ONTARIO REIGN @ BAKERSFIELD CONDORS (ONT leads series, 1-0)
Condors must win to force a deciding Game 3 on Sunday at 5 p.m.
PUCK DROP: 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)
PROMOTION: Playoff rally towels for everyone in attendance, presented by Dignity Health, Mercy & Memorial Hospitals.
CALDER CUP PLAYOFF CENTRAL: Click here for all the various ticket options including single game tickets for tonight’s game
GAME 1 JERSEY AUCTION: Bid now on a game-worn blue Seth Griffith jersey by clicking here. Auction ends at 9 p.m. tonight.
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GAME PREVIEW presented by Rodriguez & Associates
The Condors face a must win Game 2 at home against Ontario.
THE SERIES
Ontario held serve at home on Wednesday in a 5-1 victory over the Condors. Lane Pederson scored a six-on-four, power-play goal for the Condors lone tally.
PEDEY POWERS THROUGH
Pederson’s goal was his fourth in the Calder Cup Playoffs. It is his second appearance in the postseason after notching four points (3g-1a) in nine games with Tucson in 2018.
WORKING OVERTIME
The Condors have won six consecutive overtime contests in the playoffs dating back to 2019. Bakersfield’s only overtime loss in the postseason was Game 1 of the 2019 Pacific Division Finals which went San Diego’s way in four overtimes.
TWO-HEADED MONSTER
Bakersfield is one of two teams (Hershey is the other) with two goaltenders inside the top-10 in league save percentage. Jack Campbell finished t-6th with a .918 while batterymate Olivier Rodrigue’s .916 was 10th in the regular season. It is the second straight season the Condors have had two goaltenders inside the top 10.
ELITE GOAL SCORERS
Raphael Lavoie finished the regular season with 28 goals, 10th in the AHL. On the other side, Samuel Fagemo finished second with 43 goals on the campaign.
SETTING IT UP
Seth Griffith was third in the AHL in assists with 48 while counterpart TJ Tynan led the league with 57 helpers. Griffith had an assist on Wednesday.
PLAYOFF PROWESS
The Condors have made the postseason in five straight seasons. Overall, the team is 4-3 in playoff series and is the only team in the Pacific Division best-of-3 to advance as a lower seed (2021: v San Diego and v Henderson).
DEFENSIVELY SOUND
Bakersfield was eighth in goals against during the regular season at 2.81 a contest while Ontario was sixth at 2.75 per game.
LOCKED DOWN LEADING AFTER TWO
The Condors are 27-1-3 when leading after two periods this season. Overall, the team is 38-6-4 when holding at least a share of the lead after two frames.
STRENGTH ON STRENGTH
Two of the top five power plays in the AHL go head-to-head in the series. Bakersfield was fifth at 20.6% while the Reign had the second best unit at 21.8%. The Condors struck on the power play Wednesday, while Ontario scored twice on the man advantage.
KILLING IT
The Condors finished the regular season killing off 68 of 74 opponent power plays, good for a 91.9% success record. They also scored twice shorthanded during that stretch.
LOOKING BACK
Ontario won five of the eight regular season matchups, but the Condors outscored the Reign 28-23 overall through the eight games. Only one contest, the most recent, went to overtime.
BIG ERN BRINGS EXPERIENCE
Adam Erne is one of two Condors to appear in the Calder Cup Finals (2017, Syracuse), with Campbell (2014, Texas) being the other.
THE BIG SWEDE TO PLAY A BIG ROLE
Philip Broberg had three assists in the season finale on Saturday. He had 15 points (3g-12a) in his last nine games of the season. On the year, he was t-3rd in points per game in the AHL by a d-man (.78) with at least 40 games played.
A DIFFERENT BIRD
Ontario’s season has been ended by Colorado in three consecutive playoff appearances. The Reign have one playoff series win in the last three years (2022, best-of-3, San Diego).
ON THE OTHER SIDE
The Reign’s 23 road wins were the second most in the division. Tyler Madden scored twice on Wednesday in the Game 1 win. Erik Portillo stopped 30 of 31 shots.
UP NEXT
IF the Condors win tonight, a Game 3 will be necessary tomorrow at 5 p.m. in Ontario. The winner of this series faces the winner of (4) Colorado and (5) Abbotsford, who will contest a game 3 Sunday.
