Poulin Forces Overtime With Late Goal; Condors Top Eagles 5-4 in Shootout

Sam Poulin erased a late deficit with an extra-attacker goal at 58:44 and then converted in the shootout as the Bakersfield Condors edged the Colorado Eagles 5-4 in a shootout. The game finished tied 4-4 after regulation, stayed scoreless in 3-on-3 overtime, and was decided in the skills competition where Poulin and Isaac Howard scored and goaltender Tomkins stopped two of Colorado’s three attempts.

The Condors played before a Field Trip Day crowd of 7,281 students at Dignity Health Arena on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Bakersfield opened quickly and led 3-1 after one period, the middle frame was scoreless, and Colorado mounted a furious third-period comeback before Poulin’s late equalizer forced extra time.

Bakersfield struck first at 3:29 when James Hamblin finished a 2-on-1 rush, a goal listed as his 22nd of the season and a career high. Colorado answered at 6:49 when Luke Toporowski deflected a point shot on the power play to tie it 1-1. Isaac Howard restored the Bakersfield lead at 15:06 with a power-play one-timer from the right-wing circle, recorded as his 15th of the season, and Quinn Hutson tucked home at 16:36 after an Eagles turnover to make it 3-1. Seth Griffith was credited with two assists in that opening period.

The second period produced no goals, but the third unfolded rapidly. Tristen Nielsen opened the third at 42:21 to make it 3-2. A minute later Toporowski struck again at 43:22 for his second of the night and to knot the score 3-3. Colorado took its first lead at 45:28 when the visitor listed on box sheets variously as Daniil or Danil Gushchin pushed a power-play tally to make it 4-3.

Bakersfield pulled its goalie late and trained its extra attacker to the front; Sam Poulin shoved a loose puck past Colorado goalie Trent Miner at 58:44 to tie the game 4-4, a tally listed as Poulin’s 15th by the Condors. Miner finished with four goals against on 32 shots. Bakersfield’s netminder, listed in game accounts as Tomkins, made 29 saves on 33 shots and stopped two of Colorado’s three shootout attempts.

Overtime did not produce a winner. The 3-on-3 session was scoreless while Colorado outshot Bakersfield 5-2 in the extra frame. In the shootout Poulin and Isaac Howard scored for Bakersfield; some local recaps single out Howard’s attempt as the decider, while team logs list both Poulin and Howard as successful and credit Tomkins with two saves on Colorado shooters. One account records Ivan Ivan as Colorado’s lone shootout goal amid misses by Tristen Nielsen and Danil Gushchin.

Individual takeaways: Hamblin’s early marker was a career high; Howard added a 15th goal and a shootout score; Atro Leppanen collected an assist and is now credited with eight points (2g-6a) in his last nine games; Seth Griffith had two first-period assists; Toporowski finished with a two-goal night. Team lines shown after the game list the Condors at 29-17-9 for 67 points and the Eagles at 32-13-8 for 72 points, though some recaps show a one-game OTL discrepancy for Bakersfield that should be reconciled with the official AHL boxscore.

Field Trip Day provided the backdrop as students from Sierra Vista Elementary in Arvin and other schools received plastic hand clappers and filled the arena; one student summed it up simply: “My favorite part was the game.” Bakersfield posts interviews with Sam Poulin and Colin Chaulk and will return home to host Tucson for a weekend series with promotions including $3 Beer Friday and First Responders Night on Saturday.

Note for final boxscore confirmation: game date, the Bakersfield goalie spelling (Tomkins versus Tompkins), the exact spelling of Colorado’s 45:28 scorer, the shootout sequence, and the Condors’ OTL count varied across feeds and should be verified against the official AHL boxscore before publication.