Lizon's early goal sparks Condors' win
| Friday, Dec 11 2009 10:30 PM
Last Updated Friday, Dec 11 2009 10:31 PM
When Erick Lizon is cheered, it's usually because the 6-foot-4, 210-pound winger has dropped his gloves and fists are flying.
On Friday night, the crowd at Rabobank Arena loudly cheered Lizon's first goal of the season early in the second period and they were cheering, and laughing, at the end of the game he was named No.1 star as the Condors beat the Utah Grizzles 3-1 before 5,121.
Lizon's goal came 34 seconds into the period when he swept in a backhander after the puck popped free from a scramble in front of the net. It gave the Condors a 2-1 lead and tuned out to be the game-winner.
"I tried to get somebody to fight but there were no takers," said Lizon, who leads the Condors with 57 penalty minutes in 15 games. "That team is not too tough so I decided to score."
The laughing came when Lizon , who skated off the ice with a puck stuck somewhere in his equipment in the third period, was asked if he found the puck.
"It's in the locker room," he said. "I didn't think it would be proper to drop my pants on the ice."
On a serious note, captain Shaun Weller, who added an insurance goal on a wrister from just inside the blue line with 6:31 left, said getting scoring from players such as Lizon is a huge boost.
"The top two lines aren't going to be scoring every night and it's nice to see a line that worked so hard (Lizon, Adam Naglich and Logan MacMillan) get rewarded." he said.
The Condors (15-6-2) have now won a franchise record nine straight on home ice and are 10-1-2 over their last 13.
"This was probably one of our best defensive games in a long time," said Condors coach Marty Raymond. "Our D played well, our guys up front made simple, smart plays and we were really good in the neutral zone."
Timo Pielmeier started his sixth straight game in goal for the Condors and stopped 19 shots to improve to 9-4-2.
The Condors controlled action throughout the first period, out shooting the Grizzlies 13-4, and finally got a shot past Parker Van Buskirk with 54 seconds left in the period.
The goal came seconds after Utah's Tony Romano was felled by a MacMillan slap shot at the top inside edge of the left circle. Defenseman Eric Regan picked up the loose puck, skated around the prone Romano and fired in his sixth goal from the middle of the circle.
The lone Utah goal came 14:37 into the second as Shea Guthrie scored three seconds after a Utah power play expired.
Notes
The Condors will wear special Pearl Harbor jerseys tonight in honor of all veterans. Five game-issued jerseys will go to fan through a raffle drawing. The remaining jerseys will be auctioned off after the game with all proceeds going to the California Brain Injury Association.
Matt Myers and newcomer Jason Dale, just acquired from Utah, were scratches.
