Condors Run Over RoadRunners With Lutes' Hat-Trick, 6-5

Team Gets Back On The Road For Saturday Night's Game In Fresno

PHOENIX, Ariz . - The Condors beat the Phoenix RoadRunners, 6-5, Friday night, in front of 3,097 at US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ. Brett Lutes stole the show, picking up the Condors' first hat-trick of the year.

The Condors (3-0-1, 7 points) struck first, as Tim Konsorada netted his second goal of the year at the 4:55 mark of the first period.  Andrew Ianiero and Steven Later both picked up their third assists of the year on the play.  Ianiero set the streaking Konsorada up perfectly with a cross- ice pass that caught RoadRunners netminder Nathan Lawson completely out of position.

[unknown placeholder $file.caption$]

The Condors came out on fire in the second period and tied the game on Brett Lutes' second goal of the year at the 11:00 mark.  He deflected a shot from Joe Dustin right past the scrambling Lawson in net.  Mark Derlago also picked up an assist on the play.

Bakersfield kept the pressure on when Sean Venedam ripped a slap shot from the left point into the net for his second goal of the year, giving the Condors the 3-2 lead. David Kudelka picked up the assist.

The Condors struck again at the 17:56 mark of the second when Spencer Carbery netted his first goal of the year, from Scott Balan and Reagan Leslie.  Carbery snapped the puck right past Lawson after receiving a tape-to-tape pass in the slot from Balan, making the score 4-2.

The Condors extended the lead to 5-2 with Lutes' second goal of the game, coming off a great set up from Derlago and Justin Chwedoruk.

The RoadRunners battled back with consecutive goals before Lutes put the finishing touches on his hat-trick with an empty net goal at 18:55, making the score 6-4. The Roadrunners had one last push, and Justin Maiser was able to sneak one past Fukufuji for Phoenix's fifth goal, but the Condors held tough, winning the game 6-5.

To access the game's full box score click here.

Notes: Head Coach Marty Raymond earned the 200th win of his coaching career tonight.  The Condors entered action Friday night with the highest attendance total in the ECHL at 17,379.  The Condors face Fresno at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night in a rematch of last week's amazing game against the Falcons.

Highlights from last Saturday's game against Fresno, including the fracas, Kevin Truelson's goal and Brett Lutes' game-winner, can be found on the official website of the Condors, www.bakersfieldcondors.com, on the homepage as well as in the multimedia section of The Nest.