Tag: Bakersfield Condors

San Jose Barracuda Podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After getting overtime win past Bakersfield Barracuda looking to take on feisty Heat Wednesday

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

On the San Jose Barracuda Podcast with Marko on Wednesday, Jan 17, 2018:

1) The San Jose Barracuda (17-15-0-2) Nick Desimone scored the game winning goal on Monday night as the Barracuda got a big win past the visiting Bakersfield Condors (16-15-6-0) 3-2 in overtime.

2) Condors goalie Laurent Brossoit (2-2-0) stopped Desimone’s shot, but Desimone got the rebound and shot it for the game-winner. This pretty much tells us about some of the close games the two teams play against each other.

3) How about Jacob Middleton’s pass to Emerson Clark for a goal at 2:01 in the first period?

4) In the second period, no scoring but plenty of action with the score tied 1-1 both goalies the Barracuda’s Antoine Bibeau (10-7-0) and Brossoit stopped all second period shots.

5) It’s the Stockton Heat at SAP Center on Wednesday night for Hockey Night in San Jose the Barracuda looking to get a home victory against a Heat team who gives them fits every time they visit.

Marko Ukalovic does the SJ Barracuda Podcasts each Wednesday and does all home and away games and Ana Kieu on away weekend Barracuda games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Nick DeSimone gets late goal in overtime to give Barracuda a 3-2 win over Condors

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Nick DeSimone scored the game-winning goal with five seconds left in overtime to give the San Jose Barracuda (17-15-0-2) a 3-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors (16-15-6-0) in a Monday matinee on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the SAP Center.

DeSimone was able to punch home his own rebound when his one-timer was initially stopped by Condors goalie Laurent Brossoit (2-2-0), but couldn’t freeze the puck as it trickled to the right of the crease and DeSimone didn’t waste his second chance.

“I kinda saw that he (Brossoit) didn’t know where the puck was,” said DeSimone on recounting his game winning goal. “I figured to just check behind him, and it was just sitting there. (I was) lucky enough to put it home.”

San Jose jumped out to a quick start drawing first blood as defenseman Jacob Middleton fired a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Emerson Clark at the right slot and he buried the puck past Condors backup goalie Laurent Brossoit (2-1-0) for his third goal of the season at the 2:01 mark of the first period. Adam Helewka would also pick up an assist on the play.

The Condors came back to tie up the game at the 6:12 mark of the first period when Patrick Russell was able to race past two Barracuda defensemen to the front of the net and tip in a shot past Antoine Bibeau (10-7-0) from Caleb Jones along the left boards. It was Russell’s seventh goal of the season.

The Barracuda had a chance to take the lead late in the first period when the No. 1 line of Danny O-Regan, Marcus Sorensen and Rudolfs Balcers put on a flurry of shots against Brossoit, only to come up empty-handed.

There was no scoring, but plenty of action in the second period. Thanks to some brilliant goaltending by both goalies, the score remained tied at 1 heading into the second intermission. Bibeau made a couple of point blank saves on separate shots by Ty Rattie and Iiro Pakarinen. Bibeau also came up with a huge save late in the second frame when Ryan Mantha created a turnover in the San Jose zone but Bibeau was able to glove his wrist shot. Brossoit was able to stone a Balcers point blank attempt right in front of the crease.

Jon Martin and Ryan Stanton got involved with some extracurricular activity in front of the Condors net after Brossoit froze the puck after a good scoring chance by the Barracuda. Martin received a double minor for roughing, but Bakersfield wasn’t able to take advantage on the power play.

Brad Malone broke the deadlock early in the third period with his 10th goal of the season. After taking a pass from Ryan Hamilton, he was able to dipsy-do his way to the front of the net and back handed a shot through the five-hole of Bibeau at the 4:40 mark.

Calvan Fitzgerald tied it back up after just coming onto the ice during a line change. O’Reagan found him with a wide-open pass as he skated down the middle of the ice where he was able to rifle in his third goal of the season past Brossoit a little over half way through the third period.

“It’s something we’ve been harpin on them to get up in the play,” said head coach Roy Sommer about his defensemen scoring goals as of late. “They gotta be apart of offense because we’re not scoring a lot up front.”

Bibeau earned the victory stopping 26 of 28 shots from the Condors. Brossoit took the defeat on 28 of 31 on the afternoon.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was able to keep Barracuda killer Josh Currie off the score sheet. Currie has scored 10 goals against the Cuda in his career. Both teams were both 0/1 on their only power play opportunity. The attendance of 5,218 was one of the biggest crowds of the season for the Barracuda.

UP NEXT: San Jose finishes up their four-game home stand when they take on the Stockton Heat on Wednesday evening at 7 pm PT at the SAP Center.

Barracuda get late goal to tie game, but lose to Condors 4-3 in a shootout

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda (12-11-0-2) showed a flare for the dramatics when Joakim Ryan tied the game with just eight seconds left in the 3rd period. While the Barracuda earned a point, it wasn’t enough as the Bakersfield Condors (11-12-3-0) won the game in the shootout 4-3 at Rabobank Arena Thursday night.

Ryan’s late heroics allowed San Jose to overcome Josh Currie’s first hat trick of the season. Currie, who can be officially called the “Cuda Killer,” gave the Condors a 3-2 lead with his third goal of the contest on the power play with 2:37 left in the third period. In 25 games against San Jose, Currie now has scored 10 goals vs. the Cuda.

Rudolfs Balcers continued his hot streak when he scored on a 5-on-3 power play goal with 1:06 left in the 1st period. Balcers was able to jam home a rebound past Condors goalie Nick Ellis (7-6-1) after an initial save off of Ryan’s shot from the point. Calvan Fitzgerald got the secondary assist. San Jose didn’t allow a shot on goal in the first period as they outshot Bakersfield 12-0.

In the second period, the Condors were able to get momentum off their 5-on-3 penalty kill that resulted in a shorthanded chance only to be turned away by Cuda goalie Troy Grosenick. It was the second consecutive start for the goaltender after returning from an injury.

Currie got the Condors on the board when his first goal of the night came early in the second period when he beat Grosenick (4-4-2) after getting the rebound off a Iiro Pakarinen shot and his backhander was able to sneak just past on the short side of the left post at the 2:06 mark.

Bakersfield’s Dillion Simpson was denied by Grosenick twice on consecutive shots, with the second one a sprawling save on a point blank chance rebound with five minutes left in the second period, keeping the score tied heading into the second intermission. The Condors outshot the Barracuda 17-4.

This would be the third time in four games this season the teams would entered the third period deadlocked. However it didn’t take Currie long to give the Condors the lead as he scored his second goal of the night after a bad turnover by Grosenick in his own zone led to Joey LeLeggia feeding a pass to Currie, who buried it past the Cuda goaltender.

San Jose evened the score when Alexander True scored his fifth goal of the season at the 7:18 mark by snapping a wrist shot past Ellis that was a result of a tic-tac-toe, bang-bang play from Manny Wiederer and Brandon Mashinter. Mashinter’s big hit along the board was the catalyst that created the scoring chance.

Currie completed the hat trick on the power play for his eighth goal of the season after San Jose was in the sin bin for delay of game. Grayson Downing and Caleb Jones assisted on what the Condors thought was the game winning goal with just under three minutes left.

The Cuda had a chance to end the game in overtime when they had a power play opportunity with 1:31 left in overtime, but were unable to cash in. Ty Rattie and LeLeggia scored in the shootout and Ellis stoned the two Cuda shots to earn the 4-3 victory. Both Ellis and Grosenick finished the night with 25 saves on 28 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1 for 5 on the power play while Baskersfield was 1 for 3. Adam Helewka got his 10th assist on the season on Ryan’s tying game at the end of the third period.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home Friday night to host Texas Stars at SAP Center at 7 pm. It will be the Cuda’s last game before the Christmas break.

Barracuda hold on late to pick up 3-2 win over Condors and split weekend series

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Barracuda (12-11-0-1) were almost haunted for a second straight game by a late rally from the Bakersfield Condors (10-12-3-0), but held on in the final seconds of the game for a 3-2 victory and earned a split in their back-to-back series at SAP Center on Sunday afternoon.

The Cuda got off to a strong start with an aggressive attack in the 1st period. Adam Helewka buried a penalty shot on Bakersfield goalie Nick Ellis (6-6-1) for his fourth goal of the season at the 8:24 mark. San Jose outshot Bakersfield 9-5 in the period. Their penalty kill was able to stymie three power play chances by Bakersfield keeping the Condors scoreless heading into the second period.

Rudolfs Balcers made the most of his opportunities in the second period when he scored the next two goals in a span of four minutes for San Jose. The first one, and fourth of the season, came when he was able to tip in a shot from Brandon Bolig at 3:23. His fifth goal of the season was scored when he able to cut back in the slot and snapped a shot past Ellis, going top shelf at 7:26. It was his team-leading 19th point of the season.

However the Cuda seemed to have relaxed on their 3-0 lead when 14 seconds later Condors right-winger Ty Rattie got his team on the board scoring his 10th goal of the season cutting the lead to 3-1.

In the third period, San Jose went into protect mode as they only had four shots on goal. Bakersfield continue to push back with 11 shots and provided some late game drama as they cut the lead to 3-2 with just eight seconds left in the game when left-winger Joey LaLeggia scored his fifth goal of the season. The Condors had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Josh Currie couldn’t find the back of the net with a final shot coming off a pass from Rattie, and the Barracuda survived to split the weekend set.

Barracuda goalie Troy Grosenick (4-4-1) earned the victory making 32 saves on 34 shots, while Ellis took the loss, making 22 saves on 25 shots.
NOTES: Barracuda captain John McCarthy had assists on both Balcers’ goals. Both teams were scoreless on the power play with San Jose going 0/3 and Bakersfield going 0/5. Attendance was 3,102.
UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to Bakersfield on Thursday night to take on the Condors at 6:30 pm PT.

Barracuda defeats Condors 2-1 for Coach Roy Sommer’s 700th career AHL win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Alexandra Evans

BAKERSFIELD–First things first, the San Jose Barracuda’s win over the Bakersfield Condors tonight marked their coach Roy Sommer’s 700th career win, the most wins of any coach in AHL history.

Roster update: Marcus Sorensen was called up to the Sharks yesterday. He exceeds all Barracuda players in points with 14, and ranks T-2nd in goals (5) and assists (9). Manuel Wiederer has also returned to the ice following a concussion. Also, defenseman Michael Brodzinski was moved to the forward position, playing right wing for the evening.

Both teams excelled defensively in the first period, though the Cuda could not manage to make it past the Condors’ defense and were, at one point, outshot 9-0. Forward Iiro Pakarinen, who was recently reassigned to the Condors from the Edmonton Oilers (their NHL affiliate), made a wrist shot over Cuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau’s to give the Condors a 1-0 lead on the power play at the 12:42. Defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald tied the score at 16:51 with a wrist shot from the blue line, assisted by Jeremy Roy and Rudolfs Balcers. The score remained tied 1-1 at the end of the first period.

Each team held one another scoreless in the second period, at the end of which the Condors had 19 shots compared to the Cuda’s nine. Wiederer handed the Cuda a 2-1 victory when he notched a goal, his second of the season, at 8:42, assisted by John McCarthy and Jacob Middleton.

Bibeau made 30 saves on 31 shots for his fifth straight win this season, defeating Condors goaltender Eddie Pasquale who made 18 saves on 20 shots.

The Cuda will face the Condors, who beat them 6-0 in the preseason, another nine times this season. They are back at home on Wednesday, December 6 to face the Stockton Heat.

Barracuda Down Condors 4-2

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Barracuda climbed a little closer to a playoff spot with a 4-2 win over the Bakersfield Condors. Petter Emanuelsson scored two goals for San Jose, while John McCarthy scored the game winner and Jeremy Morin added an insurance goal into an empty net. Joel Rumpel made 24 saves for the Barracuda in his first AHL game. After the win, he said that he was “a little bit nervous before the game. But the guys let me feel the first couple from the outside, so it was easy from there.”

The teams took ten penalties in the first two periods alone, not counting fighting majors. The only goal scored during any of those penalties was a short-handed goal by Bakersfield’s Jujhar Khaira. After the game, John McCarthy explained how that takes a toll on a team, even when the penalty kill is successful:

It kind of gets in way of the flow of the game. We’re not really rolling our lines when that happens so that’s something we’ve got to work on going forward. I think even last game, first period we took too any penalties. There’s a lot of guys who aren’t killing penalties then they’re kind of out of the flow of the game.

Some players, though, thrive on the penalty kill. After the game, assistant coach Ryan Mougenel said of McCarthy:

One of Mac’s biggest strengths is the penalty kill. I think it’s really kind of translated into his offense. Sometimes it’s little things, like some guys at practice have to watch pucks go in the net to have success, to score, like Goldobin. He [McCarthy] builds his confidence through the pk and he’s one of our most consistent guys.

The penalties started early and came often after that. The first was a cross-checking penalty to Bakersfield’s Rob Klinkhammer at 4:18. San Jose had a couple of shots and the Condors only cleared the puck once, but the Barracuda could not get a puck past goaltender Eetu Laurikainen.

That came a few seconds after the penalty expired. It was not a beautiful zone entry, but the Condors fumbled an interception at their blue line, putting the puck in front of Petter Emanualsson. He got moving quickly and before the defenders could get after him, he had taken his shot and scored.

Half way through the first period, the shots were 9-5 Barracuda. The shots stayed that way even when the Condors scored the tying goal. A strange bounce sent the puck into the blue paint, off of a body and into the net, surprising even the Bakersfield player who was on his way behind the net to collect the puck. The goal went to Mitch Moroz, with an assist to Dillon Simpson.

Fighting majors took Gus Young and Kale Kessy out of the game for five at 12:04. Karl Stollery and Andrew Miller joined their teammates in the box with coincidental minors for slashing and roughing respectively.

Bakersfield’s Jujhar Khaira thought had scored the go-ahead goal, but he had done so over the prone body of the Barracuda goalie. Rumpel was thus prone only because Dillon Simpson had skated into and fallen over him seconds earlier. The goal was disallowed for goaltender interference and the Barracuda got a power play. The final 30 seconds of that power play were amplified into a five on three when Matthew Ford also went to the box, this time for cross-checking.

The Barracuda found themselves on the other end of a five on three early in the second period. At 1:43, Nikolay Goldobin went to the box for tripping. Just under 90 seconds later, Stollery joined him after being called for interference. San Jose escaped the penalties unscathed, and drove the play to the other end to rebuild their shot lead.

By the middle of the second period, the Barracuda again had the shot lead at 22-18, and again took the lead on the scoreboard. A good rush from Ryan Carpenter on the wing and Petter Emanuelsson up the middle beat the Condors to the punch. Assists went to Carpenter and Gus Young.

The Condors responded by taking an interference penalty. Kessy had been in the box for less than a minute when Khaira won a race to the puck and went all the way down the ice to tie the game again. Kessy got out of the box just long enough to take two more penalties and sit for four minutes, called for high-sticking and unsportsmanlike conduct.

With 2:30 left in the four minute power play, the Barracuda lost Jevpalovs to a penalty. With less than two minutes left in the Bakersfield penalty, Jeremy Langlois went to the box for kneeing, putting the Barracuda down 3-4. San Jose weathered that too, but had squandered a perfectly good power play.

The Barracuda were back on the penalty kill less than two minutes into the third period. Julius Bergman went to the box for holding at 1:06.

Eventually, the penalties burned themselves out and with just over four minutes left, John McCarthy won the race to a puck as it exited the Barracuda zone: “I think somebody was catching up to me on my inside so I didn’t have time to move it to my forehand and shoot. So I just got it to the net and hopefully if it didn’t go in maybe we would have got a second whack at it. But it went in.” It squeaked by on the short side, bouncing off of the goaltender’s back. Assists went to Parkes and Stollery.

The Condors pulled their goaltender withe less than 90 seconds remaining and Morin scored the empty netter with six seconds to go.

The Barracuda next play on Wednesday at 7:00 PT against the Heat in Stockton.

Barracuda Fall 4-2 to Condors

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–The Barracuda lose to the Bakerfield Condors 4-2 on Valentines day at SAP

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Barracuda fell to the Bakersfield Condors by a score of 4-2 Sunday. The game winner was scored by Ryan Hamilton. Anders Nilsson was in net for the win, making 21 saves on 23 shots. For San Jose, Aaron Dell made 22 saves on 25 shots faced. Both Barracuda goals were scored by Ben Smith.

San Jose and Bakersfield were playing for third place in the division on Sunday. When the game started, the Barracuda had a two point lead over the Condors but had played one more game. With the win, the Condors jumped the Barracuda for third place in the AHL’s Pacific Division.

I remember when the Bakersfield Condors wore grey and burgundy and had the names of local businesses on the tails of their jerseys. That was when they were an ECHL team last year. Now the Condors look pretty much like the Oilers, especially from a distance far enough to not see the emblem. They wear the same colors but they differ in one important respect: they are doing well in their division this season.

The Barracuda were first on the power play, into the first period. Bakersfield was called for too many men on the ice and Anton Slepyshev served the penalty at 11:47. San Jose did not score. Instead, Bakersfield scored at . Barracuda goaltender Aaron Dell stopped the first couple of shots during a Condor attack during which the Barracuda could not clear the puck out. Andrew Miller’s shot went over Dell’s shoulder from the slot to give the visitors the lead. It was Miller’s twelfth of the season. Assists went to Rob Klinkhammer and Jujhar Khaira.

The Condors kept the Barracuda on their heels for the rest of the period. With San Jose defenders stuck in their zone, they were lucky to make it to intermission down by just one.

At the end of the period, the teams were tied on the shot clock but the home team trailed by one.

The second period was marked by a lot of hits and questionable stick use. By the ten minute mark, the Barracuda had added two shots and the Condors just one. Near the eleven minute mark, the game’s first fight broke out behind the Barracuda goal line. The scuffle landed Andrew Miller and Joakim Ryan in the box with roughing minors. Miller got an additional two minutes, so Slepyshev joined him in the box and a Barracuda power play commenced.

San Jose still could not score, but they did keep the Condors on the defensive. And defend they did. The Baracuda had very little time to take the shots they got credit for and many that just missed the net. With six minutes left, Bakersfield still only had one shot in the period but they still had a one goal lead.

The Condors got their first power kay with 4:13 left in the second. San Jose’s Julius Bergman went to the box for slashing. During their power play they finally got a few shots on goal. Half way through the power play, Karl Stollerysent the puck out of play and was called for delay of game. San Jose managed the three on five penalty kill and the minute of four on five that followed.

At the end of the second, the score was still 1-0 Condors and the shots were 17-15 Condors.

The third period started with an early chance for the Condors that hit a post. That seemed to wake the Barracuda up and they responded with several good shifts in the offensive zone. When the Condors pushed back, they were wrapped up in extended board battles and had few chances to score again until the middle of the period.

At, the Condors extended their lead. A neutral zone breakdown gave the Condors a two-then-three on one with Julius Bergman as the one. Jujhar Khaira scored the goal with assists going to Andrew Miller and Griffin Reinhart.

The goal unsettled the Barracuda and inspired the Condors. The orange and blue attack continued with the Barracuda scrambling defensively.

The Barracuda recovered somewhat in the second half of the period. At 12:05 they scored after John McCarthy and Ben Smith combined to win the puck off the boards. McCarthy carried it behind the net and tried a wraparound. That did not work but Smith was on the other side of the crease to catch the puck and put it in. It was his seventh goal of the season in eleven games played with the team. McCarthy received the lone assist.

The Condors did not let that go and stretched their lead back to two with 3:40 left in the game. Entering the zone fast two one two, Ryan Hamilton and Tyler Pitlick gave the Condors their third goal of the game.

The Barracuda made a game of it with just over a minute left. A good four skater rush through the neutral zone and some give and go between Smith and Bryan Lerg resulted in another goal for Smith.

Barracuda coach Sommer opted to pull his goaltender after that and with 26.2 left in the game, the puck escaped the neutral zone and only the Condors’ Klinkhammer was near enough to catch it. He put it in the Barracuda net.

Final score: 4-2 Condors.

John McCarthy led the Barracuda in shots on goal with five. Mirco Mueller, called up to the Sharks briefly after Brenden Dillon’s recent injury, was back with the AHL squad in time for Sunday’s game.

Raffi Torres, still on the Barracuda roster, did not play for the second game in a row. He has played five games with the Barracuda this year.

The Barracuda hit the road next week and will face the Heat on Saturday and Sunday in Stockton.

Outdoor hockey in Sacramento

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Heat Sat
The Heat and Condors salute the crowd. Photo credit: Asvitt Photo

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.

Playoff Hockey: Underdogs, Upsets and Staying the Course

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By Mary Walsh

It has been a busy few days in playoff hockey. Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens pushed back to stop the New York Rangers from taking a 3-0 series lead. That show starred Montreal’s rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski. Friday, the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors won their first Conference Final game at home. Saturday night, the Los Angeles Kings took a 2-1 series lead over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Now that the Kings have taken a lead in a series, and scored dozens of goals against the daunting Blackhawks (actually only 11 so far), is it safe to say that maybe the 2013-14 Sharks were not that far from their goal, if they were able to beat Los Angeles three games in a row? No. The Kings have proceeded at an erratic pace but they built up momentum in each progressive series. A strong start does not make up for a weaker finish, so the Sharks can’t take too much comfort in the Kings’ success thus far. The Kings are making a habit of giving up leads only to take them back, but that doesn’t mean there were not a lot of holes in the Sharks roster and strategy. Can the Sharks seal up those holes?

The good news, the biggest and best news from Shark territory so far, is that Larry Robinson has agreed to stay on. His new title is Associate Coach and Director of Player Development. If his title was “Guy Who Does Whatever He Feels Like Doing Today In The General Vicinity San Jose” it would still be a good deal. He is that helpful. It can also be seen as a positive indicator for the team: if Robinson thinks that staying on will not be a futile waste of his time, perhaps fans should have a little faith too.

Thursday on Yahoo! Sports Talk Live, Doug Wilson said that he does not have specific plans to acquire a big name free agent this summer. He did not rule it out but he did not say it was a goal. He also said that missing the playoffs for several seasons starting next year was not his plan. He does not plan to move his best young players. This makes me think that, despite pressure from the fan base and many sources of common sense, he could be planning very little in the way of major roster moves. I do not think that is a bad thing, but I am sure it would be unpopular.

Popular or not, moving big names to shake the team up is an enormous risk. How do you trade away Joe Thornton and/or Patrick Marleau, and avoid slipping badly in the standings, unless you pick up another very high-end forward to replace them? Do you get that player via trade? Who do you get them for if you want to keep your young roster? Do the Sharks have the picks to land such a player? As Wilson mentioned Thursday, however you bring someone in, you need to consider the impact that player will have on your younger players. He needs to not only be productive in his own right but supportive of your development plan.

Do Thornton and Marleau not fit that mold? There is no indication that either one of them undermines or stifles growth in their teammates. Their presence may be growing stale but change for change’s sake rarely pays off.

James Mirtle and Justin Bourne had a Twitter conversation about the high number of minutes being given to fourth lines in the Eastern Conference Final. It makes perfect sense, especially when teams have played a seven game series already, or more, to spread minutes around. But this means that you do need versatile players on that fourth line. You need guys who are reliable in the faceoff circle, tough along the boards, good shots, and reasonably able playmakers. As I said last week, you don’t need Mike Richards on that line but you do need someone who brings a lot more than energy and toughness.

Not so long ago people recognized that space on the bench could no longer be spared for designated fighters who could not do more than fight. Now the bar has been raised still higher: you need four lines that can play more than ten minutes and be better than “not a liability.” Your top six should not need more than 25 minutes per player to get the job done, and your fourth line should merit more than ten. Energy efficiency is about more than Gatorade.

————-

Dustin Tokarski. Folks who actually follow the Habs probably were not very surprised to see him chosen over Peter Budaj. Putting a rookie goaltender in a high pressure playoff situation is not unheard of, it just doesn’t often work out so well. A rookie comes in with some intangibles in his favor. Even if he has been scouted as much as possible, he simply has not played enough to be thoroughly scouted so the opponent won’t know how to beat him right away. That advantage fades fast. Another benefit can be that his team will rally around him, tighten up on defense to protect him. Or they might let him get shot to pieces like the Habs did in the first period of Game 3. That is where the real surprise was lurking, when Tokarski held the Habs in the game despite a 14-4 shot advantage for the Rangers. Tokarski may not be ready to steal a series but he certainly silenced the death knells in Montreal for now.

I find the Eastern Conference Final much more compelling than the Western, but I like upsets and underdogs. Both the Canadiens and the Rangers are sort of underdogs who achieved upsets. They are good teams, but the Canadiens were not supposed to beat the bestest team ever, aka the Bruins, because winners are supposed to play a big bruising game like the Bruins do. The Habs won anyway, and they did it their way.

The Rangers were not supposed to beat the Penguins because the Penguins have high performance superstars like Malkin and Crosby, while the Rangers had so many underperforming superstars like Nash, Richards and St. Louis. On top of that, the Rangers had to muscle through a brutal schedule to get where they are, and they did so anyway. Personal tragedy is getting a lot of credit for their turnaround, but they had all of these pieces from the get go. It is satisfying to see them go ahead like a dark horse people forgot about.

Speaking of dark horses, the Condors’ Friday win gave them a 2-1 lead in the series against the Alaska Aces. Saturday, the Aces thumped them 4-1 and tied the series back up. That is not very surprising. The Aces are aces. Nonetheless, the Condors are making a little Central Valley history this weekend. That the Condors ever took a lead in the series is impressive and inspiring. This is their first appearance in a Conference Final, and they have held their own. They have earned the nickname “Cardiac Condors” with numerous comebacks thus far and the Aces would be foolish to back off now. If the Aces come back tomorrow and stomp them like they did tonight, Condors fans have still gotten their money’s worth from a team that made an amazing turnaround in a season. After so many years of being perpetual playoff also-rans, this is a mighty accomplishment for Bakersfield.

Bulls fall 4-2 to Condors

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By: Phillip Torres

BAKERSFIELD-The San Francisco Bulls (14-20-4-1) fell to the Bakersfield Condors (15-17-1-1) Friday night in Bakersfield. Ryan Garlock played his first game with the Bulls on Wednesday, and now played his first game against his former team in Bakersfield just two days later. Garlock earned a point with an assist on the night.

The Bulls held the early lead as Brett Findlay scored the first goal at 6:42 in the opening period. Jordan Morrison earned the assist on the play. Findlay knocked in the puck following a Jordan Morrison pass that helped set up the early advantage. 

Chase Schaber evened up the score at 1-1  at 14:07. Joel Broda earned the assist as Schaber was able to control the rebound after a missed shot by Broda. Schaber was able to get the puck past Bulls goaltender Tyler Beskorowany. 

Dean Ouellet gave San Francisco its second lead of the game with an early goal in the second. Garlock earned the assist against his former team with an excellent past to Ouellet on a three on two advantage to take the 2-1 lead. Andrew Caroll tied the game yet again for the Condors to make it 2-2. 

Bakersfield scored three unanswered goals after trailing 2-1. Broda gave them their first lead of the game with a power play goal. The goal made it 3-2 Condors, and ultimately was the winning goal. Cameron Abney made it 4-2 shortly after and that remained the score throughout the game.

The third period was scoreless for both teams. Laurent Brossoit held the Bulls scoreless for over 35 minutes and that cost the Bulls the victory.The Bulls will play in Stockton on Sunday as they will be hosted by the Stockton Thunder. The puck will drop at 4 P.M.