When it comes to home cooking, the Condors rank near the top of the American Hockey League.
The team, which struggled mightily during the 2022 position of the season, surged in the second half and set a team record for wins on home ice with 23 — including 10 straight to finish the regular season.
But the Condors will have to be road warriors if they want to host a playoff game in the friendly confines of Mechanics Bank Arena.
The Condors open first-round playoff action on Wednesday in Abbotsford, B.C. in a best-of-three series, all in Abbotsford. It’s a role reversal from last season when the Condors hosted Abbotsford in the same series and swept the Canucks with 2-1 (overtime) and 3-2 wins.
The Condors were 1-2-1 against the Canucks this season, losing their home opener 3-2 in overtime and winning 3-1 on March 22. Bakersfield lost 6-3 and 4-3 in Abbotsford in late November.
“They’re a very good team,” Condors coach Colin Chaulk said of the Canucks. “At this time of year everybody is good. We’ll have a plan in place, there’ll be some points of emphasis
“At the same time it’s about us. It’s about our execution, it’s about our physical play, it’s about our will. The Condors know in playoff time it’s time to answer the bell.”
The Condors, left for dead in last place of the Pacific Division at the end of 2022, turned into one of the hottest teams in the AHL down the stretch, going 7-3 over their last 10 — fifth best in the entire league. They finished the season with back-to-back wins against Coachella Valley, the second-best team in the league.
But improved road play helped propel the Condors to the playoffs — they went 6-3 in road games (eight of those against teams higher in the standings) from Jan. 29-Feb. 24 which saw them play in four different states as well as Canada.
How best can the Condors get two wins in Abbotsford, which is 22-10-1-3 at home?
“I think just (playing) the style we played (over the last two games),” said rookie Noah Philp, who scored three goals over the final weekend to end the season with 19. “I think when we play the way we can we’re a tough team to beat.”
Veteran goaltender Calvin Pickard said essentially the same thing after recording his fourth shutout of the season (2-0 over Coachella Valley on Friday night).
“What we just did out there tonight,” he said of how to beat Abbotsford. “Tight checking, get on the power play. We’re a really good team when we’re playing our A game. We can beat anyone and we’re confident in ourselves.”
The Condors were 7-3-1 when Pickard suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup for two months. He finished the season 23-12-2 with a 2.70 goals against average and .912 save percentage. Two of his shutouts came in his last four games.
“It hasn’t been bad,” Pickard said of his season. “Obviously you never want to be hurt but the two months there when I was out is never ideal. But I’m very proud of our group. Our group is very resilient. Since January 1 we’ve been great. Obviously it’s a brand new season on Wednesday and we’re excited about that.”
Pickard ranks 21st among AHL goaltenders in goals allowed while Olivier Rodrigue, who won seven of his last 10 starts to finish 14-14-1 is 22nd at 2.77 GAA. The two are tied for the ninth best save percentage at .912.
“He’s just been someone back there who is, No. 1 a leader,” Chaulk said of Pickard. “He brings some confidence to our team and he also has a pretty good swagger, right? We’re happy to have him with that wall mentality and giving us a chance. Him and Ollie have been a great team this year.”
Veteran forward Seth Griffith led the Condors in scoring with 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) while defenseman Can Dineen put up 12 points (2g, 10a) in 19 games after being acquired in trade.
Raphael Lavoie, who got hot during the second half, leads the team in goals with 25 with Justin Bailey and Philp each netting 19.
No one player for the Condors finished the season with a hot hand, but the Condors had 11 different players score a goal for a total of 15 over the last five games. Only Philp (3), Brad Malone (2), and Dylan Holloway (2) had multiple goals.
And, after suffering a multitude of injuries during the season, the Condors head into the playoffs with enough healthy bodies to force Chaulk into some tough decisions as to who gets in the lineup both up front and on defense.
“You have to have some health, you have to have some luck, there’s got to be some execution,” Chaulk said. “You’ve got to be good.
“At the end of the day it comes down to that level of compete, that level of will. I really believe the adversity we’ve gone through, we’ve had tons of ups and downs, and I think it’s setting us up here for an opportunity to manage momentum and do everything we can to win the series in Abbotsford.”
