WHAT'S NEXT
The Condors host the Eagles in Game 4 on Saturday. The game can be seen on AHL Live or heard on Fox Sports 970 AM. Puck drop is around 8:08 PM MDT.
"We asked our team to start on time tonight," said Head Coach Jay Woodcroft. "I thought in the first period we came out and asserted the game we wanted to play."
Five Condors skaters registered multi-point nights, with both Evan Bouchard and Evan Polei notching three points each. Ryan Stanton scored a goal and assist, while Keegan Lowe and Luke Esposito both picked up a pair of helpers.
"It was incredible to get the first game under the belt and even better to have the win," said Bouchard post-game. "The guys in the room were great to me. It made me feel a lot more confident in playing the game today."
Woodcroft made the decision to roll with 11 forwards and seven defencemen in Game 3 against the Eagles, paving the way for Oilers 2018 10th-overall selection Bouchard to make his Condors debut.
"He talked to me about playing the way I can play," Bouchard, who also had two shots on goal, two penalty minutes and finished plus-two on the night, said of Woodcroft. "Just staying relaxed out there and having fun. That's what I did."
Woodcroft's decision paid off in the first period, with the Condors dominating the play right from puck drop.
After killing a Lowe holding minor by keeping puck possession and tilting up ice any chance they could, Bakersfield's pace caused Eagles' forward Michael Joly to take a tripping minor in Colorado's zone.
On the power play, Stanton unloaded a blast from the point that beat netminder Pavel Francouz to open the scoring. The goal was Stanton's first of the playoffs and the assists went to Bouchard and Polei.
"He's one of the backbones of this team, for sure," said Polei of Stanton.