HOLTY’S BLOG: ONE FOR THE ROAD
It’s a Thursday after an early morning arrival from the road. That would be an excuse to not blog, but you don’t win the non-existent AHL Thursday Blogger of the Year Award by not blogging.
You may think it’s not hard blogging after a road game, and that’s fine, but as I’ll remind you, it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want.
Now for the blog…
– The full highlights of last night’s 3-2 shootout win over San Jose in the video below.
– Josh Currie with the line of the bus ride after I mentioned it was a nice feed to set up the opening goal: “I was actually passing it back door to Gusty and it just went to Polei instead.” Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
– Currie has lit up San Jose in his career. Over the past 13 games against the Barracuda, Currie has 17 points (11g-6a) and three hat tricks.
– Polei was a man child last night. That line of Polei-Currie-Gust dominated the offensive zone, wore down the opposition, and was rewarded for their strong play. He could not be moved from the front of the net and it paid off. The team leader in fighting majors last season, he picked up one of those too.
– Last night was Al Montoya’s 98th win in the AHL and his 199th appearance. He was solid again, including during the third and overtime where the Condors found themselves shorthanded a few times. He will give the team a chance to win every night and that’s all you can ask of your goaltender.
– Through three games, the Condors have outshot their opponents in each game, they have 30+ shots in all three, and have only allowed 30 shots in one game. It’s due to the five-on-five play being very puck possession heavy and the emphasis on shot quantity.
– Congrats to Ryan Stanton and his wife on the birth of their daughter (their first child) yesterday. No better way than to celebrate with a win! Stanton was unavailable for the game last night but will definitely further strengthen an already solid Condors defensive corps.
– On that front, Ethan Bear played his first game of the season last night. When he gets going, I think the offensive flare he and Caleb Jones will provide will be crucial.
– The more I consider it, the Condors new blue jerseys are my favorite jerseys we have ever worn. I’ll break down my Top 5 primary jerseys next week. That’s called a tease. The team will wear the blues at home in the second half of the season.
– Looking ahead to the weekend, the defending regular season division champions, the Tucson Roadrunners are in town. They had a comeback victory last Saturday over San Diego, bringing back memories of two years ago when it seemed like no lead was safe with them. Gone are Dylan Strome and Lawson Crouse as they made the Coyotes, but between Adam Helewka, Laurent Dauphin, and Jens Looke, there is enough firepower up front.
– LOCK OF THE WEEK? I’m 5-0 in the Condors Fantasy Football League. So you can trust pretty much everything I say. Entertainment purposes only.
Let’s start with some series predictions: Red Sox (+120) and Brewers (+135) to get to the World Series.
Then for the weekend, it’s a very pedestrian college football slate. Stick to what we know. West Virginia, the Holty preseason sleeper team to win it all, -7 at Iowa State.
An early look at the NFL: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Jets -1 home to the Colts. Also like Arizona +11.5 in Minnesota, Buffalo +11 at Houston, and Chicago off a bye -4 in Miami.
Until next time Condorstown…
Ryan Holt aka Holty is the Voice of the Condors and in his 8th season. He ate at Loma Brewing Co. on Tuesday night, owned by the Greek God of Walks, Kevin Youkilis. Follow him on Twitter @CondorsHolty for more nonsense or shoot him an e-mail to RHolt@bakersfieldcondors.com with questions, comments, or blog ideas.
