Red-Hot Condors climb into 3rd Place
March 23, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Bakersfield Condors inched closer to securing a playoff spot, putting up a perfect 3-0-0 record on the week and climbing into a 3rd place "tie" in the Pacific Division with the Stockton Thunder. They trail the Las Vegas Wranglers, Saturday night's opponent, by just three points for 2nd place in the division.
The Playoff Picture:
The Condors are 16-4-1 in their last 21 games, and are tied with the Thunder by virtue of their .500 win percentage, even though Bakersfield has a one-point advantage in the standings. The first tie-break in the standings is head-to-head points, which the Condors own against the Thunder.
The Condors lead the Phoenix RoadRunners by .031 win percentage in the National Conference standings. Phoenix sits in 5th place in the West Division, and are a threat to cross divisions for the post-season should they finish with a better win perctentage than the fourth place team in the Pacific.
THIS WEEK (ALL TIMES PACIFIC):
Wednesday, March 25 vs. Victoria (7 p.m.)
Friday, March 27 vs. Victoria (7 p.m.)
Saturday, March 28 vs. Las Vegas (7 p.m.)
WEEK IN REVIEW (Home team in CAPS):
Wednesday, March 18
CONDORS 4 vs. Utah 1
Attn: 4,084
C Dave Bonk scored his first of two on the night with just 29 seconds left in the middle frame, snapping a 1-1 tie and carrying the Condors to a 4-1 triumph over visiting Utah. D Chris Kaufman (left) started the scoring with his fourth of the season in the first period, while C Bruce Graham scored in the third. Bonk notched his second of the night with just nine seconds left in the game and G Yutaka Fukufuji made 21 saves for the win.
Friday, March 20
CONDORS 4 vs. Utah 1
Attn: 5,311
Bakersfield scored three times in the first period and cruised to their seventh win of the season against the Grizzlies, 4-1. LW Mark Derlago opened the scoring just 71 seconds into the game, while F Brett Pilkington, D Scotty Balan and C Dave Bonk also lit the lamp. G Yutaka Fukufuji made 23 saves in his second-straight one-goal outing.
Saturday, March 21
Condors 4 vs. STOCKTON 3, OT
D Donny Grover lit the lamp just 24 seconds into overtime to thwart a Stockton comeback and carry the Condors to their third straight win, 4-3. Bakersfield held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before the Thunder forced overtime with a two-goal rally in the third frame. LW Mark Derlago, C Bruce Graham and D Ryan Mahrle scored in regulation for Bakersfield, who finished 6-1-0 against Stockton in the season series.
PLAYER AND TEAM NOTES:
The Condors are 5th in the league in average attendance at 5,488 fans per game.
C Dave Bonk has put together one of the best statistical seasons in Condors history. Saturday night he broke the Condors ECHL (2003-current) single season scoring record, now sitting at 76 points, despite missing 11 games to injury earlier this season. His total ranks 8th on the Condors all-time single season list. Christian Skoryna (2002-03) ranks 7th at 80 points, and Paul Willett (right) owns the Condors single season record of 107 (1999-00).
C Dave Bonk (4th - 76pts) and LW Mark Derlago (6th - 68pts) both rank among ECHL scoring leaders. With RW Chad Painchaud (11th - 64pts) and F Matt Pope (t-12th - 63pts) spending the last several weeks in the AHL, both have fallen from the Top 10. RW Mike Wirll (t-24th - 56pts) ranks just outside the Top 20.
LW Mark Derlago's 29th goal of the season on Saturday night extended his point streak to 10 games - a season high for the Condors. He has 8g-11a-19pts during the streak.
Should Derlago reach 30 goals this season, he would be only the second Condor ever to have back-to-back 30-goal campaigns (Paul Willett 1999-00 and 2000-01).
Bonk (5g-5a), RW Mike Wirll (1g-6a) and F Brett Pilkington (1g-5a) each have five game point streaks.
G Yutaka Fukufuji has a record of 12-2-0 in his last 14 decisions. He is now 60-38-7 (.604 win%) in his Condors career.
Friday's win, their second straight 4-1 victory, was the first time all season the Condors have allowed two or less goals in back-to-back games all season.
The Condors have climbed up to 5th in the ECHL in goals per game, at 3.33. They are the highest scoring team in the National Conference.
F Matt Pope remains in Manitoba (AHL), where he has one goal in two games. Pope has 3g-1a-4pts in six AHL games this season between the Moose and the Binghamton Senators.
LW Bobby Bolt remains on the 30-IR, though he is eligible to be activated.
FINAL HOMESTAND OF THE SEASON STARTS WEDNESDAY:
The Condors return home to close out the regular season with five straight games on Mercy & Memorial Hospitals Home Ice.
Three of those games are this week. Wednesday against Victoria is Blood Drive Night, sponsored by 107.9 KUZZ. Everyone who donated blood at Houchin Blood Bank during the month of March can get in to Wednesday's game for just $1.
On Friday, the Condors host the Salmon Kings again, and welcome Quick Change to perform on the ice. This rapid costume changing act wowed the nation as a finalist on America's Got Talent, and have to be seen to be believed! Quick Change appears courtesy of KERN 1180 and Digital Designs.
The week of action wraps up Saturday against the Las Vegas Wranglers for Street Hockey Stick & Puck Giveaway, for the first 2,000 kids 12 & under, sponsored by KGET-TV 17, HOT 94.1 and Carl's Jr.
Doors open at 6 p.m., the puck drops at 7 p.m., all three nights.
GET TICKETS
Individual game tickets are on sale and may be purchased through the Rabobank Arena Box Office, which is open from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday with extended hours on game days. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 322-2525, online at Bakersfieldcondors.com, or at any Ticketmaster location. Season tickets, mini-plans and group outings are available at the Condors office located at 1001 Truxtun Avenue or by calling 324-PUCK (7825).
LEAGUE LEADERS:
Average Attendance - 5,488 (5th)
F Dave Bonk - 76 points (4th)
F Dave Bonk - 48 assists (3rd)
LW Mark Derlago - 68 points (6th)
RW Chad Painchaud - 64 points (11)
F Matt Pope - 63 points (t-12)
F Matt Pope - 13 power play goals (t-4th)
Condors Power Play - 19.6% (1st National Conference, 5th overall)
Condors offense - 3.33 goals per game (1st National Conference, 5th overall)
CONDORS LEADERS:
Points- C Dave Bonk (76)
Goals- F Matt Pope (30)
Assists- C Dave Bonk (48)
PIM- RW Liam Huculak (149)
Plus/Minus- D Donny Grover/LW Mark Derlago (+6)
GAA- G Yutaka Fukufuji (3.23)
Save Percentage- G Yutaka Fukufuji (.905)
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