WINNIPEG – It’s NHL Heritage Classic week in Winnipeg so it’s only fitting that the Manitoba Moose season kicks off with a visit from the Bakersfield Condors, the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. No Gretzky, Messier, Hawerchuk or Selanne in this game, but surprisingly plenty of recognizable NHL names scatters on the roster for the Moose to start the year. Ondrej Pavelec, Andrew Copp, Marko Dano, Quenton Howden 
and Anthony Peluso, all spent the majority of 2015/16 on NHL rosters and their experience will pay dividends in the long run for the Moose. You can bet first year head coach Pascal Vincent is banking on that to launch this team in the right direction.
The first period saw some good chances at both ends of the ice. Goaltenders Eric Comrie for the Moose and Nick Ellis for the Condors made some quality saves to keep the game close. The Condors opened the scoring at the 15:53 mark as Jujhar Khaira buried a beautiful set up from Taylor Beck to beat a helpless Comrie. The Moose answered back with a marker from Scott Kosmachuk on a sweet blind feed from Marko Dano. Overall a pretty even period of hockey with the shots 13-10 in favor of the Condors.
The second frame was more tight checking hockey with neither team willing to give up ground. The Condors took the lead at the 6:15 mark with a nifty, unassisted bar-down snapper from Scott Allen. The Moose pressed for the equalizer but were unable to solve the goaltending of Nick Ellis. Bakersfield extended their lead with a power play goal from Juhjar Khaira on a nice defection to the right of Eric Comrie. It was Khaira’s second goal of the game, coming at 18:59 of the period. The Condors again held the edge on shots in the second frame with a 12-11 edge over the Moose.
The third period saw the Condors continue to frustrate the Moose by taking away the passing lanes and blocking shots. The Moose simply could not get any pressure going toward the Bakersfield goal. Brendan Lemieux tried to spark the home side with an uninspired grapple with Patrick Russell which resulted in fighting majors to both players. The jump simply was not there for the Moose on this night as the Condors played a textbook road game, frustrating the home side at every turn. An empty net goal with 2:37 left by Joey Benik sealed the 4-1 win for the Bakersfield Condors – an impressive victory for the visitors. These two teams renew hostilities Thursday at MTS Centre, game time 7 pm.
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