Condors drop nail-biter to Stockton, 5-3

STOCKTON, Calif. – The Bakersfield Condors (18-16-1-0, 37pts) fell tonight to the Stockton Thunder (15-11-2-4, 36pts) in front of 3,620 fans at Stockton Arena on Wednesday night.

F Slava Trukhno put the Condors on the board 4:11 into the first period. Trukhno cruised into the attacking zone along the left wing and fired a wrist shot that deflected off the blocker of G Bryan Pitton and across the goal line to put Bakersfield up 1-0. C Pete Zingoni scored his fifth goal in the last three games with 6:14 left in the frame. Zingoni dug a puck free behind the Stockton net and swung around to slap home a backhander as the Condors took a 2-0 lead on the shorthanded goal.

Stockton erased the deficit with two goals in 4:05 during the second period. LW Jarrett Konkle scored his first of the night 7:25 into the middle stanza when collected his own rebound and popped a shot over the sprawled out body of G Brian Stewart to cut the Condors lead in half. Konkle scored again at 11:30 when he found a loose puck in the crease and tapped it home to ever the score at 2-2 going into the third period.

Konkle finished off his natural hat trick when he finished off a 2-on-1 rush to give Stockton their first lead of the game. Bakersfield answered 17 seconds later, as LW Brad Snetsinger tied it back up 10:07 into the final frame. The Thunder broke the tie when RW Jim McKenzie tapped home a pass off an odd man rush to put Stockton back up 4-3. LW Bretton Cameron capped off the scoring with an empty netter with 1 second left as Stockton came back for the 5-3 victory.
Click here to see the box score.

Notes:
RW Erick Lizon returned from his PTO with Worcester (AHL) and played in his first game with the Condors since Dec. 11… C Pete Zingoni scored for the third straight night and has scored in all three games since returning to the Condors, and has 7 points in those three games… The Condors had their 3 game road winning streak snapped with the loss… Power plays: BAK: 0/7, STK: 1/5… Three Stars: 1. J. Konkle (STK); 2. B. Cameron (STK); 3. J. McKenzie (STK).

Get Tickets

The Condors return home on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 14 and 15. On Friday night against Alaska they welcome World Series pitcher and Bakersfield native Colby Lewis, sponsored by My 45 and KUZZ 107.9. He will sign autographs in the Condors Photo Booth. On Saturday at noon the Condors host the Ontario Reign and welcome Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, straight from Jellystone Park and right to the Condors Photo Booth, courtesy of Bright House Networks and 101.5 KGFM.

Individual tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster and the Rabobank Arena Box Office. Box Office hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Friday, and 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday, with extended hours on game and event days. You can also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or visit them online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket packages start at just $31.

Tickets for the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic, to be held in Bakersfield on Jan. 26, 2011, are on sale now. Mini plans are available as well; visit www.echlallstarclassic.com for further details on the event. Call the Condors office at 324-PUCK(7825) or go online to www.bakersfieldcondors.com for more information.