by Josh Bennett
Staff Writer
The first game of the new look Bakersfield Condors held a lot of promise, but the team eventually fell to the Colorado Eagles 2-1 in a shootout loss, Friday at Rabobank Arena. The Condors’ lone goal came from center Chase Schaber, early in the second period, but was unable to score again, as a very early Colorado goal, 37 seconds into the game, proved costly for the Condors, despite earning a point from the contest.
Early on, the Condors seemed to be overmatched and overpowered by Colorado, even without counting that early goal. While the Condors were able to successfully kill a cross-checking penalty from left winger Chris Collins, midway through the first period, Colorado shut down the majority of the plays Bakersfield was trying to set up.
However, the Condors’ defense stepped up, especially goaltender Tyler Bunz, who was making up for his early miscue with nine first period saves. When the second period began, the Condors seemed like a completely different team.
“There’s always adjustments, I thought there was a lot of nerves early, and I just told the guys after the first period that we need to manage the puck a little better and get our skating legs, and I thought we started to do that at the end of the first,” said Head Coach Troy Mann. “I thought, clearly, we were the better team in the second and the third, unfortunately we just couldn’t get the win.”
From the second period on, the Condors showed a more aggressive style of play, and took control away from Colorado, especially in the second period, where they limited the Eagles’ offensive output and got on the board with the Schaber goal.
“It was just a good neutral zone forecheck, and patience. [Jordan Knackstedt] got the puck, chipped it to me, and I was fortunate enough to slip between the defenseman’s legs and shot the puck,” said Schaber. “I wasn’t really aiming on that one, I just found a hole and it found the back of the net.”
Tempers started to flare from the third period on, as an early fight that was won by forward Jake Morley allowed the teams to hit more, as well as more post-whistle tie-ups and more pileups in front of the net.
Despite the physicality, Bakersfield stayed strong defensively, coupled with more key saves from Bunz, but missed a couple of opportune possessions that could have won the game. Twice, the Condors were presented with empty net chances, but were unable to capitalize either time.
“[Colorado is] certainly a veteran team, they got a push there towards the end of the third and I thought we responded well. I thought we had some guys step up with some big hits and they will need to continue to be that way,” said Mann.
The same physicality boiled over to overtime, which eventually turned into a shootout. Bakersfield scored on their first two opportunities, courtesy of Knackstedt, who assisted the Schaber goal, and left winger Brett Lutes. However the Condors were unable to cash in on the final three attempts, while the Eagles scored on their second, fourth, and fifth tries, giving them the victory.
“Overall, I told the guys not to hang their heads at all. It was a skills competition that we lost. Certainly in a home opener you want to get that “W” on the board, but overall I like our team,” said Mann.
“We just need to keep building on stuff. We’re a no-quit mentality team, we’re going to earn everything, and we’re just going to keep pushing forward,” said Schaber.
Despite the loss, the Condors earn one point in the standings from the shootout loss. The next home game will be on Friday, Oct. 25 when they will face their heated rival and defending Western Conference Champion, Stockton Thunder on Team Poster Giveaway Night.
