ECHL Bakersfield Condors

Official Condors E-Newsletter - March 12, 2009

Published on March 12, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release


With the start of the Kelly Cup Playoffs on the horizon, no team in the ECHL has been hotter than the Condors as they try to play their way into the postseason. Bakersfield brings their ECHL-best 12-3-1 record in the last 16 games into a crucial four-game homestand, entirely against the Utah Grizzlies, who have just a .032 advantage over the Condors in winning percentage, which is the deciding factor for a playoff berth this season. The Condors, however, have gone 4-1-0 against Utah this season.

In between the Condors and the Grizzlies in the tight National Conference standings are the Stockton Thunder, who have a lead of .024 in winning percentage over the Condors. The Condors will face off against the Thunder one more time in 2008-09, in Stockton on March 21, and have gone 5-1-0 against the Thunder this season, including a perfect 3-0-0 at Stockton Arena.

The Phoenix RoadRunners are also in the mix for the playoffs, but are currently trailing the Condors for the final spot by .002 in winning percentage, which means if the season ended today, Bakersfield would be in the postseason. The Condors are not slated to play Phoenix again in the regular season and the RoadRunners do have four games in-hand. However, out of Phoenix's 14 remaining games this year, they will play 11 on the road, seven of which will be in Alaska and Idaho, the top two teams in the National Conference.

The Condors, on the other hand, will play nine of their remaining 10 games at The Nest, where they are unbeaten in seven of their last eight games. One of those home games will be against the Las Vegas Wranglers (March 28), who are in 2nd place in the Pacific Division, but have just a .032 lead over Bakersfield in winning percentage. Additionally, Las Vegas is just 1-6-3 in their last 10 games.

The Condors kick off their series against Utah this Friday and Saturday on the Mercy & Memorial Hospitals Home Ice at Rabobank Arena, so be sure to come down and support the hottest team in the ECHL, and strap yourself in for an exciting final push for the playoffs! Click here to view the Condors full schedule.

For more info on the Condors playoffs pursuit as well as potential ticket information as the playoffs approach, be sure to keep an eye on Bakersfieldcondors.com and check out the Season Ticket Holders page.

Free Jerseys at The Nest this Weekend

Don't miss this great opportunity to get free jerseys at The Nest this weekend, as the Condors take on the Utah Grizzlies on back-to-back nights!

On Friday is the #10 Matt Pope Youth Jersey Giveaway, sponsored by KGET-TV 17, La Preciosa 105.3 and McDonald's. The first 2,000 kids, 12-and-under, will receive a youth jersey of the Condors rookie sniper!

Then on Saturday, the Condors and Grizzlies face off again for the 'What Could Have Been' Jersey Off Our Backs Raffle and Auction, sponsored by KUZZ 107.9 and Bud Light. Come take a look at what could have been, as the Condors will sport Bakersfield Brontos specialty jerseys in honor of the team name that was a finalist along with the Condors 11 years ago! The game-worn sweaters will be auctioned off after the game, plus everyone in attendance has the chance to win one of five to be given away! All proceeds from the jersey auction will benefit the Petroleum Shrine Club.

Doors open at 6 p.m., the puck drops at 7 p.m. both nights. 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. 9th Annual Tip-A-Condor raises nearly $17,000!

The Bakersfield Condors waited tables, sang karaoke and even danced on stage as part of the 9th Annual Tip-A-Condor charity dinner and auction to benefit the Kern County Shrine Club this past Tuesday, held at Buck Owens Crystal Palace. All fans in attendance had drinks and dinner served by Condors players, acting as the evening's waiters to earn charitable tips. After dinner the karaoke came out and the stage was filled with Condors players serenading the crowd with numerous songs.

Most fans remarked that their favorite part of the evening was when the entire team gathered to sing "Sweet Caroline" and the dance-off that ensued between Tylor Michel, Jason Bailey and Mike Wirll. Click here to see a portion of the singing and dance off.

The night's dinner, entertainment and auction raised a whopping $16,746, the second-highest total in Tip-A-Condor history, for the Kern County Shrine Club, and also left a big impression on not only first-time Tip-A-Condor patrons, but on the Condors players as well. Click here to hear what the players had to say regarding the evening. STH Referral Night and Meet the Team Party coming up!

Season Ticket Holders, don't forget that the Season Ticket Referral Night is coming up on Saturday, March 28, when the Condors take on the Las Vegas Wranglers at The Nest. All Season Ticket Holders can use the vouchers they received in their renewal packets to bring up to four referrals to the game to help spread the excitement of Condors hockey!

For every one of your referrals that signs up for a full season ticket, you receive $100 credit towards your season tickets or $100 merchandise credit at the Condors Team Store, so don't forget to have your referrals fill out the back of each referral voucher they use! If you haven't received your renewal packet via mail, contact the Condors office and we will make sure to get one to you right away.

Also, following the game is the final Season Ticket Holders Meet the Team Party of the season. All Season Ticket Holders, and their referrals, are invited to the Flashco Boardroom, located on the concourse behind section 116, to meet the team after the game!

For more information on the Season Ticket Referral Night and Meet the Team Party, click here or call (661) 324-PUCK (7825). Renew your Season Tickets early and get great gifts!

There is no time like the present to renew your Season Tickets for another year of exciting Condors hockey and take advantage of the great gifts involved in Early Bird renewal! If you renew your tickets by the Early Bird deadline, which is Tuesday, March 31, then you get your choice of one of three great Condors gifts - a polar fleece blanket, a baseball cap or a bobblehead and soap dispenser combo gift! Everyone who qualifies for the Early Bird gifts will also be entered into a drawing for a $500 shopping spree at the Condors Team Store!

You can renew your Season Tickets by calling your ticket representative at (661) 324-PUCK (7825), coming by the Front Office, or at the Customer Service Table on the concourse at any Condors home game, and all you have to do to get your hands on a great Early Bird gift is renew by March 31!

In addition to the Early Bird gifts, you can also qualify for a special Season Ticket Holder Greenwise Tote Bag by paying in full or signing up for AutoPay by the standard renewal deadline of April 30. The Condors new Extended AutoPay option, which spreads payments over 11 months as opposed to six months, also qualifies fans for the Greenwise Tote Bag (actual design may vary) if signed up for by the deadline.

For more information on all the Condors renewal gifts and payment plans, click here or call (661) 324-PUCK (7825). Condors Trading Cards on sale Friday!

The Bakersfield Condors official trading cards for the 2008-2009 season have arrived and are going on sale this Friday! Each pack includes 25 cards, including Jay Langager, Scotty Balan, Chad Painchaud, and all your other favorite players! Every pack also has special collectible cards showing off the various specialty jerseys the Condors have sported this season!

You can pick up your 2008-09 Condors team card set at the Merchandise Stands at all home games, the Condors Team Store, located across the street from Rabobank Arena on Truxtun Ave., and online at Condorsteamstore.com. For more information, call the Team Store directly at (661) 324-NETT (6388). The Team Store is open Monday - Friday, 11:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., and on Saturday from noon - 3 p.m. Ahh, what could have been...

Here's an excerpt from the upcoming March 14 edition of Nightly Notes, taking an in depth look at just how close the Condors were to being named the Brontos:

Now in its 11th season, it's hard to imagine the team being named anything OTHER than Condors. But when the team moved into the brand-spanking new Centennial Garden (now Rabobank Arena), the team changed its name from the Fog, and coming up with the new name was an interesting process.

"The two primary criteria probably boiled down to being unique from other sports teams and being indigenous to the area. We have satisfied both of those and expect the name and logo to be very popular," said Condors Owner Jonathan Fleisig in a press release dated July 7, 1998.

Curiously, in a classified document recently uncovered by Nightly Notes, dating Dec. 30, 1997, the listed finalists for the team name were the Brontos, Valley Bears and OilCats. Listed under the "OTHERS" heading is Condors, as well as various oil rig terms such as Roughnecks.

So, how did "Condors" come from behind and end up being the chosen name? You'll have to pick up the March 14 edition of Nightly Notes at the game this Saturday to find out! Nightly Notes are available at each Condors home game for just $1. Full Season Ticket Holders can collect all the Nightly Notes for free by using the vouchers they receive as part of their ticket plan. To view past Nightly Notes, click here. Mark your Calendars - Kids Club Party coming up!

The Condors end-of-the-season Kids Club Party will be held on Monday, March 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rollerama West, located at 7850 Brimhall Road. The party is open to all Kids Club members and their parents to meet and skate with the Condors!

Condors mascots, along with the inflatable bounce house and slapshot, will also be on hand for the Kids Club members' entertainment! Prizes will be given away throughout the night, and skate rentals along with pizza and soda will be free to all the members of the coolest club in town. Admission for parents is free, but food and skate rentals are extra. The Rules of Engagement with Liam Huculak

Ever wonder what is really going on during a hockey scrap? Click here and get a behind-the-scenes description from RW Liam Huculak on how tilts develop as well as the unwritten rules that keep hockey scraps clean. Last chance to vote for "Best of Kern" This Friday is the last day to vote for Condors Hockey in the Bakersfield Californian's "Best of Kern County" readers' choice poll. Voting ends at 5 p.m., so click here and vote now! Don't forget to support those that sponsor Condorstown as well - click here for a full list.

Check out the brand-new Condors Photos Page!

Ever wish you could freeze the action on the ice in time? The Condors brand-new and improved Photos page is as close as you're probably going to come to freezing time, with all the coolest photos from every Condors home game right at your finger tips! In addition to the game photos, the new Condors Photos page also has every Photo of the Week posted, so you can scroll back through each week's top image!

One of the newest features on the improved Photos page is the slide show option, which allows you to click one image then sit back and enjoy a slide show of all the pictures in the album! Fans can also now rank all their favorite photos on the new page.

Fans can enjoy slide shows of not only pictures of present Condors, but also pictures of future Condors with the Future Condors album, featuring photos of kids suited up in their hockey gear. If you have any pictures of your future Condor in hockey equipment or sporting Condors gear and would like it posted on the Condors Photo page, email the image as a .JPG file to bmarsh@bakersfieldcondors.com.

Click here to visit the brand-new Condors Photos page right now, and be sure to keep an eye out for updated game galleries after home games as well as the new Photo of the Week each week! Slap Shot it is!

The poll is closed and the votes have been counted, and the new name for the Condors Hockey Player Mascot is officially "Slap Shot." The Condors dedicated the web poll on Bakersfieldcondors.com last week to letting Condors fans vote on what the name of this new mascot will be, and Slap Shot won by a resounding margin.

Thanks to all who voted in the poll, and don't forget to check back every week for a brand new web poll, one of the many ways Condors fans can voice their opinions on Bakersfieldcondors.com. Currently running is a poll regarding the upcoming promotions in Condorstown. Be sure to visit Bakersfieldcondors.com and let us know which promotion you're most looking forward too... and keep an eye out for Slap Shot at all the home games! Sponsor Spotlight - Instant Storage

Instant Storage and the Condors are in their 4th year of their partnership. Instant Storage shows their support for the hometown team by sponsoring an ice logo in front of the players' bench and in front of the penalty box, each depicting the Instant Storage logo with their portable storage unit.

"At Instant Storage we feel it is important to contribute to the local economy," said General Manager Marc Caputo. "So we choose to support a great local sports team like the Bakersfield Condors."

Instant Storage is a locally owned and operated storage provider servicing Kern County since 1978. They rent, clean and secure storage space, where you need it, when you need it, with sizes ranging from 10 feet to 53 feet long. Instant Storage can also deliver storage space to your home or business for remodeling or on-site warehouse space.

Instant Storage's office/storage combo units provide you with a place to work and store your equipment, complete with a desk, chair, lights, a drafting table and plenty of storage for your tools. Let Instant Storage provide you with peace of mind when you need additional storage space.

For more information go to www.instantstorage.com or call (661) 393-7005. Instant Storage - where you need it, when you need it... the name says it all. This Date in Condors History

March 16, 2007: Condors complete 7-0-2 road trip; set franchise record with 12-game unbeaten streak; tied franchise record with seventh straight road win; set franchise record with 10-game road unbeaten streak (extended to 12); set franchise record with 46th road point; Jamie Hodson's record-setting shutout streak ends at 184:11 March 17, 2002: Scott Hay (right) named WCHL Goaltender of the Week March 19, 2008: Mark Derlago signs PTO contract with Manitoba Moose (AHL) March 22, 2008: Yutaka Fukufuji wins his 40th career game, 3-0 vs. FRE to move into first place in franchise history, passing Lee Schill; also tied Condors career mark with his fourth career shutout March 23, 2003: Kevin St. Pierre named WCHL Goaltender of the Week

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ECHL Stories from March 12, 2009


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