Condors lay beatdown in preseason opener

It’s hockey season, folks.

And for those keeping an eye on the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, you know just what happened last night.

For those who don’t, the Condors squad filled with most of the top Oilers prospects laid a beatdown on their division rival Stockton Heat in the teams first preseason matchup winning 8-3.

The Condors managed to rip not only eight goals, but there was also some bad blood as four scraps happened throughout the night. You can see the full set of goals, and scraps, above.

RW Kailer Yamamoto scored two goals adding an assist, while LW Kirill Maksimov scored two (!) shorthanded tallies. RW Tyler Benson got in the fun with two assists of his own.

Noted tough-guy RW Anthony Peluso dropped the mitts twice winning both scraps. RW Josh Currie had a W in a scrap standing up for Yamamoto, while LW Joe Gambardella cleaned up in a late-game scrap. Here’s your full box score.

Much like we do with the Oilers, let’s try not to put too much weight into a preseason game, but I think these rosters are close to what the teams will run in the regular season.

It’s a great start for these Condors, who are looking to build off a season that saw them push into the second round of the AHL playoffs.

There’s players on the roster like Benson, Yamamoto, Evan Bouchard, Cooper Marody, Caleb Jones and Joe Gambardella who are slated to be the next wave of Oilers making the big roster.

It’s going to be worth keeping a close eye on the team this season doubly so considering that batch of players could be called up to the big squad should the need arise.

On Twitter: @zjlaing

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