It took a period, but the Condors — the team that went 19-5-2 to close out the regular — emerged in their first-round playoff match up against the Wranglers on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Down 2-0 after the first period and facing a potential 2-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series, the Condors went back to basics — getting pucks deep, cycling and driving to the net.
Condors coach Marty Raymond moved Chad Painchaud back up to the Dave Bonk, Mark Derlago line to start the game and they got down to business in the second period with goals by Derlago and Painchaud. Derlago completed the come back by scoring with 1:36 remaining and the Condors left Sin City with a split and three upcoming games in the friendly confines of Rabobank Arena.
A couple of defensive pairings were also switched up and the second game of the series was a much better overall effort than on Friday night.
The Condors initiated several big hits, worked harder all over the ice and cut down on Las Vegas odd-man rushes. Oh yeah, they also got a darn good performance from goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji, who made three saves during some wild scrambles in the final 51 seconds to seal the win.
I'm sure that made for a pretty nice bus trip back to Bakersfield.