Written By Josh Bennett

Sports Editor

The Bakersfield Condors opened the 2014-15 ECHL season with a pair of games against the rival Stockton Thunder on Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena.

The teams picked up right where they left off at last season’s Western Conference Semifinals, which was won by the Condors. Friday’s game saw the Condors come out on top 3-1, while Saturday’s game saw Stockton come from behind and win 4-3.

“We had to get the nervousness out of the air and we executed on all the plays with better passes and we moved our feet a lot more so that was a big difference in the second and third,” said head coach J.F. Houle on the Condors building momentum throughout the game.

The Condors took control of the puck early, as the team began to gain confidence as the game went along. A little over five minutes into the second period, forward Kellen Jones forced a turnover in the Thunder zone and gave a quick give-and-go pass to his brother, center Connor Jones, which led to a one timer goal from forward Jim McKenzie to put the Condors on the board with a 1-0 lead.

“I think it was a good transition play. I passed it to Kellen [Jones] and he passed back and I heard [McKenzie] yelling and I tried to get it to him as quick as I [could] and he did a good job…and he put it on the mark,” said Connor Jones.

After closing the second period with a collection of penalties and fights, including a scuffle between the two teams after the horn sounded, Rimmer and the Condors defense continued their solid play, killing off multiple Thunder chances and another Stockton power play opportunity.

“I don’t mind shots early, as long as you stop them,” said Rimmer. “I don’t mind a little action in front of the net. Defense did a great job. They let me see the pucks and that makes my job a little easier.”

Bakersfield nearly put their second goal on the board, but the puck did not completely cross the goal line. The disappointment was short lived as the Condors would score that second goal as forward Jonathan Lessard broke free and scored on a hard slapshot.

Rimmer would finally show a crack in his brick wall as Stockton finally found the net with less than four minutes to go on a power play goal by forward Ryan Hayes. Rimmer finished the game with 30 saves.

“Anytime they were within one goal or knocking at the door, he was really solid,” said Houle.

The Condors would earn a late power play, which eliminated Stockton’s opportunity to add an extra skater on the ice, and would capitalize as Connor Jones scored off a rebound to seal the win for the Condors.

Saturday’s game began as an opposite of Friday’s game as the Condors raced out of the gates and scored on their first shot 27 seconds into the game, off a Lessard goal.

Bakersfield controlled most of the first period, until Stockton finally responded with a goal from Thunder defenseman Loic Leduc with 21. 3 seconds remaining in the period.

“It’s tough when you only have nine forwards. That tenth forward, you don’t realize how important he is,” said Houle on the inconsistent momentum the team had tonight. Center Josh Currie felt ill at the beginning of the game and did not play for the remainder of it.

A somewhat calm first period was ignited upon the sound of the horn when Leduc and Condors center Chase Shaber started an exchange and led to a scuffle between the two teams. This led to an unsportsmanlike penalty call to Shaber, causing the Condors to start the second period on a penalty kill.

The Thunder was able to tie the game with less than three minutes in the period off a one-timer from forward Robin Soudek.

“I thought we moved the puck around okay tonight, had a couple of close calls, almost scored a couple times. Hopefully it can click here in the next couple of games,” said Houle on the Condors power play unit from the first two games.

The Condors started the third with thirty seconds of power play time, which went unrewarded, and continued to gradually lose momentum to Stockton. Bakersfield had plenty of opportunities to gain it back but Stockton scored a power play goal when forward Jack MacLellan scored off a rebound that was behind Rimmer and out of his reach, stealing the win for the Thunder.

“We just have to learn from our mistakes. We’re a young club, and as the season goes on, we’ll correct those mistakes, and we’ll be fine,” said Houle.

The Condors next home game is against the team they lost to in last year’s Western Conference Finals, the Alaska Aces, on Thursday at Rabobank Arena.