Condors Clinch Home-Ice In First Round But Fall In Shootout To Wranglers, 4-3
March 28, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release
LAS VEGAS, Nevada - The Bakersfield Condors came from behind three times to tie the game but were never able to take the lead and lost to the Las Vegas Wranglers in a shootout, 4-3, Tuesday night, in front of 4,004 at the Orleans Arena. The point they gained clinched home-ice advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs for Bakersfield.
"We played 50 good minutes of a 60 minute game," said Condors head coach Marty Raymond. "To my astonishment we were killing penalties all night and that's tough to do."
The Wranglers (40-12-14, 94 points) took the early lead when defenseman Aaron Power went end-to- end and beat Rejean Beauchemin on a breakaway to make it 1-0 at 4:26.
Bakersfield (40-15-11, 91 points) was held without a shot on goal for the first 12:45 of the game, but once they got one, they started controlling the play, and their efforts paid off when David Kudelka's slapper deflected past Mike McKenna to tie the game at 1-1. Rane Carnegie and Alex Rogosheske assisted on the equalizer that came at 16:33.
Las Vegas regained the lead quickly in period two, when Steve Crampton finished off a setup from Derek Edwardson and Shawn Limpright to put the Wranglers up 2-1 at 2:54.
Back came the Condors in a four-on-four situation, when Kevin Truelson slapped one past McKenna with helpers going to Carnegie and Andrew Ianiero at 9:53.
The Wranglers took the lead a third time with a power-play goal at 11:00, when Marco Peluso cut down the slot, deked Beauchemin to the ice and slid the puck past him to give Las Vegas a 3-2 edge.
But again Bakersfield responded, as Truelson converted a rebound of Venedam's drive to tie it at 3-3 at 16:27.
The teams remained scoreless through the third period and overtime, sending the game to the shootout.
Notes: The Wranglers won the season series eight points to seven, and that is the second tiebreaker after most wins should Bakersfield and Las Vegas finish the year with the same number of points.
Venedam was activated off the 3-day IR for the game. Alexandre Bolduc was placed on the 3-day IR Tuesday and will be eligible to come off the injured list for Friday's game at Fresno. That game on March 30 in Fresno is another "See The Condors On The Road" Game. All Condors full season tickets holders receive this exclusive benefit. Your vouchers (redeemable at the Fresno Arena) can be found on the back page of each season ticket booklet. Don't miss your chance to cheer on your Condors on the road and help them take one from the Falcons in their house.
The Condors reduced their magic number for clinching at least the third seed in the National Conference remained to one point. Any point Bakersfield amasses or any loss by the Steelheads guarantees the Condors the third seed in the National Conference.
Fans have three ways to get in to Wednesday's game against the Phoenix RoadRunners for just a buck. All fans who donated blood at Houchin Blood Bank during March can get in with their voucher thanks to KUZZ 107.9, all high school and college students can present their ID at the box office, and all who donate a pair of gently used eyeglasses to the Kern County Lions Clubs Eyeglass Collection will get a terrace admission for $1.
Individual game tickets are on sale and may be purchased through the Rabobank Arena Box Office, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday with extended hours on game days. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 322-2525, online at www.bakersfieldcondors.com or at any Ticketmaster location. Season tickets, mini plans and group outings are also available at the Condors office located at 1001 Truxtun Avenue or by calling 324- PUCK (7825).
You can catch all Condors games live on KGEO Hot Talk AM1230 with Jake Stevens calling all the action. Most games are available to view courtesy of B2 Networks. Just click the "Watch the Game Live" link on the Condors home page. Live streaming for all Condors games is also available via the web site, www.bakersfieldcondors.com.
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