Year of the Condor Opens with 7-2 Blowout
October 23, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release
Bakersfield, Calif. - Eleven different players recorded a point and the Bakersfield Condors scored four goals in the second period en route to a 7-2 Opening Night victory over the Victoria Salmon Kings in front of 4,419 fans at Centennial Garden.
The offense came early for Bakersfield, with two goals coming in the opening minute. Mike Hofstrand recorded the first Condors goal of the season just 18 seconds in to take the lead, which they would not relinquish. Brad Mehalko scored just 59 seconds into the game for a 2-0 lead and Bakersfield was off to the races.
In the second period, while holding off Victoria with a 2-1 lead, Mehalko curled around the defense for a partial breakaway and slipped home his second of the night for a 3-1 lead. Less than two minutes later, Luis Tremblay scored his first professional goal during 4-on-4 action. Chris Twerdun and Brett Lutes, also scoring his first pro goal, closed out the Condors second period scoring with tallies at 11:12 and 13:22, respectively. Former Condor Mike Barrie stopped the bleeding by tucking a backhander home at 17:11 to make it 6-2 after 40 minutes. Victoria starter David Brumby was replaced in net after stopping 13 of 19 shots.
Twerdun, a rookie defenseman for Bakersfield, blasted home his second goal of the night to make it 7-2 at 3:21 of the third stanza, closing out the scoring for the night. Randy Petruk quietly turned in a strong performance in the Bakersfield net, stopping 22 of 24 Salmon Kings shots for the victory.
The two clubs meet again on Saturday night at Centennial Garden, with a 7:00 p.m. face off. The first 2,000 fans will get a free Condors Olympic Medallion honoring Kern County's Summer Olympic participants, sponsored by KGET-TV 17 and American Business Machines. The famous ZOOperstars also make their first appearance of the season to entertain the crowd.
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