ECHL Bakersfield Condors

Lutes Ties it Late, But Condors Lose Shootout, 4-3

December 29, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release


BOISE, Idaho - Brett Lutes scored at 17:02 of the third period to tie the game, but the Bakersfield Condors ultimately fell to the Idaho Steelheads in a shootout, 4-3, in front of 4,445 at Qwest Arena.

Idaho (15-11-2 = 32) broke on top quickly, scoring just 2:26 into the contest. On the power-play, after Danny Taylor stopped a shot by Kory Scoran, Charlie Johnson poked in the rebound to make it 1-0.

Midway through the period, the Steelheads doubled their lead, when Tuomas Mikkonen took a feed from Taggart Desmet and slid the puck past Taylor.

Bakersfield (16-9-3 = 35) responded with a strong second period. For the 17th consecutive game, they scored on the power-play, as Lutes and Kevin St. Jacques teamed up to send Todd Griffith in on a break, and the rookie All-Star beat Steve Silverthorn for his 16th of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 just 1:03 in.

Shortly thereafter, at 4:50, David Kudelka's blast from the point went wide, but it came hard off the backboards right to Sean Venedam, and the Condors captain buried it to tie the game at 2-2.

But the Steelheads recaptured the lead on the power-play at 15:10 of the second, when Marty Flichel took a centering pass and stuffed it in the net for a 3-2 Idaho lead, and setting up Lutes' heroics.

Notes: Bakersfield is now 8-3-1 in the month of December. The Condors have scored 28 power-play goals during the 17-game streak. Bakersfield is now 0-4-2 when trailing after two periods. Kevin St. Jacques has a ten-game point streak, netting 19 points during that span (5g, 14a). Todd Griffith has eight goals in the last six games.

The Condors close out 2006 with another game against the Idaho Steelheads in Boise, Saturday, Dec. 30, at 6:10 p.m. (PST). Bakersfield returns to The Nest Saturday, Jan. 6 for a 7 p.m. contest against the Victoria Salmon Kings. The first 2,000 children, 12-and-under, will receive a Condors backpack, courtesy of Telemundo-11 and Goodwill Industries.

You can catch all Condors games live on KGEO Hot Talk AM1230 with Jake Stevens calling all the action. The Saturday, Jan. 6 game against Victoria can also be seen live on Bright House Networks (cable channel 21). Most games this season will again be 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. For more information or to reserve ticket packages, contact the Condors office at 324-PUCK (7825).

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ECHL Stories from December 29, 2006


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