Resilient Condors Ready For Playoff Run

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BAKERSFIELD, CA - When the Bakersfield Condors fell 4-2 to Abbotsford on April 26 they looked to be destined to be on the road for all three games of the first round of the American Hockey League playoffs.

Two wins by the then red-hot Canucks (who had won nine straight) would have left the Condors traveling to Colorado. A single point by the Canucks would have meant a trip back to British Columbia for the Condors.

In control of their fate before the loss in Abbotsford, the Condors needed help.

They got it from the Manitoba Moose who hammered the visiting Canucks 7-1 on Thursday and doubled down on Saturday with 5-2 win.

So by the time the Condors took to their home ice for the final regular-season game against the Stockton Heat they were once again in control of their own destiny: Win and the three-game series would be in Bakersfield. Lose and it was a dreaded trip back up to Abbotsford.

Given another opportunity, the Condors took full advantage by beating the Heat 3-1 before a raucous 6,499.

"I don't want to get emotional, but this team, how much they responded every time: either a bad game or something hard, injuries, coaching changes.  You name it down the list," said interim head coach Colin Chaulk, who took the reins after head coach Jay Woodcroft took over as head man of the Edmonton Oilers.

"We've been waiting for moments like this all year, the adversity this group has gone through. It was really amazing just to sit back and watch."

Abbotsford and Bakersfield finished the 68-game season tied with 84 points. The Condors owned the tiebreaker advantage - wins in regulation - 32 to 30.

The only blimp on the home ice advantage is there will be no weekend games (traditionally larger crowds) as Mechanic’s Bank Arena is booked Thursday-Sunday.

That results in a bit of an odd schedule if the series goes all three: Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, the following Monday.

The Condors got a first period goal by defenseman Darien Kielb (who was in the ECHL with Ft. Wayne a month ago) and a second-period goal from James Hamblin (his 21st) to take a 2-1 lead into the third.

Veteran right wing Seth Griffith pretty much sealed the deal when he scored his team-record 30th goal on a power play with 8:56 left.

It was the 21st win on home ice for Bakersfield, also a team record.

"We've had a lot of guys in and out throughout the year," Griffith said. "Call ups, guys getting hurt. We've battled through it and had success. It's no different for us. It almost makes it a little easier with the adjustments.

"Some teams don't have the injuries and battle adversity. We've battled adversity all year so we're confident that whoever steps into what role we'll have success."

The Condors all talk about adversity because there has been plenty of it this season: COVID issues hit hard and left  them short players for extended periods early in the season; a multitude of injuries and call-ups did the same. And then there was the loss of Jay Woodcroft as their head coach and defensive guru Dave Manson when both were promoted to the Oilers after Dave Tippett was fired.

That was on Feb. 10 and Chaulk wasn’t even with the team at that time as he was on leave spending time with his terminally ill sister.

On March 19, after a 3-1 loss to Abbotsford on home ice, Caulk informed the team his sister had passed away and then received hugs from multiple players in the arena hallway before conducting a post-game interview.

Chaulk missed a March 23 win over Colorado (recently hired assistant John Anderson served as bench boss) as Chaulk went back to Toronto for the funeral.

Then came April when mounting injuries left the team down eight regulars at one point during the same time span.

Up front Cooper Marody went down on March 30 and missed six games, Raphael Lavoie on March 30 (season-ending), Dylan Holloway on April 6 (missed eight games) and Brendan Perlini on April 6 (missed 9 games and counting).

On the back end, Philip Broberg was injured on March 18, missed 13 games, came back for three and was in Edmonton for Bakersfield’s season finale.

Big-hitting Markus Niemielian last played April 9 and has not skated since. Dmitri Samorukov suffered a season-ending injury on April 2 and Phil Kemp went down for the season on April 9. All are NHL contracted and Broberg (eighth overall pick in 2019) and Niemielian (third-round pick in 2016) played in Edmonton this season.

To top things off, the workhorse of Bakersfield's defense, Vinny Desharnais, was injured on April 26 and missed the final regular-season game. He leads all Bakersfield D-men in points (27) and the AHL in plus/minus at plus-36.

For those keeping score, five of the Condors' top six defensemen were not on the ice on Saturday.

Forward Tim Schaller, who last played D a decade ago before heading to Providence College, stepped up and filled that role on Saturday.

Through it all, the Condors somehow managed to keep winning. They went 8-4 in April to finish 37-21-5-1 and .618.

Chaulk was 19-12-3 through the most difficult time of the season for the team.

"I think the depth we have on this team is unbelievable," Holloway said after his first game back on Saturday. "I think the fact that guys can play forward as D-men or play D-men as forwards is great. (Schaller) was playing D tonight, he looked like a veteran out there. That was awesome for the  team. Our team has been battling adversity all year."

Now comes their biggest test of the season - a stacked Abbotsford team which is getting six players back from the Vancouver Canucks, including goaltender Spencer Martin who went 3-0-3 with a 1.74 goals-against average and .950 save percentage during his NHL stint.

"They have a good team, but we have a good team as well," said Holloway.

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