Condors Shut Down Stars 4-1, Tomkins Wins Third Straight Start

Matt Tomkins made 22 saves, the Bakersfield penalty kill went a perfect six-for-six, and three Condors skaters each finished with a goal and an assist as Bakersfield handled the Texas Stars 4-1 Friday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

The win was Tomkins' third straight, pushing the Condors to 31-17-10 and 72 points. Texas fell to 27-24-4 with 58 points. Bakersfield has now gone 11-2-4 in its last 17 games against the Stars.

Curtis McKenzie gave Texas an early edge, scoring at 5:11 of the first period after Trey Taylor fired a shot from the left wing, retrieved his own rebound, and saw his second attempt denied before McKenzie found the loose puck through a maze of bodies at the goal mouth. The lead did not last long. Just past the midway point of the opening frame, Roby Järventie flipped a pass from behind the net to Sam Poulin, who snapped home the equalizer as Harrison Scott was still exiting the penalty box. It was Poulin's 16th goal of the season.

Bakersfield took control early in the second when James Hamblin pressured Texas into a turnover behind their own net. Hamblin found Seth Griffith alone in the slot and Griffith buried it for his 16th of the year, putting the Condors ahead 2-1. Hamblin, who has accumulated 25 points in his last 27 games, also played a decisive defensive role minutes later. With Texas on their fourth power play of the night and three minutes left in the second, Harrison Scott slid a cross-ice pass to Kole Lind in the right circle with what appeared to be an open cage in front of him. Hamblin broke up the chance at the last moment.

Texas kept pushing in the third, and Lind raced down the right wing on an odd-man rush before finding Jeremie Poirier, whose wrist shot Tomkins held onto cleanly. Bakersfield then suffocated the Stars' attack, limiting them to just six shots in the final period. When Texas pulled goaltender Remi Poirier for an extra attacker, Daniel D'Amato found the open cage for his sixth goal of the season. Järventie closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal, his 17th, to make it 4-1.

The game also carried some lineup context for Bakersfield. Max Jones was recalled by the Edmonton Oilers earlier in the evening, leaving the Condors operating with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Despite the depleted forward group, Connor Clattenburg returned to the ice after missing 24 games with an injury, adding some depth back to the lineup. Poulin, Griffith, and Järventie each finished the night with a goal and an assist.

The two teams return to the H-E-B Center on Saturday for the second game of Bakersfield's three-game road trip.