Bulls Dominate Thunder As They Take Weekend Series
San Francisco Bulls v Stockton Thunder January 19, 2013 – Photos Courtesy of Mike Tkacheff via SF Bulls Homepage
The Bulls definitely packed their offense for the road trip back to Stockton for game three of this weekend series with the Thunder. The Bulls dominated the game from the drop of the puck on their way to a five to two victory. Peter Sivak continues his offensive dominance as he scores in his sixth straight game. Defensively, the Bulls went six for seven on the penalty kill with the lone power play goal coming at the end of the game. Taylor Nelson continues to bounce back bounce since being pulled after Friday’s Game. Nelson Saved 24 of 26 shots. The Bulls increase their record against the Thunder to five wins and two losses.
First Period:
The first period was action filled, even with both teams combining for just 15 shots on the period. Dean Ouellet got on to the score sheet early for taking the first penalty of the game when he was called for a slash. The Bulls’ penalty kill unit again was up to the task as the easily held the Thunder off the scoreboard. Stockton took the next penalty, when league penalty minute leader Garet Hunt was called for boarding. The Bulls would capitalize quickly as they would strike just 15 seconds into the man advantage. The Bulls would get another shot at the power play after a Ryan Constant would take an interference penalty, but they would be held off the scoreboard. Right before the end of the period Peter Sivak would stake the Bulls to a two goal lead. That goal give Sivak a tie for the team lead with 18 and gives a goal in six straight game. The Bulls led in shots eight to seven.
Second Period:
The Bulls would get off to a bit of a shaky start as a couple of early penalties would give the Thunder some life to start the period. The Bulls were able to kill off both power plays, but shortly after the power play the Thunder’s Matt Bergland was able to slot home his sixth goal of the year and cutting the deficit to just one goal. The Bulls would answer right back just a few minutes later as Sebastian Trudeau would score his first goal on the season giving the Bulls a three to one advantage. They would extend lead out to three goals as Cody Carlson would net his first goal as Bull since coming over in the Justin Bowers trade. The Thunder led in shots 11 to 10.
Third Period:
The third period was much of the same as the first two as the Bulls were able to maintain their advantage over the Thunder. The Bulls would put the proverbial nail in the coffin with Jordan Morrison goal just five minutes into the period. The goal is Morrison’s 11th on the season and would be the goal to chase Thunder goalie Cody Reichard from the game. Backup Jody O’Neil would be the one to replace Reichard. O’Neil would play solidly in the final 13 and half minutes as he would stop all 10 of the shots he would face, including a penalty shot by Alex Tuckerman. Gabriel Levesque would net a consolation goal on the power play following a Kris Belan delay of game penalty. Bulls finished the game out shooting the Thunder 30 to 26.
The Bulls offense would continue to roll as they scored the most amount of goals in game since a five to six loss in overtime loss to Las Vegas back on October 29th. The Bulls again were led by Peter Sivak as he scored another goal and added an assist to give him a team leading 37 points on the season. The Bulls again would show a dominant penalty kill as they were able to hold the Thunder scoreless on six of their seven attempts with the man advantage. Taylor Nelson had another solid game as he stopped 24 of 26 shots. The Bulls improve their record to 15-20-5 on the season, while the Thunder fall to 21-15-7. The Bulls will travel to Alaska for a three game series with Aces starting on Friday.
Three Stars:
- Taylor Nelson – San Francisco
- Kris Belan – San Francisco
- Gabriel Levesque – Stockton