San Francisco Bulls @ Idaho Steelheads February 23, 2013. Mandatory Credit: Mike Tkacheff

By Charles Richards

BOISE, Idaho – Tristan King scored in regulation, and in the shootout to victimize his former team, and help the San Francisco Bulls (20-28-1-6) defeat the Idaho Steelheads (35-15-1-5) 4-3, Saturday night at CenturyLink Arena. Taylor Nelson made 40 saves, and stopped all three Idaho shootout attempts in the victory. Bryan Cameron and Simon Danis-Pepin also scored their first goals as members of the Bulls. The Bulls’ win coupled with the Bakersfield Condors’ loss in regulation gives the Bulls a six-point cushion for the final playoff spot.

The Steelheads exerted their home dominance over the Bulls in the first period. San Francisco was out-shot 18-6 in the opening period, and almost escaped to the dressing room unscathed. Mike Towns scored for Idaho with 41 seconds remaining in the period on a back-hand shot that just squeaked through the pads of Nelson. David Toews picked up the lone assist on the goal.

The Bulls scored twice in the second period, both equalizing the score. Danis-Pepin scored his first goal in a San Francisco sweater at 3:21 of the period to tie the game at one. Danis-Pepin’s wrist shot cleanly beat goaltender Josh Robinson. Dean Ouellet picked up the only assist on the play.  Idaho took the lead back at 9:32, only four seconds after the Bulls had killed a penalty for too many men on the ice. Tyler Gron scored for the 12th time this season from Brett Robinson. Cameron scored his 16th goal of the season on the power play with 3:48 left in the second period to tie the game at two. Rob Kwiet and T. King assisted on the goal.

King scored his 19th goal against his former team with 9:01 left in the third period to break the tie. King followed up his initial shot, and buried the rebound that kicked out to him leaving Robinson without a chance. Jordan Morrison and D. Ouellet earned the assists on the play. The Bulls could not hold the lead while skating 4-on-4. Gron scored his second goal of the game on a back-hand shot that beat Nelson with 1:54 remaining in the third period. Jeremie Blain and Ian Watters assisted on the game-tying goal.

The game went to overtime, but neither team could find a game-winning goal in the extra period. In the shootout, Cameron, D. Ouellet and King all scored for the Bulls, while Nelson stopped attempts by Gron, Sam Carrick, and B. Robinson.

Bulletins: Scott Langdon dropped the gloves with Mike Towns in the first period…Idaho out-shot the Bulls 43-38…The season series between San Francisco and Idaho is tied at three wins each…The Bulls went 1-for-5 on the power play. Idaho was 0-for-5 on the man-advantage…It was Taylor Nelson’s first shootout victory…Dean Ouellet improved to 4-for-7 in the shootout this season.

The Bulls continue their six-game road trip next Tuesday when they travel to Utah, Colorado, and then Las Vegas. San Francisco returns home to the Cow Palace on March 6 to take on the Alaska Aces. Follow along on KNBR.com and AmericaOneSports.com.

Three Stars of The Game:
1. Tyler Gron (IDH)
2. Tristan King (SF)
3. Mike Towns (IDH)

***Post Game Report provided by the San Francisco Bulls.***

Official Link: http://sfbulls.com/news/bulls-reel-in-steelheads-4-3-in-a-shootout/

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Scott Langdon(24) dives to block a shot on goal by Idaho’s Justin Dowling(10) as the Idaho Steelheads face the San Francisco Bulls at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on Friday, November 16, 2012. Mandatory Credit: SFBay

Tonight the San Francisco Bulls embark on a six game road trip which starts with a stop in the “Gem State” as they take on the Idaho Steelheads for a two game mini series.  The last time these two clubs faced each other was back on February 12th and 13th.  In that short two game set, each team earned a split.  The Steelheads took the first game by a 3-2 final and the Bulls captured game two by defeating Idaho 6-3.

This week the San Francisco Bulls were very active in the trade department as they made a series of trade to help refine their offense unit.  On Tuesday they made their first trade when Pat Curcio dealt Martin Lee and Alex Tuckerman to the Utah Grizzlies in return for Calgary Flames prospect Bryan Cameron.  Over the past 10 games, Cameron has been hot and has posted nine points which includes three goals and six assists.  Pat Curcio made another move on Wednesday when he dealt Rylan Galiardi who is the brother of San Jose Sharks forward T.J. Galiardi to the Idaho Steelheads that involved a future considerations condition.  The two clubs completed the deal on Thursday when the Dallas Stars assigned forward Tristan King to San Francisco.  Tristan King on the season has been tallying just over a point per game pace.  Furthermore, is noteworthy to mentioned that in the past five games, King has posted 10 points that consists of four goals and six assists.  Both Cameron and King will add their scoring touches to San Francisco’s roster.  In addition, the Bulls newest pick ups will join them on the six game roadie.

In their last game, the Bulls were unable to comeback against the Stockton Thunder who scored two goals in the second frame and ended up loosing to their rivals from the east by a 3-1 final.  In that contest the lone goal scorer was Jordan Morrison who tallied his 15th goal of the season.  His lone strike was assisted by both Rob Kwiet and Mikael Tam.  Other notables worth mentioning was Bulls net minder Thomas Heemskerk had a very solid outing against Stockton as he managed to close the door on 26 of 28 shots he faced.  After being back from his injury on February 6th, Heemskerk has stopped 110 of 120 pucks.  Moreover, in his last three starts he has been stellar, turning away 89 of 94 shots which includes a .947 save percentage in those last three contests.

The Idaho Steelheads have a strong hold on third place in the Western Conference with 73 points.  They sit four points back of the Ontario Reign, and eight points ahead of the Stockton Thunder.  The San Francisco Bulls are in eighth place in the Western conference with 45 points, and are just two points back of the seventh place Utah Grizzlies.

Official Leaders Report:

San Francisco Bulls winger #91 Peter Sivak. Mandatory Credit: San Francisco Bulls media department.

Bulls Leaders

Goals: Peter Sivak – 26

Assists: Rob Kwiet – 23

Points: Peter Sivak – 46

Plus/Minus: Scott Langdon – +11

PIM: Kris Belan – 130

Wins: Thomas Heemskerk – 12

GAA: Thomas Heemskerk – 3.15

Save %: Thomas Heemskerk – 0.902

Shutouts: N/A

Who’s Hot

Peter Sivak – 9 points (8g, 1a) in the past 10 games

Dean Ouellet – 8 points (4g, 4a) in the past 10 games

Idaho Steelheads forward #27 Austin Smith. Mandatory Credit: Idaho Steelheads/Texas Stars media department.

Idaho Leaders

Goals: Austin Smith – 19

Assists: Justin Dowling – 33

Points:   Justin Dowling – 46

Plus/Minus: Matt Case – +31

PIM: Scott Todd – 145

Wins: Josh Robinson – 19

GAA: Josh Robinson – 2.86

Save %: Josh Robinson – 0.919

Shutouts: Josh Robinson, Tyler Beskorowany – 1

Who’s Hot

David de Kastrozza – 14 points (7g, 7a) in the past 10 games

Brett Robinson – 11 points (2g, 9a) in the past 10 games

Tonight’s contest has 6:10p PST puck drop and can be heard on KNBR.com.  In addition, the game is available to America One Sports subscribers on Americaonesports.com.

LET’S GO BULLS!!!!!!!

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San Francisco Bulls forward #43 Kris Belan plays to puck against Idaho Steelheads forward #18 Brett Robinson during a game at the Cow Palace on January 10, 2013. Mandatory Credit: Mike Tkacheff

Tonight the San Francisco Bulls make the trek to the “Gem State” as they face off against the ECHL’ affiliate of the Dallas Stars, the Idaho Steelheads.  This marks the third meeting of the season with the Steelheads.  In their last two meetings, both Idaho and San Francisco each came away with a victory.  San Francisco defeated the Steelheads back on November 16, 2012 by a 4-2 score while Idaho beat the Bulls on January 10th by a 2-1 final.  Tonight’s contest is game one of a two game mini series vs. the Steelheads and is the first of a three game road trip away from the Bay Area.

San Francisco recently took on the Bakersfield Condors the past weekend it which they earned a split in that two game mini series.  In game one, the Bulls defeated the Condors by a 3-1 final and then in game two they lost by a final score of 4-2.  Over the span of the last five games, the Bulls have managed to collect 4 of 10 possible points and their record over that time was recorded as 1-2-2.  As for Idaho, they have recorded 3 wins and two losses over the same span as the Bulls.  Their three wins were all against the Utah Grizzlies.

Idaho has a strong hold on third place in the Western Conference with 67 points.  They are seven points behind the second place Ontario Reign, and 10 points ahead of the Stockton Thunder.  The San Francisco Bulls sit in eighth place with 43 points, just two points behind the Utah Grizzlies.

Official Stats Report:

San Francisco Bulls winger #91 Peter Sivak. Mandatory Credit: San Francisco Bulls media department.

Bulls Leaders

Goals: Dean Ouellet, Peter Sivak – 23

Assists: Rob Kwiet – 22

Points: Peter Sivak – 43

Plus/Minus: Scott Langdon – +12

PIM: Kris Belan – 118

Wins: Thomas Heemskerk – 11

GAA: Thomas Heemskerk – 3.28

Save %: Thomas Heemskerk – 0.897

Shutouts: N/A

Who’s Hot

Cody Carlson – 11 points (3g, 8a) in the past 10 games

Christian Ouellet – 9 points (4g, 5a) in the past 10 games

Dean Ouellet – 9 points (5g, 4a) in the past 10 games

Idaho Steelheads forward #27 Austin Smith. Mandatory Credit: Idaho Steelheads/Texas Stars media department.

Idaho Leaders

Goals: Austin Smith – 19

Assists: Justin Dowling – 33

Points: Justin Dowling – 46

Plus/Minus: Matt Case – +32

PIM: Scott Todd – 135

Wins: Josh Robinson – 17

GAA: Josh Robinson – 2.77

Save %: Josh Robinson – 0.919

Shutouts: Josh Robinson, Tyler Beskorowany, Grant Rollheiser – 1

Who’s Hot

Tyler Gron – 13 points (7g, 6a) in the past 10 games

Matt Case – 11 points (2g, 9a) in the past 10 games

***Stats courtesy of the San Francisco Bulls.***

Official Link: http://sfbulls.com/news/bulls-begin-three-game-road-trip-in-idaho-against-the-steelheads/

Newly named San Francisco Bulls Team Captain #24 Scott Langdon. Mandatory Credit: Mike Tkacheff

In recent news, San Francisco Bulls Head Coach Pat Curcio announced that the team has named resident tough guy Scott Langdon their new team Captain.  With the recent departure of Justin Bowers, Landgon becomes the second Captain in franchise history.  In addition to this announcement, Coach Curcio also named high scoring forward Dean Ouellet their new Alternate Captain.

2012-2013 Season Series Stats: San Francisco Bulls is tied with Idaho Steelheads 1-1

Tonight’s contest can be heard on KNBR.com and is available to America One Sports subscribers on Americaonesports.com.

LET’S GO BULLS!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow all of your BoT staff on twitter!!!  

@KingShark49 @81Bayer

Blades of Teal: Tape to tape “WITH THE PASS” of expert analysis on San Jose Sharks, Worcester Sharks, and San Francisco Bulls hockey