The Condors score an impressive win on the road against one of the top teams in the Western Conference, despite Jack Campbell allowing another four goals.
The Condors headed to Ontario, to face a tough challenge versus a Reign team with the second-best record in the Pacific Division. However, they managed to overcome the hosts in a back-and-forth goal thriller.
When it was all said and done the Condors won 6-4, to make it three wins out of four and seven points out of a possible eight. As per the final scoreline though, it proved to be another challenging outing for Jack Campbell.
They say perception is reality, and in this respect Campbell has won four of his last five games, but this doesn’t mean he’s been playing consistently well. He has an overall 3.37 GAA and .887 save percentage in his eight starts, and began his stint in Bakersfield by losing his first three games.
Further, Campbell has allowed at least three goals in all but one of his starts, on five occasions giving up four or more. However, let’s look at Friday night’s performance on its own merits, in the interest of fairness and objectivity.
Some good, some bad
On the Reign’s first goal, which came as a result of a power play, there’s no denying Samuel Fagemo’s one-timer was a ferocious shot. Campbell just had no time to react and you can even argue he was partially screened by his defenceman.
The second period was more challenging for the 2010 11th round draft pick, as the Reign outshot the Condors 11-6. The hosts also scored twice, to claw back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game at 3-3 after 40 minutes.
First up, Charles Hudon pulled the Reign within one, as he scored his ninth goal of the season less than two minutes into the second period. As opposed to their opening goal, Campbell should have done better, as he was beaten low to his left.
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On the third Reign goal, they actually scored while short-handed, courtesy of Akil Thomas. The Condors’ two defenceman almost looked lost, but truthfully their goalie could have saved Thomas’ wrist shot.
The Reigns’ final goal came late on, when they were chasing a 5-3 deficit with less than two minutes remaining. Campbell did initially make a save as part of a mad scramble in front of his net, before T.J. Tynan poked the rebound home.
Overall, Campbell stopped 20 of the 24 shots he faced, and we’ll put the blame on him for just two of the goals he allowed. Certainly he’s had his bouts of bad luck and moments of excellent play, but he’s still just too inconsistent, which is not a good sign for whenever he does get his recall to the Oilers.
Scoring outburst
Regardless, at least the Condors were more proficient at the other end of the ice. Cameron Wright gave them an early lead in the first period, while Xavier Bourgault and Raphael Lavoie both scored after the Reign had tied the game at 1-1, to give them their 3-1 advantage at the end of one.
After being blanked in the second period, the Condors woke up again in the final 20 minutes, with Noel Hoefenmayer re-establishing their lead at the 2:40 mark. Wright then scored his second of the night with just over 11 minutes remaining, to give the visitors a 5-3 advantage.
Following the Reign’s final goal of the night, the Condors finished off the scoring courtesy of Drake Caggiula with just seven seconds remaining. Caggiula’s goal also marked his third consecutive game of three points.
Overall, the Condors outshot the hosts 27-24. However, the Reign did go 2-for-6 on the power play, while the visitors went 1-for-7.
With the win, the Condors’ record improves to 8-7-1, although they remain in eighth place in the Pacific Division. Next up, they return home for the rematch with the Reign on Saturday night.