A 7-2-0 record down the stretch not only put the Condors into the post-season, but enabled them to jump two teams to finish seventh in the National Conference, securing a first-round matchup against the West Division Champion Victoria Salmon Kings.

The Condors went 3-3-3 against Victoria on the season, in what was an exciting, offensive-minded series. Bakersfield finished the season series strong, going 3-0-2 in the final five meetings between the two. Both clubs averaged over four goals per game in the series, with the Condors outscoring the Salmon Kings, 40-39.

LW Mark Derlago led the Condors with an impressive 10 goals and 14 points against Victoria, while C Ash Goldie was the Salmon Kings leader with 17 points (8g-9a) against Bakersfield. The Goldie brothers - Wes (42) and Ash (40) finished first and second, respectively, in the ECHL in goals, and Ash also ranked fifth in the ECHL with 82 points.

Games 1 and 2 take place Thursday and Saturday this week from Victoria, before the series shifts to Bakersfield for Games 3, 4 and 5, if necessary. Below is the schedule:

Series Schedule
Thursday, April 10 @ VIC, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 @ VIC, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, April 15 @ BAK, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 16 @ BAK, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 19 @ BAK, 7 p.m.*
Tuesday, April 22 @ VIC, 7:05 p.m.*
Wednesday, April 23 @ VIC, 7:05 p.m.*
* - if necessary

Round One, Game Three (home game 1)
Apr. 15, Tuesday
KGET-TV 17, Goodwill Industries and Cal Water Rally Towel Giveaway - everyone in attendance will receive a Condors Rally Towel.

Round One, Game Four (home game 2)
Apr. 16, Wednesday
KGET-TV 17, Goodwill Industries and Cal Water Lightning Stick Giveaway - everyone in attendance will receive a pair of Lightning Sticks.

How to Read Your Playoff Tickets
All Full Season Ticket Holders and Weekender ticket plans have the first four playoff home games included in their ticket package that they received at the beginning of the season. Use your TBD tickets as follows:

The Condors 10 for $10 Playoffs Group Outings are on sale now and give fans the opportunity to save big while catching playoffs action with a group! Just get a group of at least 10 people to bring to a playoff game, and the tickets cost just $10 each for lower- bowl seats! The 10 for $10 deal is only on sale through Thursday, April 10 and is not available at the Rabobank Arena Box Office, so be sure to call the Condors at 324-PUCK (7825) right away and set up your group!

In addition to the group plans, Playoff 4-Packs are now on sale through the Condors office and start as low as $28. Reserve seats for the first four Condors playoff home games, enjoy season ticket holder benefits and save cash on your tickets. The deadline for signing up for a Playoff 4-Pack is April 14th, so get your Playoff 4-Pack today by calling the Condors office at 324- PUCK (7825).

Individual tickets for playoff games are also on sale now and may be purchased through the Rabobank Arena Box Office, which is open from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday with extended hours on game days. Individual tickets may also be purchased by phone at 322-2525, online at www.bakersfieldcondors.com, or at any Ticketmaster location.

Although the deadline for Season Ticket Early Bird Renewal has passed, there is still time to reap the benefits of on-time season ticket renewal! Those simply placing a 20% deposit on their 2008-09 seats by April 30 will receive a Condors 10th Anniversary DVD, a historic look back at the past 10 years in Condorstown!

Additionally, those paying in full by April 30 or signing up for AutoPay, which is a program that is set up for automatic payments to a credit or debit card, will receive a Condors Polar Fleece Blanket (50" X 60") as an extra gift! AutoPay is not a new program, but by popular request this season, several different payment options are now available for AutoPay and each qualify for the blanket.

Head spinning yet? To simplify, all you have to do to walk away with the 10th Anniversary DVD and the Condors Polar Fleece Blanket is to sign up for AutoPay with at least a 20% deposit by April 30. So don't lose your seat location, renew your seats today!

Once you renew your season tickets, be sure to also take advantage of the Condors Season Tickets Referral Credit Program to save big bucks on your tickets. Fill out the referral form (click here) and if your referral signs up for full season tickets and pays the 20% deposit on their season tickets by April 30, you will receive $100 credit for each season ticket your referral signs up for. For example, if your referral signs up for four season tickets, and puts the 20% deposit down by April 30, then you will receive $400 credit towards your 2008-09 season tickets or $400 in Condors merchandise gift certificates!

The playoffs are here and we have flipped the calendar to April, which means March Monday Madness has come to a conclusion. March Monday Madness consumed The Nest during the five Monday home games the Condors played in March.

The main attraction involved in March Monday Madness was the Mucho Season Ticket Giveaway, in which the Condors gave away a 2008-09 season ticket to a fan in attendance for every goal the Condors scored in March Monday Madness games. The Condors got hot in March and a total of 23 season tickets for next year were given away, confirming our certifiability in the month.

Fans also reaped the benefits of our Madness through Mad Dashes for Merch, Mascot Slingshots (always a favorite for everyone but Colonel and Cal) and Cooler Kicking Contests. Each of the on-ice events served as zany ways for fans to get free Condors gear.

All in all, March proved to be a great month in which, among all the madness off the ice, the Condors put together their most successful stretch of the season on the ice to make the playoffs.

The Condors will host the Season-Worn Jersey Off Our Backs Silent Auction to benefit the Active 20/30 Club during the first three home games of the Kelly Cup playoffs. The Condors will auction off the burgundy 10th Anniversary jerseys worn by the team for many of the Condors games this season. The silent auction bidding sheet will be located at the table behind section 110 on Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16. On Saturday, April 19 it will be behind section 103.

The proceeds raised from this event will benefit the youth of Kern County, many of whom are in severe need of medical attention, through the Active 20/30 Club. Last year the event set a silent auction record of $20,250.

The most recent Jersey Off Our Backs Raffle and Auction was held on Saturday, March 29, and raised a total of $31,600, only $600 shy of the of the Condors jersey auction record. The auction proceeds went to the Valley Achievement Center, a non-profit agency that serves people with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Andrew Ianiero's jersey also came close to a Condors record, going for an astounding $5,100, only $100 short of the all-time single jersey record. The Condors three 2007-08 "Jersey Off Our Backs Auctions" have raised $83,700 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Children's Miracle Network and the Valley Achievement Center.

The Condors official website, www.bakersfieldcondors.com, is the ultimate source of information and entertainment for all your Condors needs. For breaking Condors news, look no further than the homepage where top headlines and stories are posted daily. If you missed the action from any Condors game, all you have to do is log on to the site and check out the game recap posted soon after the game ends.

In addition to the recap, video highlights from nearly every home game are available on the Condors TV page! Video highlights take you through all the action from the game and include the best calls of the night from the Voice of the Condors Kevin Bartl.

Game highlights are only the beginning of the incredible video available on Condors TV. Exclusive video and interviews from community events, Condors commercials, pump-up and tribute videos and special events, such as the Condors 2 millionth fan walking through the door, are all posted in the Condors TV section of the Multimedia page for your viewing pleasure. To check out what's on Condors TV right now, click here.

The official website also gives fans the opportunity to chime in on whatever topic is on their minds with the Condors Mailbag, Condors polls and the ability to comment on Condors blogs. The polls are updated regularly and feature a wide variety of topics for fans to vote on, including monthly polls to determine who the Condors Player of the Month will be. The current poll asks how fans will be keeping track of the team in the playoffs, so click here and vote now!

The official website gives you the information you need to be a superfan, and then allows you to voice your opinion in a multitude of ways, and it's all just a click away at www.bakersfieldcondors.com.

Signups for the 12-week in house hockey leagues at the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center are underway. The 12-week "In House Season" begins April 15, with youth teams for kids ranging from 5 to 18 years old. If you're an adult and have no hockey experience, a beginner's hockey program for adults is also available.

Public skating hours run from 1:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Monday - Friday, noon - 3 p.m. on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. on Sunday. Public skating is also available every Friday night from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. for DJ Night.

For more information, check out www.bakersfieldicesports.com or call the Ice Sports Center at (661) 852-7400 for further details regarding all of their programs and activities today!

The season was 1998-99 - the first of what would be 10 unforgettable years of Condors hockey. After a memorable Inaugural Season, the Condors efforts were rewarded by the West Coast Hockey League, who named the club the Organization of the Year on April 8, 1999.

As the anchor tenant in the brand-new Centennial Garden, the Condors established new standards for professional sports in the city of Bakersfield. Their average of 4,622 fans per game that season was a 147% increase upon the previous season - the last campaign for the Bakersfield Fog - and the highest ever for a professional franchise in the city. It was also obvious that the direction of the new hockey team in town was going to be one of a community partner, and many of the programs that started during that season are alive and well a decade later.

"When I think back about our first year, I think about the people that worked here and the fans that made it all happen," said President Matthew Riley. "Without their efforts in building the foundation, Condorstown wouldn't be what it is today. I also think about all the good times I've had on a personal level, and all the memories we've helped create, because it's not about the destination, but the journey."

A few of the highlights from that magical first season included a Bakersfield professional sports record attendance of 7,954 fans for their largest crowd of the season. In addition, the Condors logo was named professional hockey's best and the Condors held the WCHL's first online video broadcast.

The Condors have announced that Frankie Nunez won the Xtreme Memory drawing for a team-signed jersey and the opportunity to drop the ceremonial first puck at a playoff game! Frankie, an 18-year-old Condors fan, will drop the puck at Game 4 of the first round on Wednesday, April 16. To view Frankie's Xtreme Memory, click here. Congratulations Frankie!

The Bakersfield Condors and Houchin Community Blood Bank partnered up during the month of March to help save lives in Kern County. By offering $1 admission to the Condors game on March 31 to anyone who donated blood in the month, the Condors shattered the previous blood drive record, bringing in a grand total of 1,080 blood donations for the 2008 blood drive.

As part of the blood drive, all March donors were also entered into a drawing to win Condors prizes. Congratulations to Doug Hawley, a 4 gallon donor, who won a Condors team-signed jersey. Steven Rivera Jr., a college student who recently began donating blood, won tickets to sit in the R & D Leather Furniture "Best Seat in the House," and Katie Avery, a 1 gallon donor, won the honor of dropping the ceremonial first puck at the Condors final regular season home game.

Mercy Hospitals sponsors Condors programs, contests and ice space and have been doing so for over half a decade. Mercy Hospitals sponsors the T.H.I.N.K. program, in which over 3,900 students who met academic goals received free admission to select games. They also sponsor the Condors Slapshot in the Kids Zone, the Mercy and Memorial Hospitals power play on ESPN Radio AM1230 as well as ice logos, dasher boards and the rink wrap.

"Our relationship with the Condors has increased our overall presence in the community," said Mercy Hospitals President Russell Judd. "The Condors reputation and service matches our own in a market that we would like to reach."

As part of the ongoing growth and improvement of the Florence R. Wheeler Cancer Center, Mercy Hospitals recently hired a new medical oncologist and three new cancer surgeons. They have also recently acquired Kern County's only female breast cancer surgeon. In addition, Mercy is proud to announce the plans for a new state-of-the-art cancer center on the Mercy southwest campus. Ground breaking is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2008.

March was a great month for the Condors on and off the ice. In addition to ending with six wins in the final eight games, the Condors wrapped up the Mercy and Memorial Hospitals and Diamond Technologies T.H.I.N.K. and SC Architect and ABC 23 Classroom Champions programs, and donated 4,000 tickets to D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. graduates.

The Condors created two school programs that reward students with Condors tickets for meeting academic, behavioral and attendance goals in the classroom. The Classroom Champions and T.H.I.N.K. (Turn Hockey Into New Knowledge) programs combined to provide over 6,700 students with the chance to see a Condors game for performing well in school, during the 2007-08 school year.

All participants of the T.H.I.N.K. program were entered into a drawing to win a brand-new computer from Diamond Technologies. On March 29, Ian Stevenson of Fruitvale Jr. High was drawn as the grand prize winner.

The Condors also teamed up with the Bakersfield Police Department to provide all graduates from G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education And Training) and D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) with tickets to attend a Condors game. More than 4,000 graduates from these two programs were given admission to a Condors game for a job well done, as the Condors continue to strive to keep our youth away from drugs and gangs by allowing them to enjoy wholesome activities.

There's no time to waste - the playoffs are right around the corner and approaching quickly, so get down to the Condors Team Store, located on Truxtun Ave. right across the street from Rabobank Arena, to get all the Condors gear you need to root the team on in the first round against Victoria and show everyone you still believe!

Brand new playoff t-shirts will be arriving soon and will be on sale at The Nest on Tuesday, April 15 during Game 3. In addition to the playoff t-shirts, jersey t's, Reebok and Taking it to the Xtreme t-shirts are also still available at the store.

Believe it or not, the Condors do still have some jerseys left after those insane jersey sales in March. Both embroidered and sublimated jerseys are going fast as Condorstown prepares for the playoffs, so contact the Team Store at 324-NETT (6388) or log on to www.condorsteamstore.com for online shopping right away!

Steve Slonina (Center) - April 3
Jason Lindsey (Athletic Trainer) - April 11
Eric Sonnenberg (Forward) - April 16