GAME PREVIEW presented by Rodriguez & Associates

Having secured a Calder Cup Playoffs berth on Wednesday, the Bakersfield Condors shift their attention to the final five games of the regular season with the first of two against the San Diego Gulls. Bakersfield has lost five of the six matchups with the Gulls this season (1-4-1).

LOOKING BACK

A 5-2 win on Wednesday punched the Condors ticket to the postseason. Ethan Keppen scored for the second time in three games while Daniel D’Amato’s seventh of the season held up as the game winner.

WHERE IT STANDS

Six of the seven teams have qualified from the Pacific Division for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Bakersfield sits in sixth, but three points out of third, which is shared by Henderson and Coachella Valley. The Silver Knights have two with San Jose this weekend while the Firebirds have a home-and-home with the division-leading Ontario Reign.

IF the playoffs ended at this moment, the Condors would face Henderson in a best-of-3 first round matchup. Click here for the playoff primer.

30 TUCKS

Quinn Hutson scored his 30th goal of his rookie season on Wednesday. He became the eighth AHL rookie since the 2015-16 season to hit 30 goals with the list of 30-goal rookies since 2015-16 below:

Bradley Nadeau
Ethen Frank
Josh Norris
Alex Barre-Boulet
Joel L’Esperance
Daniel Sprong
Frank Vatrano

Hutson’s 30 goals matched the Condors AHL record set by Seth Griffith in the 2021-22 season.

HOWARD HEATER

Isaac Howard scored his 22nd goal of the season in just 43 games. He is third among rookies in goals and fifth in scoring, despite playing 20+ fewer games than the rest of the top five.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE 

Bakersfield has 23 home wins this season, matching the team’s most home wins in an AHL season, when the team went 23-10-3 (.681) in 2022-23. The team currently has the fourth-best home record in the league at a .742 points percentage.

WHERE ARE THE NEW BOYS?

William Nicholl and Tommy Lafreniere are both expected to make their professional debuts tonight after being signed to ATO’s earlier in the week. Nicholl is a seventh round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2025 and helped the London Knights to back-to-back Memorial Cup berths, including winning the title in 2025. Lafreniere was selected in the third round of last year’s NHL Draft by Edmonton. His 41 goals were sixth in the Western Hockey League. Both are 19 years old.

.600 OR BETTER IN THE GRASP 

Bakersfield currently has a .597 points percentage. The Condors have finished .600 or better in three AHL seasons with the team’s best regular season finish of .654 in the Pacific Division regular season title season of 2018-19.

RED LAMP LIGHTING 

The Condors have the fourth best offense in the AHL averaging 3.37 goals per game. The team record for goals per game was 3.56 goals per game set in the 2018-19 season.

KILLING IT 

Bakersfield’s penalty kill is second in the AHL on home ice at 88.1%. The team killed all 19 chances against over its last five at home.

GET TO THE THIRD 

The Condors are 32-3-8 when holding at least a share of the lead after two periods.

PLUS PLAYER 

Damien Carfagna is fourth among AHL rookie d-men at +16. He was +2 in the win over Tucson on Wednesday.

SAN DIEGO EYEING FINAL SPOT

The Gulls magic number is three to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2021-22. San Diego also has five games remaining. Calle Clang stopped 35 of 37 in a 5-2 win over San Jose on Tuesday. Nathan Gaucher scored twice.

UP NEXT 

The Condors host San Diego on Youth Jersey Giveaway Saturday (click here for tickets) featuring a warmup replica jersey of #55 Cam Dineen.