ECHL Bakersfield Condors

Steelheads tap out via Condor sharpshooters

Published on February 8, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release


BOISE, Idaho - The Condors picked up their ECHL leading sixth shootout victory by overpowering the Idaho Steelheads following 65 minutes of tight hockey on the way to a 3-2 Bakersfield win in front of 3,575 fans at the Qwest Arena.

Idaho opened up scoring as left wing Janos Vas threw the puck on net from outside the far circle. Ryan Munce made the initial save, but Marty Flichel poked the rebound under Munce's right pad to give the Steelheads a 1-0 lead 6:42 into the game.

The Condors tied the game on their second power play of the evening as Kevin Truelson put a slap shot towards the Idaho net. The puck was deflected twice by bodies in front of Matt Yeats before Kevin St. Jacques pushed it past the right pad with a backhand shot to tie the game at 1-1 with 9:54 remaining in the second period.

Bakersfield took the lead on a two-on-one created by an athletic turnaround by Mike Hofstrand to push the puck towards Idaho's blue line. Joel Irving picked up on the Hofstrand effort and skated the puck onside for Mathieu Brunelle, who fired a slap shot through Yates' five-hole to put the Condors up 2-1 with 3:37 left until the intermission.

Halfway through the third period, Scott Burt pushed a breakaway in toward Ryan Munce, who made the initial save. Traffic followed the breakaway as the rebound trailed into the slot, where Tyler Kindle picked up the puck and fired it past Munce's right side to knot the game at 2-2. The teams exchanged chances through the remainder of regulation and through overtime, pushing the contest to a shootout.

Though the Condors and Steelheads battled evenly through 65 minutes of hockey, Bakersfield ran away with the shootout. The Condors scored on Yeats on their first three attempts, including a highlight reel goal by Sean Venedam in the second round. Ryan Munce did his part, stopping all three Idaho shooters, with his save on D'arcy McConvey sealing the victory for the Condors.

Munce stopped 31 shots on his way to the victory, while Matt Yeats was credited with the loss despite making 31 saves on 33 Condor chances.

Other notes: Kevin St. Jacques extended his point streak to a Condor season-high seven games with his second period goal. With the victory, Ryan Munce leads the ECHL in shootout victories with six. The Steelheads power play, which entered the game ranked #1 in the league, was held by the Condors penalty kill unit. The Condors contine their series with theIdaho Steelheads with back-to-back games on February 10th and 11th at 6:10pm Pacific Time. Bakersfield returns home on Wednesday, February 15th against San Diego for Valentine's Day Part II and High School/College ID Night sponsored by WB-12 and the Big 96.5.

Check out the Bakersfield Condors Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from February 8, 2006


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.

OurSports Central