The Bakersfield Condors continued their rough start to March, with a second consecutive loss. One night after arguably their worst performance of the season in a 4-1 loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds, they were beaten 4-2 by the Abbotsford Canucks.
The Condors had managed just 14 shots on goal versus the Firebirds, which amounted to their fewest ever as an AHL team. By contrast they outshot the Canucks 35-30 on Saturday night, albeit it still wasn't enough to win the contest.
The game started off well enough, with the Condors taking a 1-0 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the opening period. Cam Dineen shot from long range on the powerplay and Drake Caggiula was on hand to tip home his 12th goal of the season.
The Canucks replied with a powerplay goal of their own, just inside three minutes into the second period. Aatu Raty and Linus Karlsson connected to set up Sheldon Dries, who gave Jack Campbell no chance as he tied the game at 1-1.
The Condors rebounded to retake the lead at the 7:46 mark of the middle period, through Greg McKegg's impressive redirection into the net. Cameron Wright had somehow managed to find McKegg between three Canucks defenders, and it was 2-1 to the home team.
Defensive collapse
Unfortunately for the Condors, it all fell apart during a five-minute spell which saw them allow three more Canucks goals before the conclusion of the second period, including two in just 31 seconds. First, Campbell lost his stick at a crucial moment, allowing Karlsson to score on the powerplay and make it 2-2 at the 13:10 mark.
Next, the visitors dissected the Condors like a hot knife through butter, to take their first lead of the night with just over two minutes remaining in the second. In truth Campbell probably should have done better with Nick Cicek's from range, although he may well have been screened.
The Canucks completed their second period scoring flurry, after hitting the Condors with a three-on-two break. Karlsson played the key pass out to Chad Nychuk on the left wing, who confidently fired home to make it 4-2 after 40 minutes.
The Condors would step up their game in the final period, as they dominated the Canucks 14-4 in shots on goal. However, they just couldn't get the breakthrough they needed, and the 4-2 scoreline held up in favour of the visitors.
Campbell finished with 26 saves out of 30 shots and falls to 12-11-1 on the season, with a .909 save percentage and 2.96 Goals Against Average. The Condors as a team fell to 17-5-2 on the season when scoring first.
With the second consecutive loss, the Condors fall to 27-19-4 on the season and remain in seventh place in the Pacific Division, while dropping to eighth overall in the Western Conference in terms of win percentage. Next up they travel to San Diego, to face the Gulls on Monday night.