The Condors went into the second week of the AHL season sporting a 1-2-0 record, and turned in a tying 1-1 record against the San Jose Barracuda.
Nick Ellis continues to impress for the Condors, as his only start of week was a 41-save performance and the only win of the week. Also, Jujhar Khaira keeps on trucking adding another goal in his only game of the week after sitting out Friday’s game with a lower body injury.
CURRENT DEPTH CHART
Ryan Hamilton – Jujhar Khaira – Taylor Beck
Scott Allen – Jere Sallinen – Patrick Russell
Joey Benik – Kris Newbury – Jaedon Descheneau
Braden Christoffer – Kyle Platzer -Greg Chase
Mitch Moroz – Josh Currie – Joel Rechlicz
Mark Fraser – Dillon Simpson
Jordan Oesterle – Griffin Reinhart
Joey Laleggia – Ben Betker
David Musil – Mikael Tam
Laurent Brossoit
Nick Ellis
BARRACUDA 4 CONDORS 0
The Condors kept pace with San Jose all night, trailing in shots only by a margin of five. The Condors were unable to beat Barracuda goaltender Troy Grosenick.
San Jose scored all four of their goals in the second frame, as Joakim Ryan, Kevin Labanc, Rourke Chartier and John McCarthy put pucks past Condor’s goalie Laurent Brossoit.
The Condors were without Jujhar Khaira for a second straight game, while Ben Betker played his first game of the season.
CONDORS 4 BARRACUDA 3 SO
After being shutout, the Condors went back to work against the Barracuda on Saturday afternoon. The matinee name featured the return of Jujhar Khaira to the lineup as well as Nick Ellis getting the start after Laurent Brossoit’s tough game the previous night.
Dillon Simpson got his first goal of the season with a point shot through traffic to give the Condors the lead. Patrick Russell and Jere Sallinen nabbed the assists.
Jujhar Khaira made it two in his return to the lineup finishing off a play started by Ryan Hamilton and Taylor Beck.
After Alex Schoenborn cut the lead to one, Jordan Oesterle took a drop pass from Josh Currie and fired home his first of the season. Ryan Hamilton got the second assist.
The Condors were not able to hold the lead as San Jose would score one goal in each of the next two periods to send the game to overtime. Scott Allen would score the lone goal in the victory.
Somewhat alarming for Oiler fans, Griffin Reinhart sat out the game as a healthy scratch along with prospect Kyle Platzer and AHL signings Joey Benik, Mikael Tam and Jaedon Descheneau.
CURRENT STATS
Jujhar Khaira 3GP 4-1-5
Scott Allen 5GP 2-2-4
Taylor Beck 5GP 0-4-4
Ryan Hamilton 5GP 0-4-4
Patrick Russell 5GP 0-3-3
Joey Benik 4GP 2-0-2
Matt Benning (X) 2GP 1-1-2
Jere Sallinen 5GP 1-1-2
Jordan Oesterle 5GP 1-0-1
Dillon Simpson 5GP 1-0-1
David Musil 3GP 0-1-1
Josh Currie 4GP 0-1-1
Jaedon Descheneau 4GP 0-1-1
Kyle Platzer 4GP 0-1-1
Joey Laleggia 5GP 0-1-1
Greg Chase 1GP 0-0-0
Joel Rechlicz 1GP 0-0-0
Ben Betker 2GP 0-0-0
Griffin Reinhart 3GP 0-0-0
Kris Newbury 4GP 0-0-0
Braden Christoffer 5GP 0-0-0
Mark Fraser 5GP 0-0-0
Mitch Moroz 5GP 0-0-0
Nick Ellis 3GP 2-1-0 2.62 .928
Laurent Brossoit 2GP 0-2-0 3.03 .897
TRIN’S THOUGHTS
-It’s a little concerning that AHL veterans are seeing time ahead of some of the Oilers prospects. Ryan Hamilton has been in the organization for a while and he’s the captain so he has value, but players like Joel Rechlicz, Kris Newbury and Mark Fraser have no business playing ahead of the likes of Greg Chase, Kyle Platzer and Griffin Reinhart.
-I may have jumped the gun a bit about Reinhart, it’s very likely he could be hurt and you would have to pray he is because a healthy scratch in the AHL is not what you want to hear about a player who you acquired for a 1st and 2nd round pick.
-We must remember it is still early in Bakersfield, and that we shouldn’t read too much into anything but Jujhar Khaira is on fire. The AHL is a good league and if you can score here, there’s a good chance at having an NHL career. Seems to have found some great chemistry with Taylor Beck and Ryan Hamilton.
-By all accounts, Jere Sallinen is playing a very good two-way game. He is a Fin and he has played pro for a while now. He’s a strong call-up option.
-Nick Ellis is currently outplaying Laurent Brossoit, but don’t expect that to continue. It’s exciting to know the Oilers may actually have goaltending depth, and what Ellis has done early is very promising. However, this is Brossoit’s crease and he will claim it this season.
-The Condors play 13 of their next 15 games at home, so the team has every chance to become a power house and they may be receiving help from the parent club. It’s not out of the question to see Jesse Puljujarvi and Anton Slepyshev in California within the next week or two.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Condors will host the San Antonio Rampage on Wednesday, before a double header against the Texas Stars on Friday and Saturday.
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