Tag: Jordan Morrison

San Francisco Bulls announce Opening Day roster

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Bulls

by Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO –

The San Francisco Bulls announced today their Opening Day Roster. The new roster consists of  two goaltenders (Tyler Beskorowany and J.P. Anderson), seven defensemen (Kyle Bigos, Andrew Eastman, Josh Kidd, Dylan King, Damon Kipp, Scott Langdon and Steven Tarasuk) and 11 forwards (Kris Belan, Chris Crane, Brett Findlay, Luke Judson, Mark Lee, Ryan McDonough, Dale Mitchell, Jordan Morrison, Christian Ouellet, Dean Ouellet and Brett Parnham).

There is some veteran leadership coming back as there are seven players returning for the Bulls: King, Langdon, Belan, Findlay, Morrison, C. Ouellet and D. Ouellet. Last years top goal scorer Peter Sivak is not on this years roster as he signed with the Alaska Aces this off-season and will face off against his former team in the first game of the season this Friday in Anchorage.

 

Bulls lose to Condors 4-3, winless in preseason

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By Kahlil Najar

BAKERSFIELD – In their final preseason game, the San Francisco Bulls lost to the Bakersfield Condors, 4-3. Jordan Morrison, Brett Parnham, and Josh Kidd had goals for the Bulls and J.P. Anderson was able to turn away 28 shots.

The Condors got on the board first with a goal from Gary Steffes at 5:35.The Bulls answered back as Jordan Morrison scored his first goal of the preseason on a nice tip-in play with assists going to Rowe and Belan. Parham contributed his goal of the night when he beat Bunz stick-side with 10:21 gone in the first and made it a 2-1 Bulls lead. Not to be outdone the Condors scored less than two minutes later on a Brett Lutes goal to tie it up at 2-2 at the end of 20 minutes.

Forty seconds into the second period, Nicholas Tremblay gave Bakersfield the lead with an unassisted goal bringing the score to 3-2. After some roughhousing on both sides, the Bulls Josh Kidd tied the game on a liner from the blue line for a score of 3-3. With just over three minutes remaining, Tyler Brenner  scored the game winner with a little over three minutes left in the second to make it a final score of 4-3.

The regular season begins next weekend on October 18 in Alaska, where the Bulls will take on the Aces for the first of a two-game set.

Bulls lose to rival Thunder in shootout 4-3

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by Kahlil Najar

Screen shot 2013-10-12 at 8.31.05 PM

SAN FRANCISCO –

The San Francisco Bulls renewed their fierce rivalry with the Stockton Thunder tonight and came up short losing in a shootout, 4-3. Ryan McDonough scored twice for the Bulls and Curcio stand-out Dale Mitchell contributed with his first goal of the preseason.

Stockton jumped on the board first when Alex MacLeod put the puck past Beskorowany with assists coming from Escobedo and Noble. The Bulls answered back when Dale Mitchell tipped in a shot that Captain Scott Langdon launched from the blue line. The Thunder retook the lead on a Corey Trivino goal that went in right after a Bulls penalty had expired to make it a 2-1 Stockton lead. With only 2.2 seconds left in the first period Bulls Center Ryan McDonough found the back of the Thunder goal after receiving a pass from Forward Chris Crane to tie the game at 2-2 going into the first intermission.

The second period saw both teams score a goal a piece to get the game tied at three. James Henry of the Thunder scored on a power-play goal early in the period and Ryan McDonough tied the game on his second goal of the night when he received a nice pass from returning All-Star Dean Ouellet.

After a heated third and overtime period which saw both teams grinding and putting bodies into the boards, the game headed into a shootout. Trivino and Henry were able to score for the Thunder while only Brett Parnham was able to put one past Milner and gave the Thunder the 4-3 victory.

“I hate losing when you play like that. You get 40 shots and you go into the shootout. This team has to find confidence in order to put teams away,” said Head Coach Pat Curcio on the loss.

Even with the loss, the Bulls found new players like Dale Mitchell and Ryan McDonough coming through and shinning for the team as well as vets like Dean Ouellet and Jordan Morrison. On Ouellet and Morrison, Curcio said,”It was nice to have people you’ve trained for a while to come in and make a difference. You need those gamers, they’re going to be great for us.”

“I think we played good as a team and we did a lot of the stuff Coach wanted us to do. We’re moving forward pretty well,” said McDonough on the team tonight. Addressing the rivalry, he said, “I haven’t had a rivalry like this since junior league. It’s pretty exciting.”

Dean Ouellet, who played in Kazakhstan this off-season said “It feels good to be back. It was a good fit for me to be back and I feel really happy to be here. Our team this year is going to be a really good and the boys are hanging out together and getting along.”

The Bulls play their final preseason game on Sunday when they travel to Bakersfield to take on the Condors at 4 pm.

SF Bulls Are Back, Moving Forward

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By Mary Walsh

Seven players have returned to the San Francisco Bulls for a second season. Team Captain Scott Langdon, forward Kris Belan and defenseman Dylan King all signed again early in ECHL free agency. Last week, Dean Ouellet and Jordan Morrison returned from a stint in the Kazakh league to rejoin the Bulls. Christian Ouellet and Brett Findlay, rookies who impressed last season, are also back.  These players are not the only ones showing confidence in the San Francisco Bulls organization.

The San Jose Sharks renewed their affiliation with the Bulls in late August, but they had already given the organization a significant stamp of approval last season. They sent seven prospects to San Francisco from Worcester, including five skaters. This season, Bulls President and Head Coach Pat Curcio expects the Sharks to continue sending prospects to the ECHL:

We could have possibly ten guys from [the Sharks]. They signed a lot of players, and they signed them with the intention [that they will] have a place to put them. So our relationship’s been great and I’m real excited.

The Sharks are happy with the arrangement as well. In their August press release about the renewed affiliation, GM Doug Wilson explained: “We had an extremely positive relationship with the Bulls last season as a development vehicle for players within our system and we look forward to continuing that agreement.” -San Jose Sharks

Prior to their affiliation with the Bulls, the Sharks used the ECHL primarily for goaltender development. The Sharks have the option of using many places to develop players, including Canadian Junior leagues and university programs. The AHL has no cap and no roster limit, so in theory a team could use an AHL team to stash all their prospects without regard to whether there was room on the ice for them or not. Of course, that is not ideal. It is far better to have a pro hockey environment where your prospects can play a lot of minutes.

On the other hand, teams don’t want want to send young talent into a meat grinder. The ECHL is shedding a reputation for being a lawless slug-fest, and becoming a league where talent can be showcased and developed. That San Jose felt confident enough to send so many players to San Francisco in its first season speaks very well for the Bulls.

It also speaks well for the ECHL, as other NHL teams are also investing more talent in the Triple A league. The ECHL is an increasingly viable stepping stone in pro hockey development. In theory, this could also improve the level of play in the AHL, by giving less experienced players a different team to develop with. AHL players could come to the NHL more ready for having been in a system tailored to the needs of experienced prospects.

While the team has bolstered its connection to the AHL and the NHL, the Bulls still have a grass-roots element. In mid-September, the team held open tryouts. From that group, Anthony Taylor was chosen to participate in the team’s main training camp. He will also play in at least one pre-season game. The tryouts gave the Bulls a chance to scope out available talent that they might need through the season, as Curcio explains:

You’re going to need players that are readily available at the drop of a hat. If a player gets injured on a Thursday night and [someone] has to fly out Friday to Worcester or San Jose, it’s hard to find a player over night. You need some good players that are local.

The Bulls will play two pre-season games at the Cow Palace, on Thursday, October 10 and Saturday, October 12. Puck drop at 7:30 pm. Their regular season home opener will be on Friday, November 8 against the Bakersfield Condors.

Morrison and Ouellet back with the SF Bulls

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By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls announced today that forwards Jordan Morrison and Dean Ouellet have agreed to terms. Morrison and Ouellet join last season’s other core members, Scott Langdon, Kris Belan, Dylan King and Christian Ouellet.

“It’s great news for the organization and the fans to get Jordan and Dean back for this season,” said SF Bulls President and Head Coach Pat Curcio. “Their return from Kazakhstan shows their desire to reach the next level in North America. Dean is an all-star and Jordan is a proven leader.”

Calling Ouellet an All-Star isn’t just a euphemism, it’s a fact. Last year, Dean Ouellet was the lone Bulls player to represent San Francisco in the ECHL All-Star game. Jordan Morrison on the other hand, may not have been voted an All-Star but he was definitely deserving of the title. Not only did he contribute 16 goals and 25 assists but he was one of the key players to help get the Bulls into the first round of the playoffs. In the playoffs, Morrison played in all five games and had two goals an assist.

On returning to the Bay Area, both players are looking forward to being back and bring the same kind of intensity to the ice that they did last year.

Dean Oulette said, “Coming back to the Bulls this season feels really good. San Francisco is like a second home for me. It’s going to be a great season.”

“It’s good to see so many familiar faces back with the Bulls,” said Morrison. “San Francisco became a home away from home last season. There were great fans and it was a great city. I’m looking forward to a productive season and doing better than last year.”