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Bulls Rally Falls Short, Fall To Aces 3-2

Published on January 9, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – In their first meeting in San Francisco since the playoffs last year, the San Francisco Bulls(12-17-4-1)) were defeated by the Alaska Aces (9-9-1-1(, 3-2. Steven Tarasuk and Dean Ouellet scored for the Bulls and Tyler Beskorowany stopped 31 of 34 shots. Martin, Molle and Sisca put up the tally’s for the Aces and Olivier Roy stopped 17 shots from the Bulls.

The Bulls came out fast in the first period as they pelted Roy with four straight shots before the Aces got their first shot on goal. However that first shot got the Aces on the board. James Martin took a nice wrist shot and beat Beskorowany with 8:03 gone in the first. With a little over three minutes left in the first Dean Ouellet scored on a nice feed from Dale Mitchell that Ouellet was able to lift over a sprawled Roy.

In the second, the Aces kept pounding the puck towards Beskorowany and while Besko was laid out on the ground Dustin Molle was able to life the puck over the Bulls goalie and gave the Aces the 2-1 lead with 4:58 left in the period. Less than three minutes later, the Bulls had the puck in the Aces zone and it looked like they were applying a ton of pressure on and had the Aces on their heels. Then the Aces Brad Richard stuck his stick out and intercepted a Bulls pass and found a streaking Mathew Sisca who was one-on-one with Besko and beat him top shelf with a quick wrister to give the Aces a two goal lead at the end of 40 minutes.

In the final period, Steven Tarasuk, who was recently picked up by the Bulls continued his hot streak as he was able to catch the puck on a crazy bounce in front of the Aces goal and push it in to bring the deficit to one goal and make it 3-2. With a little over one minute left in the game and on a power play Pat Curcio pulled Besko and even though the Bulls were able to take three quality shots, Roy was able to turn them all away and hand the Bulls their 17th loss of the season.

“We looked lazy at times but I thought towards the end we battled hard. We could have got lucky and got a point and took it into overtime. We had an opportunity there at the end but Dale (Mitchell) missed it and that’s the way it goes,” said Head Coach Pat Curcio on the final minutes of the game. “It is what it is. We need to be a bunch that overcomes adversity and we’ve done it all year. We’ll look to rebound tomorrow.”

The Bulls and Aces head back at it tomorrow night at the Cow Palace at 7:30pm.

San Francisco Bulls Standout Gron Heads To ECHL, Lee “Suspended”

Published on January 7, 2014January 7, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls announced yesterday that Tyler Gron has signed a two-way AHL-ECHL contract with the Worcester Sharks, the Bulls’ AHL affiliate. Gron has been one of the massive additions to the team the Head Coach Pat Curcio has been keen on getting the past few months. Other call up and signings by CUrcio include Adrian Foster, Dale Mitchell and the newly added Steven Tarasuk.

In odd news, Mark Lee has been “suspended by the team and has signed a tryout agreement with the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the German Elite League.” No speculation yet as to why this was deemed a “suspension” but Mark Lee has only played 15 games with the Bulls and tallied 3 goals and 7 assists.

Bulls Comeback Falls Short, Lose 3-2

Published on January 5, 2014January 5, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

ONTARIO – The San Francisco Bulls (12-17-4-1) scored late in the third to tie the game at the end of regulation but lost to the Ontario Reign (26-5-1-3) on a Gasper Kopitar goal in the extra period to fall 3-2.

The Bulls got on the board first when Collin Bowman took a shot that bounced off the pads of Ontario goalie Michal Hutchinson and landed on the stick of Luke Judson who smashed it home for his third goal of the season. In the closing minute of the first period, the Reign’s Mario Lamoureux was able to push the pack through the Bulls crease and tie the game at 1 after 20 minutes of play. The second period saw both teams take 10 shots and not come up with any points.

At 6:15 of the third period, Cody Sol zipped a one-timer from the top of the right circle that beat Besko and gave Ontario a 2-1 lead. Bulls Captain Scott Langdon tied the game at 2 with 3:58 left in the game and sent the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Matt White and Kopitar jumped on a two-on-one rush into the Bulls zone and White tapped a pass over to Kopitar who beat Besko for his first pro goal of his career and seal the victory for the Reign.

The Bulls head home for a three-game set against the Alaska Aces starting this Thursday at 7:30pm.

Bulls Score Three In Third, Down Thunder 4-2

Published on January 4, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

STOCKTON – The San Francisco Bulls (12-16-3-1) scored three goals in the third and came back to beat the Stockton Thunder (16-11-0-4) 4-2. Tyler Gron and Eriks Sevcenko each scored a pair of goals and Steven Tarasuk contributed with a goal of his own. Tyler Beskorowany turned away 15 shots in the first and 15 over the next two periods to earn his eleventh win of the season.

Tyler Gron got the Bulls on the board first when he was able to beat Thunder goalie Brian Foster with 4:02 remaining in the first. Gron’s goals was his 13th of the season and the assists went to Eriks Sevecenko and Brett Findlay. Less than three minutes later, the Thunder tied the game up when Matt Bergland was able to beat Besko on a nice shot from the slot.

Neither team scored in the second and it seemed like the Bulls saved it all up for the third. Sevcenko, who was playing in his first game in the ECHL, scored his first career goals within a few minutes of each other on back to back penalties to the Thunder. The first goal came on a too many men on the ice penalty and the second came on a slashing penalty. The Bulls were up 3-1 with under 6 minutes left in the game when the Thunders Landon Oslanski brought it to a one goal lead again for the Bulls. However with 53 seconds left in the game, Dean Ouellet fed Tyler Gron for an empty netter and sealed the victory for the Bulls with a final score of 4-2.

The Bulls finish up their five-game series against the Thunder at home tomorrow at 7:30pm.

Bulls Announce Foster Loaned To AHL’s Abbotsford Heat

Published on December 30, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

The San Francisco Bulls announced today that forward Adrian Foster was loaned to the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League. Foster has 17 points this season (5 goals, 12 assists) in only 15 games and has the highest points-par-game average on the Bulls.

Foster was picked up by the Bulls the day after Thanksgiving when Bulls Head Coach decided the team needed to make moves in the right direction. Along with Foster the Bulls picked up Tyler Gron – who is a star in his own right as he has 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games played. Foster has played pro hockey since 1997 and has been in the AMHL, AJHL, WHL, KHL, DEL, Austria, Allsvenskan, the AHL and of course the ECHL. He last played in the AHL from 2002 to 2008 with the Albany River Rats, Lowell Devils and the Houston Aeros. He’s totaled 88 points in 200 AHL games.

Bulls Give Up Four Early And Lose To Thunder 5-1

Published on December 29, 2013December 29, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

STOCKTON – The San Francisco Bulls (11-16-3-1) were defeated by the Stockton Thunder (16-10-0-4), 5-1 in the Bulls last game of 2013. The Bulls gave up four goals in the first and one in the third and were only able to nab one goal in the second from Tyler Gron who scored his 15th goal of the year.

The Bulls and Thunder condensed enough action for one game into the first 20 minutes of play. The four goals secured by the Thunder’s Matt Bergland, James Henry, Mike Dalhuisen, and Nick Larson were accompanied by three fights from the Bulls Scott Langdon, Steven Tarasuk and Kris Belan. Berglan scored early in the period to give Stockton the 1-0 lead and then at 14:35 the Thunder scored three unanswered goals over the next 3:04.
Head Coach of the Bulls had seen enough after the fourth goal that he pulled regular starter Tyler Beskorowany and put in back-up goalie J.P. Anderson.

In the second, the Bulls leading scorer Tyler Gron received a nice pass from Adrian Foster and beat Parker Milner and brought the deficit to only three goals.

The Thunder sealed the victory in the third when Oslanki beat Anderson and slammed the door shut on scoring for the night and give the game its 5-1 finale.

The Bulls continue this rivalry into the New Year when they face Stockton again this Friday at 7:30pm in Stockton.

Bulls Can’t Hang On To Late Lead And Fall To Thunder 7-6 In Overtime

Published on December 29, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

STOCKTON – The San Francisco Bulls (11-15-3-1) couldn’t hang on to a late lead and lost 7-6 to the Stockton Thunder (15-10-0-4) in overtime Saturday night. Dean Ouellet, Adrian Foster, and Chris Crane shined for the Bulls as they each had three-point nights and Tyler Beskorowany and J.P. Anderson were able to turn away 31 shots.

The Bulls took a 3-1 lead in the first period with goals from Crane, Tyler Gron and Foster. Crane was able to score off a deflection on a nice shot from Kalvin Sagert at 6:33 and Gron got his goal 81 seconds later when he was able to get a great shot past the Thunders Brian Foster. The Thunder’s Mitch Bruijsten scored the teams first goal of the game and his first goal of the season when he beat Tyler Beskorowany with 11:33 gone in the first. Dean Ouellet scored his sixth goal of the season on a nifty one-timer on with a nice feed from Adrian Foster and gave the Bulls a two goal lead going into the second.

The Thunder turned the table on the Bulls in the second when they outscored the Bulls 4-1 and gave them a 5-4 lead going into the third. The Thunder’s Greg Miller scored 36 seconds into the period and Bruijsten tied the game with his second goal of the game with a little over 8 minutes left in the second. Collin Bowman was able to put the Bulls back on top 4-3 when he scored less that two minutes later. The Thunder then scored two unanswered goals from Joey Martin and Alex MacLeod.

The Bulls then answered with two of their own unanswered goals when Chris Crane scored his second goal of the game 4:33 into the third period and tied the game at five and Adrian Foster got his fifth goal of the year when he beat Brian Foster of a nice tip at 7:31 and brought the score to an unbelievable 6-5 Bulls advantage. Then with 12:39 gone in the third, Stockon’s Alex MacLeod scored his second goal of the game and tied the game at six at the end of regulation.

Greg Miller, who scored earlier in the game notched the game winner with only 45 seconds left to go in the extra frame with a nice pass from Garet Hunt and gave Stockton the 7-6 victory.

The Bulls and Thunder meet again tomorrow afternoon at 4pm.

Notes: Dean Ouellet now has 12 points (2g, 10a) in his last eight games… Tyler Gron and Kalvin Sagert extended their point-streaks to six games apiece.

Bulls Give It A Go But Come Up Short, Lose To Eagles 6-4

Published on December 22, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

DALY CITY – The San Francisco Bulls (10-15-2-1) gave up two quick goals to the Colorado Eagles (17-6-3-2) in the first and were defeated 6-4. This is the fourth consecutive game in which the Bulls had to mount a come from behind fight but weren’t able to get on top today. Dean Ouellet, Brett Findlay, Luke Judson and Jordan Morrison scored for the Bulls and J.P. Anderson stopped 18 of 22 shots before being replaced by Tyler Beskorowany who stopped 8 out of 10 for the Bulls in net. The Eagles Trent Daavettila scored three goals and garnered his first hat trick with the Eagles and the Eagles first hat trick of the season.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind goals from Riley Nelson and Trent Daavettila. Nelson scored from in front of the goal at 3:41 into the contest and Daavettila able to connect on a power play when he sent a shot over J.P. Anderson and gave Colorado the 2-0 lead. Dean Ouellet scored his fifth goal of the season just 20 seconds after the Eagles tally when he received some nice passes from Adrian Foster and Kalvin Sagert.

True to form, the Bulls scored first in the second period on a nice play from Brett Findlay who danced his way into the Colorado zone and was able to beat Adam Brown through his five hole. The Eagles responded with back-to-back goals in the fifteenth minute of the period when Daavettila got his second goal of the night and Kevin Ulanski tipped the puck over Anderson to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead going into the third.

The Bulls weren’t able to score first in the third period like they had been doing over all these come from behind games as the Eagles Jesse Mychan scooped up a rebound in front of the newly entered Beskorowawny and made it a 5-2 game. The Bulls then responded with their own back-to-back goals in the ninth minute of the period when Luke Judson and Jordan Morrison were able to get the puck past Brown and made it a 5-4 game with over 11 minutes left in the period. The Bulls were able to move the puck around well and take some great chances however Daavettila notched his third goal of the game when the Eagles were on a 5-on-3 power play after penalties to Foster and Judson and sealed the 6-4 victory.

On the loss, head coach Pat Curcio said, ““That was a tough loss. I thought we deserved better this weekend.”

The Bulls head back at it this coming Friday against the rivaled Stockton Thunder on Ugly Sweater night.

Bulls Earn First Win Of The Year Against The Eagles In Thrilling Shootout 4-3

Published on December 22, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

DALY CITY – In a hard fought game the San Francisco Bulls (10-14-2-1) beat the Colorado Eagles (16-6-3-2) 4-3 with a come from behind victory that ended with a shootout game winner by assistant captain Jordan Morrison. The Bulls fell behind by two goals early in the game and have everyone in the Cow Palace thinking this game was goner but the Bulls scored two goals in third to tie the game and send it into overtime and ultimately into the shootout. Tyler Beskorowany turned away 20 shots and earned his ninth victory of the year.

Both teams played a very physical game which for the most part was allowed by the referees and really saw what was a budging rivalry between the Eagles and the Bulls.

“They’re such a great hockey team. To me they’re the best team in the league. They’ve been steam rolling teams and we’ve been fortunate enough to compete. That was a good team – it was a good test for us,” said Bulls Head Coach Pat Curcio.

Colorado got on the board first when the Eagles had the puck deep in the Bulls zone but lost it to the Bulls who flipped the puck up ice into the Eagles zone. An alert Eagles defender sent a laser of a pass to Trent Daavettila who was cherry picking on the Bulls blue line and found Kyle Ostrow streaking towards the goal who completed the play and beat Beskorowany to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, the Eagles were handed an opportunity from the Bulls as they were called for too many men on the ice and gave the Eagles their first power play of the night. Right Winger Luke Fulghum received the puck from Kevin Ulanski and Trent Daavettila and was able to toss the puck at Besko who stopped it initially with the side of his body but it managed to deflect itself into the goal to bring the lead to two.

These events must have been disheartening for the team as they have trailed in their last two home games and saw the same thing happening again. However the Bulls didn’t lose hope and kept grinding away.

“You have a choice – lay over or be a hockey player – you battle. That’s what guys are doing,” said Forward Adrian Foster.

The Bulls struck back fast as Tyler Gron took a shot from the left circle that grazed the post and careened around the boards to Dylan King who was able to catch Colorado goalie Cheverie still admiring his post’s save and got the puck into the back of the net to give the Bulls their first goal of the game. The Eagles regained their two goal lead a few minutes later when Jonathan Parker was able to shove the puck over Besko for his sixth goal of the year and give the Eagles a 3-1 lead going into the third.

On being down again, Luke Judson said, “We knew we’ve come close to coming back from five (goals) last game so two goals wasn’t a big deal for us. We’re happy with the way we were playing minus a few mistakes.”

The Bulls attacked early again in the third when Brett Findlay scored on a shot from Collin Bowman that went wide and bounced off the back board and landed in front of the goal which Findlay was able to shove past Cheverie to make it a 3-2 Colorado advantage. At 9:43 of the third, the Bulls completed the comeback on a puck that found its way onto the stick of Adrian Foster who was in front of the net and he knocked the water bottle off the roof of the net to tie the game at 3 and lead us into overtime.

After a scoreless overtime, the game headed into a shootout. It took seven goes but Jordan Morrison was able to beat Cheverie with a high shot that hit the post and bounced its way into the back of the net and secured the victory for the Bulls.

The Bulls last two victories have been come from behind shootout victories. The last one before tonight was the amazing game against the Stockton Thunder on Teddy Bear Toss night when Findley scored the game winner in the fifth round.

Curcio concluded,”What we’ve been through these past couple weeks and the adversary that we’ve been able to overcome these guys earn a lot of the credit.”

The Bulls and Eagles end their three game series this Sunday afternoon at 2:15 pm. The first 500 kids, 13 and under will receive a light-up Snowflake Wand.

Sharks Rally Comes Up Short, Lose 3-2 To Predators

Published on December 14, 2013December 14, 2013 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 14: Antti Niemi #31 of the San Jose Sharks watches the replay of a goal against him by Viktor Stalberg #25 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on December 14, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) — NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 14: Antti Niemi #31 of the San Jose Sharks watches the replay of a goal against him by Viktor Stalberg #25 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on December 14, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

NASHVILLE -The red hot Nashville Predators (16-14-3) wont their third straight game and beat the San Jose Sharks (20-7-6), 3-2. San Jose is now 1-4-1 in their last six games and have only scored 11 goals. Dan Boyle scored his sixth goal of the year and Antti Niemi stopped 20 of 23 for his fifth loss of the year.

“We weren’t nearly aggressive enough,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “It’s amazing, in the third when we played on the inside a little bit more, we got more second chances, kept the forecheck alive, we were a much different team. I’m a bit disappointed in the first period and a half to two periods.”

Nashville defenseman Victor Bartley got the Predators on the board at 16:01 of the first period when he shot a wicked wrister at the net from just above the left circle and beat Niemi. The Predators connected on their first power play of the night after when Nick Spaling won the puck along the boards and got it over to Craig Smith behind the net. Smith found defenseman Roman Josi streaking in and Josi’s wrist shot beat Antti Niemi to the glove side to give Nashville the 2-0 lead.

The Sharks finally got in the scoring column in the third when Sharks center Patrick Marleau won the puck behind the net and found Matt Irwin high in the slot. Dan Boyle deflected Irwin’s shot between Hutton’s legs and made it 2-1. The Predators Viktor Stalberg made it 3-1 with 2:39 left when he beat Niemi low to the glove side on a 2-on-1 breakaway. The Sharks pulled Niemi and with the extra man, Markeau redirected a pass from Dan Boyle and got it past Hutton with 54.6 seconds left and brought it to a final score of 3-2.

“Every game we play it seems the team that wins the special teams play, wins the game,” San Jose’s Joe Thornton said. “Tonight they got the one power-play goal and we didn’t, and that’s basically what the NHL comes down to right now, who is better on special teams.”

Logan Couture echoed, “We have to be better on the road. We know how big points are right now. It’s a tough loss.”

The Sharks hope to get back in the win column when they head to St. Louis for an evening game this Tuesday at 8PM EST.