Bakersfield Condors player ahead of their game on Friday December 20th at Mechanics Bank Arena (Condors/X)

By Madison Montez

BAKERSFIELD- In the first matchup between Bakersfield and San Jose this season, the Barracuda fall to the Condors 2-0 after two scoreless periods.

At 14:29 of the first, the Barracuda went on their first powerplay opportunity of the game when Matthew Savoie took a 2 minute tripping penalty against Justin Bailey. San Jose’s powerplay is ranked 1st in the league at 24.0% and Bakersfield’s penalty kill is ranked 7th at 81.7%. The top powerplay couldn’t satisfy. After 20 minutes of play, the Barracuda were outshot 13-6 due to multiple turnovers in their zone.

San Jose got their second powerplay opportunity of the night when Drake Caggiula took a 2 minute holding penalty against Lucas Vanroboys. The Barracuda were unsuccessful and went 0 for 2 on the powerplay while the Condors were now 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. Being outshot 13-6 in the first, the Barracuda turned it around outshooting the Condors 17-11.

Bakersfield opened up the scoring at 2:11 of the third after a scramble in front of the net. Matvey Petrov netting his 7th goal of the season assisted by Jayden Grubbe and Cameron Wright. After Thompson attempted to pass the puck to Guschin, the Condors turned it over which led to an Alex Kannok Leipert goal, unassisted at 16:00 of the third.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

• 1. Olivier Rodrigue
• 2. Matvey Petrov
• 3. Alex Kannok Leipert

The Barracuda will be back in action tomorrow hosting this Bakersfield Condors back at Tech CU Arena in San Jose. They will be looking to split the series.

Madison Montez covered the San Jose Barracuda and Bakersfield Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Fri Dec 20, 2024 in AHL action