Unfortunately, the Bakersfield Condors season has come to a halting stop after losing game three by a score of 6-2 against the Coachella Valley Firebirds and ultimately dropping the series 2-1.

After finishing the regular season with 37 wins, 23 losses, eleven overtime losses, and a shootout loss, the Condors found themselves in fifth place and facing off against the fourth-place Firebirds. Bakersfield during the regular season did seem to have the upper hand as they won six out of the eight games they played, but when it came down to crunch time, it was Coachella Valley that was able to come out on top.

The opening game of the series went exactly how the Condors would have drawn it up on the whiteboard. Unfortunately for about the first ten minutes of the game, the FloHockey stream was having some troubles, and the Seth Griffith opening goal was missed. Getting the assists on the power play marker were Isaac Howard and Viljami Marjala. Up by one and with a handful of traffic in front, Quinn Hutson unleashes a half-slapper that finds its way to the back of the net. Much like the Edmonton Oilers against the Anaheim Ducks in their round one series, the Bakersfield Condors open up the game with a two-to-nothing lead.

There is more coming from Hutson in the next two games, as he finished the series with three goals in the three games, and I thought he played well throughout. However, the American winger spent eight minutes in the box. Hutson took a bad hooking penalty with two minutes remaining in Game 2, which ultimately led to a Bakersfield loss. Now, back to Game 1. After the Firebirds answered with a goal of their own,, it was the young rookie, William Nicholl, forcing the Coachella Valley goalie into a turnover with his quick forecheck. The puck goes back to the point, and Samuel Poulin finds the rebound for his only goal of the series.

The scoring didn’t stop there, and it was the captain yet again netting his second of the game. Isaac Howard and Viljami Marjala also picked up their second assists on the evening with the Griffith marker. I loved this goal, and that is mostly because of the passing between Howard and Marjala.

This goal is an excellent example of how you turn a two-on-two rush into a small two-on-one and take advantage of it. The Finnish centre drags the puck over to Howard’s side and lets him take the entry, pushing the defenceman back so Marjala can fill in the empty space. The former Michigan State Spartan sneaks past the Firebirds’ defender and is able to lay a perfect pass on Griffith’s tape. A beautiful play by the top line. The scoring kept pouring on in the third for the Condors as well, as James Hamblin got on the board with a weird goal.

It’s a great transition by Roby Jarventie as he takes advantage of the forward covering on defence, but his pass gets deflected. It doesn’t matter as the veteran centre is able to get his stick on the puck and fool the Firebirds goalie. At first glance I thought it went straight in, but the box score confirms Hamblin got a touch on that puck. Riley Stillman finished off the scoring, and Bakersfield won by five goals to take a massive one-to-nothing lead in the three-game series. Matt Tomkins stopped 38 shots for the win, and he would get the start in Game 2.

Well, Game 2 wasn’t anything like the opening game of the series, as both teams combined for 38 total shots in a nine-goal game. The goalies combined for a 76.3 per cent save percentage, and it seemed like whoever shoots last would end up on the winning side. The offence scored four goals in a playoff game, and that usually means that the forwards had a great game, but Bakersfield entered the third period with seven shots and finished the game with 15. You can’t expect to win a playoff game if that’s all you can muster up on the shot clock. The Condors’ best chance of the period came while they were shorthanded, and it was Isaac Howard that made an excellent pass to Atro Leppanen for a shot.

The former Hoby Baker winner takes a hard pass off his skates, puts it on his backhand, and lays the perfect pass to Leppanen. Howard continues to create offence, and he continues to excel under pressure, his playmaking has taken a great step this year, and it continues to get better. Unfortunately the Condors enter the first intermission down by one with four shots on goal, and it didn’t get any better as once again the Firebirds score on the power play to go up two to nothing. However, hope wasn’t gone, as not even three minutes later, Alec Regula takes a pass from Samuel Poulin, and the Condors get their own power play goal to draw within one.

Great finish by the big right-shot defenceman, but Samuel Poulin’s work along the wall and pass is the star of the clip. Ever since Poulin got to Bakersfield, he has been excellent, flipping from wing to centre, playing with two rookies on his line, whatever you threw at him this season, he made the most out of it. The “throw-in” to the Tristan Jarry acquisition had a good series, finishing with one goal and three assists. Coachella Valley answers back nine minutes later, and the Firebirds take a two-goal lead into the second intermission. But hope is injected back into the Condors again as they get a power play, and Viljami Marjala spots Quinn Hutson streaking down to open ice, where he puts the one-timer into the back of the net.

That is the fourth assist in under two games for Marjala. The former Buffalo Sabres draft pick has such a knack for finding the next play, and his playmaking vision is exceptional. Marjala is able to work around his average skating by thinking a few steps ahead of the opponents, and that has been on display all season. Back to the game, about four minutes later Coachella Valley scores to regain the two-goal lead, however, five minutes after that, Leppanen finishes off a hard-working shift from Poulin, Lafreniere, and Nicholl. Like in Game 1, the former London Knight centre William Nicholl steals the puck, and the cycle starts to go to work from there, leading to the goal.

It’s a bright future in Condors town next year with the young additions all looking pretty good this season. Once again it’s a nice passing play from Poulin, and Lafreniere’s shot goes back-door to the Condors’ top-producing defenceman. Nicholl is such a headache to play against, he flies around the ice with ease. He isn’t afraid to take or give a hit, but he focuses on stealing that puck and gaining possession. About 38 seconds after the massive Leppanen goal, Riley Stillman scores his second, with Howard and Marjala getting the assists. After all that, the game is finally tied with eight minutes to go in the third… but sometimes it’s just not meant to be, and with 3:10 left in the third, Coachella Valley scores the winner. Bakersfield almost got away with grand larceny in Game 2, but we move on to a do-or-die game.

This game hurts as a Condors watcher. They opened up the game by peppering the Firebirds with 15 shots in the first period; that matches their Game 2 total, and they held Coachella Valley to five. The clip below is a quick one of the “Ice Man,” and I just like to highlight how quickly he is able to get this shot off in a crowd and how hard it is.

I don’t see Isaac Howard returning to the Condors next year. After a season seeing him put up 24 goals and 50 points in 47 games, then following it up with four assists in three games in the playoffs, he has done all that is needed at the AHL level. I’m beyond excited to see how he does at the NHL level, and I think he can have a great impact in two to three years. The scoring is what I’m focused on most, throughout the whole year I outlined how many ways he can score as a shooter, and the Oilers would benefit from somebody being able to beat a goalie clean that isn’t the usual characters.

Entering the second period the shots are 15-5 for the Condors, but the score is tied (not for long). Just under two minutes into the second period, Coachella Valley scores the opening goal with Quinn Hutson in the box. That goal seemed to unleash the Firebirds’ offence as they finished the second period up 4-0, and this time they held the Condors to five shots in the period. Bakersfield’s best chance came off of Hutson’s stick after an excellent passing play from Jarventie, Hamblin, and the right-shot winger.

The Condors were able to score two goals in third. One from Damien Carfagna and another from Quinn Hutson, but the Firebirds matched those with two of their own, and Coachella Valley takes the series in game three. Below are the goals from the Ohio State alum and Boston University alum.

Marjala got yet another assist on the Carfagna goal, he finished the series with six assists in three games, which also led Bakersfield, and is still tied for the lead in the AHL playoffs. Quinn Hutson shows off his quick release with the power play marker, and that would end up being the last goal of the Bakersfield Condors season.

Well, folks. That is all from the Bakersfield Condors this season and it was a good one. It didn’t end how I thought it would as they looked good enough to get past a team they had their way with during the regular season. There was a ton of development done this season for a lot of prospects, and we will talk about that during the off-season.