The Bakersfield Condors dropped back-to-back games to the Tuscon Roadrunners this weekend (both by scores of 5-3) and now have a 2-2-1 record early in the 2022-23 AHL season.

Despite the losses, the highlight of the weekend for the Condors was a pair of rookie forwards scoring the first goals of their respective AHL careers. 2020 fifth-round pick Ty Tullio scored on Saturday and 2021 first-round pick Xavier Bourgault lit the lamp twice on Sunday.

Here’s Tullio’s first goal game, which sees him blaze through the neutral zone to retrieve a loose puck and then patiently carry it into Tuscon’s slot and snipe a wrist shot over Ivan Prosvetov’s glove…

Bourgault’s first goal was similar to Tullio’s, as he used his speed to pick up a puck in the neutral zone after a Roadrunner defender flubbed it at Bakersfield’s blueline. Bourgault completely burned the Tuscon defender and carried the puck right to their net and fired it past goaltender Jon Gillies while also making the head-ups play to avoid a check from the other defenceman…

And here’s Bourgault’s second goal, which came on a one-time snapshot on the power play after taking a cross-zone pass from Seth Griffith. Seeing Bourgault put up results on both the power play and the penalty kill is very encouraging…

Also worth noting from the Condors is the strong performance of James Hamblin early in the season, as he leads the team with three goals and six points through five games. Hamblin impressed at training camp with his wheels and ability to be constantly on the puck. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he gets a call-up to the big league club if he keeps up this play with the Condors.