Bakersfield Scores Four Unanswered to Beat Eagles, 6-2
Apr 13, 2021
LOVELAND, CO. – The Bakersfield Condors broke open a 2-2 deadlock in the third period by scoring four unanswered goals to defeat the Colorado Eagles, 6-2 on Tuesday. Eagles forwards Cal Burke and Luka Burzan each netted a goal in the loss, while defenseman Matt Abt earned a pair of assists. Hunter Miska suffered the loss in net, surrendering five goals on 32 shots.
Colorado would strike first in the contest when Burke collected a rebound in the low slot and backhanded the puck past Condors goaltender Stuart Skinner. The goal was Burke’s first as a professional and gave the Eagles a 1-0 edge at the 11:23 mark of the first period.
A breakaway for Bakersfield forward Ryan McLeod would quickly even things up, as McLeod raced down the right-wing boards before cutting to the crease and lifting a puck over Miska to tie the game at 1-1 with 3:59 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
Just 34 seconds later, Condors forward Raphael Lavoie would field a cross-slot pass in the left-wing circle and step into a one-timer that would light the lamp and give Bakersfield a 2-1 lead which the Condors would carry into the first intermission.
The second period would see Colorado outshoot Bakersfield, 8-7 as each team earned one power play, but neither team would be able to convert. The contest would head to the intermission with Condors still enjoying a 2-1 lead.
The Eagles would finally net the equalizer 6:48 into the third period when Burzan tracked down a rebound on top of the crease and fed the puck past Skinner to tie the game at 2-2.
The momentum would be short-lived, as Bakersfield forward Tyler Benson skated between the circles and snapped a wrister past Miska to put the Condors back on top, 3-2 at the 8:29 mark of the final frame. Less than two minutes later, forward Cooper Marody would tuck home a rebound at the side of the net for his league-leading 17th goal of the season, stretching Bakersfield’s advantage to 4-2 with 10:14 remaining in the contest.
Colorado would pull Miska in the final two minutes of regulation to bring on the extra attacker, but it would be Condors defenseman Kevin Gravel who would capitalize with an empty-netter to make it a 5-2 lead for Bakersfield at the 18:49 mark of the third period. The scoring would be capped off with just 41 seconds left to play when a mishandled puck behind the Eagles net allowed forward James Hamblin to wrap it around and into the cage to secure the 6-2 win for the Condors.
The Eagles were outshot in the contest, 33-28 and finished the night 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Colorado will return to action when the Eagles take on the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday, April 14th at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center. Fans can catch every game this season live on “The Home of the Colorado Eagles,” 92.9 The Bear or on AHLTV.
