Captain of the Bakersfield Condors brad malone announced on April 18 that he plans to retire after the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Last night saw Ontario eliminate the Condors in Game 2 of the Pacific Division first-round series.
Malone joined the Condors before the 2017-18 season after stints in the AHL with Lake Erie, Hershey and Chicago. He ended up appearing in 552 AHL regular season games, scoring 291 points (105 goals, 186 assists) in parts of 13 seasons, and 22 points in 28 postseason contests.
Malone also played in 217 games in the NHL with Colorado, Carolina and Edmonton.
“Results are results,” Malone told bakersfieldcondors.com after last night's season-ending 3-1 loss at Mechanics Bank Arena. “I'm proud of the effort, but at this time of year it's the results that matter.”
“It took a while,” the gritted and stubborn forward said of finally hanging up his Condors jersey. “A lot of emotions, a lot of thoughts…it wasn't easy.
“This place has become home for me and my family. I am so grateful for the people in this community and loved every moment of it.”
Today marks the first time in the history of the Calder Cup Playoffs that three winner-take-all games will be played.
Home teams have an all-time record of 114 wins and 79 losses (.591) in games like this.
Seven series were played last spring, with three of the deciding games going into overtime, including the Calder Cup final between Hershey and Coachella Valley.
– using files from Patrick Williams
