by Charlie O. Mallonee

West Sacramento – We now know how to get it to rain in California. Just plan an outdoor professional hockey match and wait for the rain to fall.

The Stockton Heat and the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) were scheduled to play an outdoor hockey game at Raley Field in West Sacramento on Friday night. Mother Nature had other plans. The skies opened up and brought much needed rain to the Capital City.

The good news was it rained. The bad news is the rain made it impossible to skate on the outdoor ice without compromising the safety of the players. The game was postponed until Saturday afternoon.

The weather was much more cooperative on Saturday and hockey was played outdoors in front of 9,357 fans. The large attendance would have made the game a success but a close game made the event even better.

The Heat defeated the Condors 3-2 in the outdoor affair.

Bakersfield took the lead on first period goal. Stockton came back and tied the game in the second period on a goal by forward Derek Grant. The teams headed to the final period tied 1-1. The Heat struck for two more goals in the third period. Defenseman Oliver Kylington put one through the 5-hole at 7:26 and forward Drew Shore scored an unassisted goal at the 10:59 mark.

Kyle Platzer scored a late goal for the Condors but it was too little too late. The Heat prevailed and won the game 3 goals to 2.

Many are wondering if this game might have been a market test to see how Sacramento might support professional hockey. There has been speculation that the AHL would like to expand on the West Coast and Sacramento will have a new arena available in October 2016.

Speculation aside, over 9,000 fans witnessed an great show on the ice, outdoors on Saturday night.