It was, as the coaches told him, for his own good but Condors rookie goaltender Stuart Skinner was none too happy about being sent down to the Wichita Thunder and the ECHL back in mid-December.

Each passing year is unique to all of us. For me, 2019 has been memorable for the things that have happened to me, and more importantly, the things that didn’t.

The Bakersfield Condors will return to the ice on Saturday, following nearly a week’s hiatus, looking to snap a two-game losing streak when they host the Stockton Heat at 7 p.m.

Despite returning a bevy of players from last year’s Pacific Division championship team, Condors coach Jay Woodcroft stressed prior to the season that this was a different team.

Long after the fourth-largest crowd in Condors history had filed out of Mechanics Bank Arena on Saturday night, the Condors dressing room was still rocking.

With the Edmonton Oilers playing in Los Angeles on Thursday night, it afforded Oilers General Manager Ken Holland the opportunity for a quick trip to Bakersfield on Thursday to take a look at the Condors who were playing Stockton Heat in the team's annual Field Trip Day Game.

Even the high-pitched screaming from more than 7,000 school-aged kids on Thursday could not lift the Condors to victory at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Thirty-six nights after opening the American Hockey League season with a victory over San Diego, the music was once again blaring from inside the Condors locker room.

With all the success they had last year, the Bakersfield Condors entered this season hungry to take things to the next level.

All in all it was a pretty good opening weekend of American Hockey League play for Bakersfield Condors.

No doubt about it, the Condors enter the 2019-20 American Hockey League season loaded with talent.

Keith Gretzky sat in the stands and kept his eyes focused on the ice as coach Jay Woodcroft and staff sent Bakersfield Condors players through various drills as training camp got under way Monday morning at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Veteran sports writer Mike Griffith, who retired on June 30 after 42 years at The Bakersfield Californian, was selected as the recipient of this year’s James H. Ellery Award.

The Bakersfield Condors announced Tuesday that the team has re-signed defenseman Jake Kulevich and forward Jakob Stukel to AHL contracts for the upcoming season.

Don’t ask Condors coach Jay Woodcroft to give an evaluation on the Edmonton Oilers Development camp, which ended last week in Edmonton.

His ultimate goal is to become a head coach at the National Hockey League level and Jay Woodcroft believes the best path to reach that destination is to pick up where he left off this past season: as head coach of the Bakersfield Condors.

You may not be able to skate up the ice like defenseman Caleb Jones, or handle the puck like rookie AHL All-Star Cooper Marody, but you can have some of the equipment they used this past season for the Bakersfield Condors.

The ultimate goal — a Calder Cup Championship — remained elusive, but by any other standard the Bakersfield Condors met or exceeded all expectations in the just completed season.

When Josh Currie scored a dramatic goal 13 minutes into double overtime game at Rabobank Arena last Saturday night, hopes ran high that it would help propel the Condors to a Game 7 on Wednesday night on their home ice.

The air conditioners at Rabobank Arena can be turned up, the ice chillers can be turned off.

Throughout the season Condors coach Jay Woodcroft has touted the contributions of every player in the dressing room, from those who play heavy minutes in every game to those who rarely see game action.

When Josh Currie’s line hopped off the bench to take a face-off late in double overtime on Saturday night at Rabobank, there was a plan in play.

There was no comeback for the Condors on Friday night in San Diego.

Chronister WAC hammer champion

Condors coach Jay Woodcroft has said all season long that wins were worth about 10 or 15 minutes of celebration before resetting to the next task on hand.

The Condors have taken a glance in the rearview mirror, but are now squarely focused on their biggest game of the season.

It was too little, too late for the Condors on Saturday night at Rabobank Arena.

The opening game of the American Hockey League Pacific Division Finals on Friday night at Rabobank Arena turned into a marathon.

They’ve got a solid group of veteran leaders, a number of young prospects and strong goaltending.

Back in 1995, six cities were chosen to be part of a hockey movement on the West Coast.

For the second time in two weeks, another top Edmonton Oilers prospect is headed to the Bakersfield Condors.

The Colorado Eagles tried everything they could on Saturday night at Rabobank Arena to get the Condors off their game.

The Condors had just defeated the Colorado Eagles 5-2 on Tuesday night when a scrum developed along the boards just south of the Condors bench.

Much will be made about defenseman Evan Bouchard’s American Hockey League debut with the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday night, and with good reason.

To a man, Jay Woodcroft and the Condors say they feel no pressure heading into the third game of the opening round American Hockey League playoff matchup against the Colorado Eagles on Tuesday night at Rabobank Area.

The Bakersfield Condors will start their quest for the Calder Cup on Friday at Colorado. The top-seeded Condors and the Pacific Division’s fourth-seeded Eagles will drop the puck for Game 1 of the best-of-five series at 6:05 p.m. at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado.

Reaching the playoffs for the first time in the team’s AHL history was the top goal for the Bakersfield Condors and first-year head coach Jay Woodcroft heading into the 2018-19 season.

The 2018-19 season had already been one filled with historic achievements and plenty of Bakersfield American Hockey League firsts.