Boyd's concussion overshadows Condors' loss to Stockton
| Saturday, Jan 07 2012 10:46 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Jan 07 2012 10:55 PM
A 3-2 shootout loss to Stockton on Saturday night stung, but an injury to rookie forward Peter Boyd really left a sour mood around the Bakersfield Condors.
Boyd was knocked unconscious on a hit from behind 1:31 into the second period and was taken to a local hospital for tests before the game concluded.
"He's at the hospital right now, I don't know any more than that," Condors coach Matt O'Dette said.
As for the hit, on which there was no penalty assessed, O'Dette said he saw the tail end of it and had yet looked at the tape.
"(Referee Mike McBain) said Boyd turned," O'Dette said. "We've had countless, countless calls against us regardless whether a guy turned. Any dangerous hit along the boards is a dangerous hit. We've got linesmen stepping in to make calls against us when it happens. They didn't have the guts to do it. No call is obviously ridiculous."
The Condors were trailing 1-0 before 4,830 when the hit occurred and responded with increased intensity and physical play -- as well as on the scoreboard.
Tyler Helfrich tied the game when he jammed in a loose puck on a power play 14:34 into the second period.
Bakersfield took a 2-1 lead with 6:33 remaining when Ian McKenzie knocked a Stockton defender off the puck and fired a pass to a driving Han Benson, who ripped a shot past Olivier Roy for his first goal of the season.
Stockton tied the game with six seconds left on a power play on a shot by Jordan Fulton with 3:29 remaining.
The Condors went on a power play with 2:22 left but came up empty, setting up a scoreless overtime and the subsequent shootout.
Milian Kytnar and Nathan Deck scored on Matt Keetley (26 saves) for the Thunder in the shootout and Roy stopped all four Bakersfield shooters.
The Condors (9-24-4) have now lost 14 games by a goal. the highest in the ECHL.
Stockton opened the scoring midway through a mild first period on a Deck power-play goal during a Thunder two-man advantage.
"I'm proud of the guys," O'Dette said. "They battled hard and competed. We didn't get the final result we wanted but we showed a lot tonight."
Notes
* The Condors return to action on Friday night when they play host to the Colorado Eagles in the first of back-to-back games.
* Forward Alex Hudson got his first pro point in his second game, assisting on Helfrich's power-play goal.
