TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. Tough guy Lefebvre coming to Bakersfield

   By Condors Talk

   Tuesday, Jan 11 2011 05:41 PM

   When NHL veteran Kyle Calder left for big money in Russia right after Christmas, Condors coach Marty Raymond decided he wanted another veteran to replace him.

   Welcome to Bakersfield, Guillaume Lefebvre. Lefebvre, 29, is expected to arrive in Bakersfield on Wednesday and play in Friday night’s home game against Alaska.

   While he does not have the NHL pedigree of Calder (590 NHL games/294 points), Lefebvre (39 NHL games/6 points) brings a different style of game to the Condors. He had played in 428 AHL games, scored 131 points and amassed 851 penalty minutes.

   “He’s a real good team player, excited about coming here and he’s tough, real tough,” Condors coach Marty Raymond said of the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Lefebvre. “He’s not coming here to beat up people. He can score some goals and adds another element to our game.”

   The addition of Lefebvre brings the Condors back up to five vets, one over the ECHL, but that is OK with Raymond.

   Read More

2. Tordjman heading to Houston

   Bakersfield goaltender Josh Tordjman has been recalled to Houston of the American Hockey League and will be with the Aeros on Saturday night. “He deserves it, he's done a good job for us,” Condors coach Marty Raymond said. “He came in here, worked his butt off and never complained.”

3. AHL Phantoms loan goaltender to Bakersfield

   The Adirondack Phantoms have announced that goalie Brian Stewart has been loaned to the Condors.

4. Late arriving Vegas delays Friday night game

   Update 8:19: We are playing hockey!

5. Fourth straight loss results in post-game skate

   The Condors looked like a team in the midst of a nasty losing string on Wednesday night at Rabobank Arena, suffering a second-period collapse and falling to the Utah Grizzlies 4-2.

6. Raymond upbeat after split iin Utah

   After winning 5-0 on Friday night, leaving with a split from Utah after a 6-4 loss on Saturday isn’t exactly what the Condors wanted, but coach Marty Raymond is still looking more at overall performance and not totally at Ws and Ls at this early stage of the season and liked what he saw.
   The Condors, skating two players short, fell behind 4-1, battled back to tie the game but gave up the game-winner midway through the third period and an empty netter with a few seconds left.
   “We battled back with two top players missing (J.D. Corbin and Rylan Kaip)  and a stretch of seven straight penalty calls against us that made an impact in the game” Raymond said. “I was pleased with the way the guys battled back. Down 4-1 we never gave up and I like that quality in a club.”
   The Condors return home on Sunday then head to Vegas on Thursday to face the Wranglers. They host Stockton on Friday night and Alaska on Saturday night.
    

7. Morency, a supreme agitator, lands in Bakersfield

   He won’t be in action this weekend as the Condors play on Friday and Saturday nights in Utah,  but a player coach Marty Raymond had been courting since summertime — Pascal Morency — is now a Condor.
   Morency (5-foot-10, 197 pounds) has been assigned to the team by the Houston Aeros and is now in Bakersfield.
   In a word, Morency is an agitator, although the noun doesn’t really do justice to how easily he can infuriate opposing players.  Morency, 28,  played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL the past threes seasons, racking up 416 penalty minutes in 105 games (and totaled eight points for good measure)  That’s nothing compared to his 2001-02 junior campaign with the  Cape Breton Screaming Eagle where he racked up 596 penalty minutes in 64 games.
   Oh yes, Mr. Morency can get underneath the skin of other players.
   He was in AHL training camp earlier this season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and recently agreed to a two-way contract with the Aeros.
   He is sure to make an impression in his first home game for the Condors on Oct.  29 against the Stockton Thunder.
    

9. Condors reacquire Calder, but will suspend him

   The Victoria Salmon Kings, who claimed Kyle Calder off waivers when the was released by the Condors last week, traded him back to the Condors on Tuesday.
   But, as was the case in training camp, don’t look for the 10-year National Hockey League veteran forward to be on the ice any time soon for the Condors. Condors coach Marty Raymond said he is suspending Calder, making him ineligible to play for Bakersfield for 45 days.
   The move, however, does make him property of the Condors, should he desire to play in the ECHL later this season. Raymond said it looks as if Calder will be heading to Europe.
    

10. Turcotte released, Ryan added on eve of opener

    The Condors released rookie defenseman Yan Turcotte on Friday to clear roster space for Saturday night’s ECHL opener at home against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Turcotte’s departure opened up space to add defenseman Joey Ryan, who was acquired from Elmira earlier this week. Ryan, who turns 23 on Tuesday, was a second-round draft pick by Los Angeles in 2006.
     

11. Two cuts made, Lizon suspended for a game

    Coach Marty Raymond trimmed his roster by two Monday morning as he released defenseman Kevin Igier and forward Braden Walls as the team prepares for its ECHL opener at home against the Las Vegas Wranglers on Saturday night.
    That still leaves too many players but Raymond has until Wednesday to submit his opening day roster to the league.
    Last year’s leading scorer, Stephane Goulet, got in his first practice with the Condors this season on Monday and forward J.P. Chabot, acquired in a trade with Gwinnett, is expected to arrive on Wednesday.
    Raymond is still awaiting on the assignment of a goaltender from the Houston Aeros (Peter Hirsch is the only pro goalie in camp and has played very well) and there could be other deals in progress.
    “If I have to make some moves, I will,” Raymond said, noting that forward Bobby Robins and defenseman J.F. David are slated to start the season on 21-day injured reserve.
    Also, forward Eric Lizon has been suspended one game by the league and will miss the opener after delivering a blow to the head of Las Vegas goaltender Michael Ouzas in Saturday night's preseason game against Las Vegas.
    Ouzas was playing the puck behind the net as Lizon, being pushed by a Wrangler, made contact with Ouzas. Lizon was given a 5-minute major penalty and an automatic game misconduct for elbowing.
    “There’s a new emphasis on hits to the head, it’s a new NHL rule,” Raymond noted. (Lizon’s) elbow was up and Ouzas’ helmet came off.”
     

12. Kemp is first player released

    When John Kemp failed to show up for practice Friday morning in Las Vegas, his fate was sealed. Condors coach Marty Raymond released the aspiring first-year pro from Arcadia and sent him packing.
    Not exactly the way one wants to start a pro career. Perhaps Kemp, who was struggling in practices, saw the writing on the wall. And being in Las Vegas, well, there are temptations.
    But the last thing Raymond wanted was players to make his decisions on cuts easy.
    This one was way too easy.
    The Condors, who beat the Las Vegas Wranglers 5-2 in a preseason game on Thursday night in Vegas, host the Wranglers Saturday night at Rabobank Arena.

13. NHL vet joins Condors for camp

    Who was the gray-beard skating with all the youngsters during practice and an intrasquad scrimmage on Monday?
    Non other than 10-year NHL vet Kyle Calder.
    The Condors officially signed ECHL vet Andrew Ianiero, who is back for his sixth straight season in Bakersfield and seventh overall, but that wasn’t a surprise as Ianiero said on Saturday he’d be back.
    The surprise was Calder, who was signed by the Anaheim Ducks last season and assigned to Bakersfield where he played five games before being called up the the NHL Club for 14 games. He was later assigned to Toronto in the American Hockey League season but asked to come back and play for the Condors in the playoffs where he scored 10 points in 10 games.
    A free agent looking for a job in the higher echelons of hockey, Calder is just trying to stay in shape and Condors coach Marty Raymond is accommodating him.
    “It doesn’t do him any good to skate by himself,” Raymond said. “He needs to skate at a pace, against other people. He helped us out so we’ll help him out.”
    By league rules, Raymond could not offer Calder, who has played 590 games in the NHL a try-out agreement. The only way he could allow Calder to work out with the team was to sign him.
    Thus, Calder is officially a Condors.
    For now, anyway.

14. Condors open camp with thin roster

    As hot as it’s been lately (and with the air conditioning out at work there has been no relief by being inside),  it was nice to step into the coolest place in town — the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center — as the Condors opened training camp on Friday morning.
    Only 21 players were on the ice and two of those were local fill-in goaltenders — Manny Martinez and Ryan Jones. Peter Hirsch is the only pro goaltender in camp right now.
    Two more players are en route from Houston —  defensemen Jay Cascalenda and Jason Lepine — and several more players should  be sent down from the American Hockey League during the next week or so.
    “Yeah, we have 19 guys and it’s not that many,” Condors coach Marty Raymond said. “But read between the lines and look at all the two-way players (on AHL-ECHL contracts in Houston).”
    The public gets a chance to see the new group of players — only Erick Lizon, Adam Naglich and Evan Stoflet are back from last season) Saturday from noon to 1:30 p.m. The annual Open House usually involves a scrimmage, but with so few players, Raymond said the team will only practice.
    Fans can skate with the players after practice, starting about 1:45.