March 25, 2022

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Five unanswered goals lifted the Bakersfield Condors over the Grand Rapids Griffins 7-3 on Friday at Mechanics Bank Arena. This was the Griffins first trip to Bakersfield since Dec. 14, 2019.

Seth Barton notched his second goal of the season, coming one game after being reassigned to Grand Rapids from the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). Dominik Shine extended his career-high point streak to five outings (4-2—6) and has scored in consecutive contests. Jan Drozg recorded his first point as a Griffin with a helper. Tyler Spezia and Jonatan Berggren both notched multi-point games with two assists each. Bakersfield now has points in all seven meetings against the Griffins (5-0-1-1). Grand Rapids’ current three-game road losing skid is tied for a season-high.

Grand Rapids scored at 1:07 of the first frame on a 2-on-1 break. Berggren connected with Shine across the ice and at the left post, the winger sent the puck into the left corner of the net.

With 6:46 remaining, Bakersfield tied the contest at one. From the slot, Seth Griffith gathered a rebound and fired the rubber past Victor Brattstrom, after Filip Berglund’s shot was deflected.

The Griffins regained the lead in the middle frame at 13:33. On a power play, Barton from the high slot ripped the puck through traffic and under the pads of netminder Stuart Skinner.

The Condors notched their second goal with 3:11 remaining in the period. Dmitri Samorukov from the blue line found Brendan Perlini at the left post. Perlini then fired a wrister past the glove of Brattstrom.

After tying the contest, Bakersfield scored two unanswered goals just 10 seconds apart to end the stanza. On a power play, Perlini recorded his second tally of the game at 19:32 when he fired a one-timer over the netminder’s left shoulder. At 19:42, Colton Sceviour stole the puck in Grand Rapids’ zone and at the right post placed the disc past Brattstrom, giving the Condors a 4-2 lead.

Bakersfield extended its lead to four in the final frame. At 9:07, Cooper Marody skated toward the net and snapped the disc into the right corner. At 10:35 during a power play, Brad Malone at the left post fired the puck behind Brattstrom, giving the Condors a 6-2 advantage.

Grand Rapids notched its second power-play tally of the contest with 2:04 remaining. From the right circle, Riley Barber smashed the rubber over the right shoulder of Skinner.

The Condors put the nail in the coffin on a give-and-go score from Griffith at the goal mouth at 19:45, handing Bakersfield the 7-3 victory.

Notes

• Jon Martin skated in his 250th game in the AHL.

• Grand Rapids went 2-for-3 on the power play, notching their fifth game of the campaign with multiple goals on the man-advantage.

• With the loss, the Griffins’ 13-year streak of possessing a winning record in March was snapped. The best Grand Rapids can finish in March this season is 6-7.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 1 1 1 - 3
Bakersfield 1 3 3 - 7

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Shine 10 (Berggren, Spezia), 1:07. 2, Bakersfield, Griffith 21 (Berglund, Hamblin), 13:14. Penalties-Kesselring Bak (boarding), 13:47.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Barton 2 (Drozg, Spezia), 13:33 (PP). 4, Bakersfield, Perlini 7 (Samorukov, Desharnais), 16:49. 5, Bakersfield, Perlini 8 (Malone, Holloway), 19:32 (PP). 6, Bakersfield, Sceviour 3 19:42. Penalties-Marody Bak (high-sticking), 13:08; Elson Gr (tripping), 18:27.

3rd Period-7, Bakersfield, Marody 20 (Cracknell, Perlini), 9:07. 8, Bakersfield, Malone 12 (Marody, Kaldis), 10:35 (PP). 9, Grand Rapids, Barber 12 (Berggren, McIsaac), 17:56 (PP). 10, Bakersfield, Griffith 22 (Hamblin, Benson), 19:45. Penalties-Drozg Gr (hooking), 9:40; Berglund Bak (tripping), 17:48.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 5-10-13-28. Bakersfield 12-15-8-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 2 / 3; Bakersfield 2 / 2.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 5-10-2 (35 shots-28 saves). Bakersfield, Skinner 15-3-4 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-3,357

Three Stars
1.BAK Perlini (two goals, assist); 2. BAK Marody (goal, assist); 3. BAK Malone (goal, assist)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 26-27-5-2 (59 pts.) / Sat., March 26 at Bakersfield 10 p.m. EDT
Bakersfield: 28-17-4-5 (65 pts.) / Sat., March 26 vs. Grand Rapids 7 p.m. PDT

Photo by Bakersfield Condors