To remain contenders for first place, the Colorado Eagles must defeat the Bakersfield Condors (EDM) Tuesday night. But the Eagles needed to take care of their own business first. Coming into the game, Colorado was 5–3–1–1 in its last 10 games while Bakersfield was 6–3–1–0 in their last 10. The Condors knew that if they won, it would jump them to third place, so they had the extra motivation.

First Period

Tuesday night in Bakersfield, the Eagles found the net without delay against the Condors. Colorado started the game by putting some intense pressure on the Condors in their own zone. Just two minutes into the game, Sean Behrens controlled the puck and passed it up to Danil Gushchin. The Russian snapped a shot on net and Ivan Ivan gathered the rebound to backhand another shot over the shoulder of Matt Tomkins.

Ivan’s breakout with less than five minutes left in the period saw the Eagles’ progress unhampered. Ivan bounced the puck off the boards to Gushchin for a give-and-go with Valtteri Puustinen. The Finn snapped a shot and Gushchin finished the job.

Second Period

After finishing the first with a power play opportunity that fell flat by the Eagles, Bakersfield took the momentum back. One minute into the period, the Condors sped into the zone. Seth Griffith shot to the front of the net perfectly for James Hamblin to tip the puck past Trent Miner.

To add to the pain of the goal, T.J. Tynan was called for hooking and the Eagles needed to kill a penalty. Colorado needed to kill another hooking penalty even minutes later. But a few minutes later, Gushchin nailed a shot off the pads, and Ivan was right there for the rebound to make it 3–1.

Not even a minute and a half later, Mark Senden forced a turnover in the neutral zone. Maroš Jedlička picked up the loose puck and took the shot, following it to the crease and banged the rebound in to make it 4–1.

Third Period

The Eagles needed to play defensive hockey and shut down the Condors in the third. Ivan would head to the box for a holding call almost seven minutes into the period. Bakersfield pulled Tomkins for the extra attacker, but Jayson Megna won the faceoff. He pushed it back to the rookie, Gustav Stjernberg, who flung it down the ice for his first professional goal.

Bakersfield would strike back 36 seconds later while on the same power play with a goal from Isaac Howard. But it would not be enough as the Eagles flew out of Bakersfield with the 5–2 victory.

Takeaways

The Eagles played a great game defensively. They were shutting down the neutral zone and making Bakersfield’s exits very difficult. To add to it, Colorado was taking advantage of the secondary chances. Four out of their five goals were scored on rebounds; the fifth was a shorthanded goal. Colorado has now won three in a row, all while they were on the road. Although they have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive year, they are still chasing the Ontario Reign (LAK). They remain one point back in the standings and have a game in hand. To make things even more difficult, they play each other next week.

Up Next

The Eagles will travel to Northern California to take on the San Jose Barracuda (SJS) for a pair of games starting on Friday night. San Jose sits third in the Pacific Division, but six points behind the Eagles.