The Condors are soaring higher than ever before and are currently on track to grab a great seed in the ECHL Playoffs. As of March 5th, the Condors currently have 76 points and need 80 to clinch, bringing the magic number to four points.

Not only are the Condors in a great position to grab a high seed in the playoffs, they are also on a record setting pace for most points in a season. The all-time high in points set by a Bakersfield team was during the 2002-03 season when the team recorded 91 points. This year’s Condors squad is on pace for 97+ points.

Where there are points, there are wins. The Condors currently have 33 victories and have 16 games remaining. The Condors are on pace to win 42+ games this season, breaking the previous record of 41 also set in 2002-03. The Condors also need only eight more wins to tally the 300 all-time for the Condors. The team’s current record is 292-161-77 dating back from 1998-99.

While everyone in Condorstown would love to see a record setting season, players and coaches agree that wins are nice, but getting the Cup is the goal.

“Our focus is to win a championship,” said Kevin Asselin. “We just want to win.”

It seems to be a universal feeling around the locker room that winning the Cup is the primary focus.

“We play all year to get a good playoff seeding to win a championship.” said Steve Rodberg.

Since the season is so long and rest becomes a huge factor, don’t be surprised to see some players sit and rest once the Condors grab the seeding they want to prepare for the championship run.

“I know a lot of other teams and coaches probably don’t want to hear this, but we are going to rest some of our older boys once we grab the position we want,” said Marty Raymond at the Condors Coaches Show. “Some teams will think that’s the chicken way out or that we don’t care to play them. We do, but we care about winning a championship a lot more.”

It’s never easy to win a championship and a little bit of rest will help, but having the enormous attendance support every game is definitely like having an extra skater on the ice. The Condors are currently third in the ECHL in overall attendance with 165,579. Division rival Stockton leads the league with 178,490. The Condors playoff games will no doubt be the hottest ticket in Bakersfield and will be more exciting than ever.

“I feed off the crowd’s energy,” said Todd Griffith. “Once that crowd starts getting loud, I start to get excited and good things happen. I can’t wait until the playoffs. I heard the arena gets filled!”

The playoffs begin on April 10th and the Condors are on pace to grab home-ice advantage in the first round. The excitement in Condorstown is growing rapidly and will continue to do so until the season comes to an end. Keep an eye out for more playoff info and dates that tickets will go on sale. This post- season is something no fan will want to miss.

Thanks to you, the best fans in the ECHL, the Condors are on pace for the 2nd largest attendance average in team history. We’re currently averaging 5,710 fans per game, which places us 4th in the league, and is a 3% increase over last season. At this pace, it would be the 4th straight season in which more of you have come to see us play than the year before, and would be topped only by the 1999-2000 season, when we averaged 5,977 fans per game. As well, we’re hopeful of surpassing the 200,000 fans mark for the 5th time in our nine-year history. Thank you Condorstown!

For all current full season ticket holders, renewal agreements for the 2007-2008 season were mailed out on March 1. If you have not received your agreement via mail by now, please contact us and we’ll confirm your contact information and re-send it ASAP.

March 1 kicked off the Condors Blood Drive Month at the Houchin Community Blood Banks, located at 5901 Truxtun Ave. and 2600 G St. All participants who donate blood in the month of March to either one of the two locations will receive $1 terrace admission to the Condors game on Wednesday, March 28, courtesy of 107.9 KUZZ.

Need a Condors player to get your blood flowing? On Thursday, March 22, Condors players and mascots will be at the Truxtun location to visit with blood donors at 5:30 p.m. Don’t miss your chance to help save a life! To learn more about being a donor please contact Tracy Hunter at 323-4222.

Saturday, March 17th – Bright House Networks, 101.5 KGFM and American Business Machines present SpongeBob Squarepants and St. Patrick’s Day Jersey Raffle and Auction
Enjoy nautical nonsense with SpongeBob Squarepants as he entertains fans live and in person. Also, game-worn St. Patrick’s Day jerseys will be auctioned off after the game to benefit the Kern Adult Literacy Council, plus everyone in attendance has a chance to win one of five to be given away!

Tuesday, March 20th – Ladies Night
Ladies can enjoy an evening of fun and prizes while learning about the sport of hockey from the pros. Take some time to learn and discuss the aspects of the game in an informative and interactive Hockey 101 session. Lessons will include discussions on a range of topics from player positions and the strategies of fighting, to the history of the ECHL and the Kelly Cup. In addition to all this, you get to spend the evening with some of your favorite Condors players.

Participants will receive tickets to the On Ice Suite for the following evening’s game against the Fresno Falcons. Fans can sign up for Ladies Night by calling 324-PUCK or by visiting the Customer Service table during Condors home games.

Friday, March 23rd – KUZZ 107.9 and Pulte Homes Cap Giveaway
The first 2,000 fans will receive a Condors cap.

Saturday, March 31st – FOX 58, 98.5 The Fox and Three Way Chevrolet present the Blues Brothers Act
See Jake and Elwood Blues perform their song and dance routines from their hit movies in their final hockey performance ever!

Friday, April 6th – KGET-TV 17, KUZZ 107.9 and Carl’s Jr. present Pint Glass Giveaway*
The first 2,000 adults will receive a Condors pint glass.
*This night was originally slated as Hard Hat Giveaway, however due to a delivery issue, it has been replaced with Pint Glass Giveaway.

For more information or to view all the Condors upcoming promotions, visit the promotional calendar at http://www.bakersfieldcondors.com/iyc/ publish/promotions.php

Post-season play across the ECHL will begin on April 10. Information on playoff tickets, and date scenarios will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Seventh Annual Tip-A-Condor Raises $23,489:
The Seventh Annual Tip-A-Condor Charity Dinner, presented by 107.9 KUZZ, was held on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at Buck Owens Crystal Palace and raised $23,489 for the Kern County Shrine Club. Live and silent auctions were held for various items and Condors players served food and sang karaoke for ‘tips.’ This year’s dinner raised 40 percent more than last year.

Among the proceeds raised, the highest bid went for a vacation trip to Salt Lake City, Utah for $4,000. The trip included airfare to and from Utah, tickets to the Condors vs. Grizzlies games on March 9 and 10 and hotel accommodations. Following the trip was an authentic Paul Rosebush jersey that went for $2,300.

$61,489 Raised In Third Annual Fighting Cancer Hockey-Thon:
On Saturday, Feb. 17 the Condors presented the Third Annual Fighting Cancer Hockey-Thon to benefit “Links for Life” a local breast cancer resource center, courtesy of Grand Island Pools, 107.9 KUZZ and Bright House Networks. The event raised $61,489, which is triple the amount raised from the previous year and the largest sum of money earned by a charity event in Condors history. Condors Owner Jonathan Fleisig directly donated $10,000 to the cause!

Organized by former Condors player Kevin Barrett, the Hockey-Thon was an exciting 27 hours of hockey and included hockey players of all ages and skill levels. Entry required a pledge of at least $200 and, in return, participants received a commemorative jersey and two tickets to the Condors game on Feb. 17. In addition, there was a Celebrity Game directly preceding the Condors game, which featured former Condors players Paul Rosebush, Glen Mears, Paul Willett, Scott Hay, Quinn Fair, Al Murphy, Brian McCarthy and Kevin Barrett.

Canned Food Drive Collects 1,500 Pounds:
On Tuesday, Feb. 27 the Condors held the Help for the Homeless Canned Food Collection, presented by My TV 45 and 96.9 The Beat. All fans that donated two non-perishable food items received terrace admission for $1. The event brought in 1,500 pounds of canned food for the Bakersfield Homeless Center.

The Condors would like to welcome back corporate partner Tuff Shed for their third year of sponsorship with the Condors. Tuff Shed is the sponsor of the game starting line-ups and during the pre-game introductions you'll see the players skate through a special-made Condors style Tuff Shed.

“Tuff Shed is very proud of their sponsorship with the Condors,” said Tuff Shed General Manager, Jeff Austill. “We have the perfect sponsorship with the Condors since we are great organizations on both sides. We love working with the Condors and being part of the big picture towards great success.”

Tuff Shed is America’s leading provider of installed storage buildings and garages. For 25 years, Tuff Shed has been delivering on its customer promise of providing products of lasting value through the use of innovative engineering, proven construction techniques and expert consultative services. Tuff Shed is located at 4420 State Rd. For more information call (661) 393-8834.

The Condors’ Mailbag has been integrated into the Condors website as a way to answer questions regarding the team, front office and organization. The coaches and front office will answer all relative questions. If you’d like to ask a question or check out some other questions the Condors’ Mailbag is displayed on the Condors homepage.

Mailbag Post:
From: D.R.
What’s up with the $3 per game price increase for my season tickets on the Glass? That’s like 16% more than last season. Is this how the Condors organization rewards their loyal fans?

Mailbag Response:
In the season ticket holder renewal information letter that was sent out on March 1, we did increase season ticket prices across the board, which is our first increase in three years. Seats in the front row on the glass increased the most, while most of the other sections went up $1 per game, for just the 4th price increase in our 10 year history.

During the current 06-07 season our pricing for “Glass Seats”, are among the lowest in the league. I hope you’d agree our product anyway you look at it, is in the upper echelon of the ECHL. Plus, even with the “Glass Seat” increase, the price is still in the lower half of the league, and well below the league average.

Also, when spread out over our 10 year history, our price increases are actually a tad below the Consumer Price Index over the same time frame. In other words, the percentage that our prices have increased has been below that of average percentage increase in prices for other goods and services in the United States since 1998.

We strive hard to keep our prices down. But, as the cost of doing business increases for everyone else, we are no different. Expenses in two of our major expense categories, transportation and workers comp insurance, have also increased at an incredible pace, which obviously has directly affected us as well.

Although price increases are never fun, I hope this helps you understand a little better where we’re coming from. Thanks for your support and we hope to see you back!!!

Jose Rivera
Director of Ticket Sales

Saturday, March 17 - Irish Soda Bread, Shepherd’s Pie, Corned Beef And Cabbage, Oatmeal Apple Cobbler

For future Club Room menus go to http://www.bakersfieldcondors.com/tickets/sth.php

The Condors are 9-3-3 on the road when they score first

The Condors are 5-0-3 on the road when they are out-shot by their opponent

The Condors are 8-1-1 on the road when they lead after the first period

The Condors are 7-1-1 on the road when they lead after the second period

The Condors have gone to overtime or a shootout in eight of their last 12 meetings, including four straight and five of the last six on the road.

Kevin St. Jacques leads the team with 22 points (9g, 13a) on the road

David Kudelka – 3/8

email: condors@bakersfieldcondors.com

phone: 661.324.PUCK (7825)

web: http://www.bakersfieldcondors.com