Condors Pound Out 5-1 Win Over Aces
March 23, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release
Bakersfield, Calif. - The Bakersfield Condors banged in five goals, including two from Shawn Byram in skating to a penalty-filled 5-1 victory over the Anchorage Aces in front of 6,230 fans at Centennial Garden on Saturday night.
The Condors played one of their best periods of the season in the first. Throwing hits, firing shots, making saves, and skating to a 3-0 lead. After two Bakersfield goals were disallowed, Paul Willett snapped in his 22nd of the season from tight range at 11:26. Paul Rosebush notched his 22nd of the season at 16:39, wrapping the puck home after a shot clipped Aces goalie Christian Soucy on the mask. Rosebush extended his goal streak to seven games with the tally. Byram notched his first of the night with less than a minute remaining in the period when he picked off a clearing pass and buried a backhander to make it 3-0. The Condors outshot the Aces 18-8.
The second period belonged to goalie Kevin St. Pierre, who stopped 18 of 19 Anchorage shots to hold the Condors lead. The Aces had six power plays in the period, including a pair of two-man advantages. St. Pierre came up big on several occasions, allowing just one goal, to the league's leading scorer, Dean Larson. Meanwhile, the Condors racked up 47 minutes in penalties in the stanza, on 10 infractions. Two players were ejected for the Condors, who also lost Christoffer Norgren, taken to the hospital after being slammed head first into the end boards just 20 seconds into the period. Aces winger Jason Boily was ejected on the play.
Bakersfield extended the lead in the third, with a power play goal from Wes Swinson at 2:30 to make it 4-1. Later in the period, Byram was awarded a penalty shot when defenseman Valdemar Pelikovsky threw his stick in an attempt to stop him on a breakaway. He scored to make it 5-1, and bring his season total to 22 goals. The period featured another loss, however, as Rosebush left the game after an altercation following an illegal hit from Aces defenseman Ruslan Batyrshin. He was also ejected because of his actions. In total, the game ended 5-1, with 121 combined penalty minutes being handed out - the third-highest combined total of the season for Bakersfield. The status of Norgren and Byram was unknown at press time.
With San Diego losing 6-2 in Fresno tonight, the Condors moved back into second place, ahead of the Gulls. They can finish no lower than third place, clinching a first-round matchup against the Gulls.
Bakersfield is back in action when the Aces return next Friday at 7:00pm. The first 2,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a Condors CD wallet, sponsored by KUZZ 107 and Sierra Mist. On Saturday night, the first 2,000 children will receive a Baby Cal beanie doll, presented by KERO 23, KNZR 1560 and Frank's.
Individual tickets can be purchased at the Centennial Garden box office, which is open from 10:00-6:00pm Monday through Saturday, by calling Ticketmaster at 322-2525, online at ticketmaster.com or stopping by any Ticketmaster location. Season and group tickets may be purchased by calling 324-PUCK (7825) or by visiting the Condors office next to Centennial Garden.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from March 23, 2003
- Offensive Struggles Continue in San Diego - Alaska Aces
- Sea Wolves Clip RiverBlades, 4-3 - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Sea Wolves Sink RiverBlades - Arkansas RiverBlades
- Cyclones Clinch Playoff Spot - Cincinnati Cyclones
- RiverBlades Triumph Over Ice Pilots - Arkansas RiverBlades
- Bombers Nip First-Place Storm in Shootout Marathon Thriller - Dayton Bombers
- Columbus' Bechard Suspended Two Games - ECHL
- Johnstown's Jason Shmyr Suspended One Game - ECHL
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- All Along the Coast - ECHL
- Condors Pound Out 5-1 Win Over Aces - Bakersfield Condors
- Falcons Break Out of Scoring Slump - Fresno Falcons
- Byram, St. Pierre Too Much for Anchorage - Alaska Aces
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
