Condors top Barracuda 5-2, lock up 25th home win of season

Samuel Poulin, Isaac Howard and Roby Järventie gave Bakersfield the kind of top-end punch that can swing a postseason series, combining for all five goals in a 5-2 win over San Jose that secured the Condors’ 25th home victory of the season. Poulin finished with two goals, Howard scored once on the power play, and Järventie added two late strikes to turn a tight third period back into a comfortable finish.

The Condors controlled the opening stretch at Dignity Health Arena and did not waste time setting the tone. Poulin scored just 1:46 into the game, Howard doubled the lead at 15:48 of the first on the power play, and Poulin struck again at 9:29 of the second period to push Bakersfield ahead 3-0. San Jose finally answered through Brendan Hoffmann, then Filip Bystedt cut the deficit to 3-2 early in the third and briefly gave the Barracuda a path back into the game.

That push never fully materialized. Järventie buried a pair of goals late in the third, including an empty-netter at 19:15, to finish off the Barracuda and give Bakersfield a final margin that better reflected how the home side closed. The Condors outshot San Jose 31-30, went 2-for-4 on the power play and held the Barracuda scoreless on five chances. Matt Tomkins made 28 saves on 30 shots, while Laurent Brossoit allowed four goals on 30 shots for San Jose.

The win mattered well beyond the standings. Bakersfield had already clinched a playoff berth on April 9 with a 5-2 win over Tucson, and Friday’s result made the next step clearer by locking in a first-round meeting with Coachella Valley. The AHL’s regular season ends April 19, and in the Pacific Division the second-through-seventh-place teams open with best-of-three series, which means every seeding point still carries real weight.

That is why the trio of Poulin, Howard and Järventie stands out. Poulin was named the game’s first star after his two-goal night, Howard had just been voted to the AHL All-Rookie Team two days earlier, and Järventie’s finish gave Bakersfield a third scoring source when San Jose had momentum. The Condors are 37-23-9-1 now, San Jose 39-26-2-2, and the 7,598 in the building saw a team that looks built to matter when the games get tighter.