

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Condors sweep Idaho on the road, win three games last week
Conclude road trip in Ontario before hosting the Steelheads this weekend


Bakersfield, Calif. – The Bakersfield Condors completed the week with a 3-1-0-0 record, including back-to-back road wins in Idaho. The Condors are now 16-14-1-0 this season and are second in the Pacific Division, four points out first place, which is held by Las Vegas.

THIS WEEK (ALL TIMES PACIFIC):

Wednesday, Jan. 5 @ Ontario (7 p.m.)

Friday, Jan. 7 vs. Idaho (7 p.m.)

Saturday, Jan. 8 vs. Idaho (7 p.m.)

WEEK IN REVIEW (Home team in CAPS):

Monday, Dec. 27

CONDORS 4 vs. Stockton 3, OT

Attn: 5,338

The Condors fell behind early in the first period, when LW Bretton Cameron scored just 2:35 into the game. RW Stephane Goulet answered for Bakersfield, just under seven minutes later, and the two clubs carried the 1-1 tie into the first intermission. Stockton scored two unanswered second period goals from LW Jesse Gimblett and C Chris Lawrence, and held that 3-1 lead until the later stages of the third period. LW J.D. Corbin scored his first goal of the season to bring the Condors back to just a one goal deficit. Bakersfield evened the score at 3-3 with just 1:38 left when Slava Trukhno capitalized on the power play, and F Andrew Ianiero completed the comeback by knocking home his seventh goal of the year 47 seconds into overtime, as the Condors won 4-3.

Wednesday, Dec. 29
UTAH 4 vs. Condors 1

Bakersfield got the game started on the right foot when F Jean-Marc Beaudoin scored his third goal of the season 4:55 into the game to put Bakersfield up 1-0. The Condors held the lead until F Tim Crowder picked off a clearing attempt by G Josh Tordjman and evened the game at one apiece with less than three minutes left in the first period. Utah picked up two second period markers from F Tom May and D Matt Sorteberg, both on the power play, and a third period goal from F Brent Gauvreau to knock off the Condors 4-1. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Condors.

Friday, Dec. 31

Condors 2 @ IDAHO 1, SO

A back-and-forth remained scoreless until 9:22 of the second period. LW Cody Purves pounded home a rebound to give Idaho a 1-0 lead. The Condors answered right back, as F Andrew Ianiero scored his second goal of the week, and eighth of the season, less than three minutes later to tie it up. The Steelheads had a chance to take a lead in third, but G Josh Tordjman denied a penalty shot from Purves with 8:45 left in the third period to help force overtime, and eventually a shootout. F Michael Gergen and RW Stephane Goulet both scored in the shootout, and Tordjman stopped 4 of 5 shots as the Condors claimed the 2-1 victory.

Saturday, Jan. 1

Condors 3 vs. IDAHO 1

The Condors brought their winning ways into the New Year and staked out a 2-0 in the first 5:23 of the game. F Bobby Robins finished off a beautiful play with a one-timer past G Mike Zacharias, and LW J.D. Corbin followed that with a wrist shot just inside the left post to give Bakersfield an early 2-0 lead. It held until the 4:29 mark of the second stanza, when LW Matt Tassone cut the Condors lead in half. The score remained 2-1 until LW Brad Snetsinger picked up his first goal as Condor, and his 11th of the year, just 52 seconds into the third frame. G Josh Tordjman and the Condors kept Idaho off the board as Bakersfield earned a sweep over Idaho with a 3-1 win.

PLAYER AND TEAM NOTES:

  • G Josh Tordjman has now won seven of his last eight starts, and has given up one or fewer goals in five of his last seven games.
  • Tordjman has surrended just 14 goals in the 8 games he has started since Dec. 10. His save percentage is .944 over that span.
  • Bakersfield’s sweep against Idaho this past weekend was the first time since 1998-99 that the Condors have swept the Steelheads on the road.
  • Bakersfield allowed their fourth penalty shot of the year on Friday night in Idaho. Teams have failed to convert against the Condors on three of the four attempts, with the lone goal coming on Dec. 18 in Ontario.
  • Since the Condors returned from the road trip to Toledo and Cincinnati, they are 8-1-0 and have moved from a third-place tie with Ontario to trailing first place Las Vegas by just 4 points in the Pacific Division.
  • The Condors are 2nd in the ECHL with 651 PIM. They trail Victoria, who has 731.
  • The Condors are 5th in the ECHL in average attendance, with an average of 4,801 fans per game.
  • The Condors have two players currently on the injured reserve. C Rylan Kaip continues to stay on the 3-day IR, and is eligible to return as soon as he is healthy. D Joey Ryan is on the 21-day IR, and is eligible to return Jan. 10. RW Erick Lizon remains on a PTO with the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League.

ON THE DOCKET:

Bakersfield concludes their road trip on Wednesday, when they head to Ontario to battle with the Reign. The game starts at 7 p.m.

They are back home this weekend to host the Idaho Steelheads on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Jan. 7, the Condors host $1 Hot Dog Night and Hot Dog Eating Champion Takeru Kobayashi, sponsored by ABC23 and Kern 1180 AM. Fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs all night long and enjoy watching world renowned hot dog eating champ Takeru Kobayashi do what he does best during the intermission.

The following night, Saturday, Jan. 8, is iPad Giveaway night, courtesy of 29 Eyewitness News, 106.1 KRAB Radio, and Mercy and Memorial Hospitals. Everyone at the game is eligible to register to win one of 10 Apple iPads to be given away at the game.

All three games this week can be heard on online at foxsports970am.com, and on your smartphone through the iheartradio app. You can also watch the games streaming live through America One. Saturday’s game will also be aired on Fox Sports 970 AM, and can also be seen live on Bright House Networks Cable Channel 21.

CONDORS LEAGUE LEADERS:

RW Pascal Morency – .333 shooting percentage (1st, ECHL)

RW Erick Lizon – 117 PIM (2nd, ECHL)

RW Erick Lizon – 9 major penalties (t-2nd, ECHL)

LW Brad Snetsinger – 127 Shots (4th, ECHL)

G Josh Tordjman – 669 Saves (3rd, ECHL)

G Josh Tordjman – 12 Wins (5th, ECHL)

G Josh Tordjman – .921 Save % (t-4th, ECHL)

G Josh Tordjman – 1361 minutes played (5th, ECHL)

G Josh Tordjman – 2 Shutouts (t-2nd, ECHL)

F Michael Gergen – 3 Shootout goals (1st, ECHL)

Condors – 651 PIM (2nd, ECHL)

Condors – 35 major penalties (3rd, ECHL)

CONDORS LEADERS:

Points – LW Brad Snetsinger (28)

Goals – RW Stephane Goulet, (12)

Assists –LW Brad Snetsinger (17)

PIM – RW Erick Lizon (117)

Plus/Minus – D Evan Stoflet (+10)

GAA – G Josh Tordjman (2.60)

Wins – G Josh Tordjman (12)

Save Percentage – G Josh Tordjman (.921)

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 $31! Call the Condors office at 324-PUCK (7825) or go online to www.bakersfieldcondors.com for more information.

Tickets for the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic, to be held in Bakersfield on Jan. 26, 2011, are on sale now. Visit www.echlallstarclassic.com for further details on the event. Call the Condors office at 324-PUCK(7825) or go online to www.bakersfieldcondors.com for more information.