Resilient Bulls Battle Back Four Times To Steal Game In Shoot Out: Game Recap
Colorado Eagles forward Steve Haddon (55), left, deflects a shot past San Francisco Bulls defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin (25) and goalie Thomas Heemskerk (33) Wednesday night to put the Eagles up 1-0 in the first period. The Bulls came back to win in a shootout, 5-4. (Michael Bettis ) via reporterherald.com
A resilient Bulls team was able to sneak by the Colorado Eagles in the shoot out. The Bulls were able to battle back and tie the game up four different times last night to force the game into a shoot out, where they won five to four. Dean Ouellet led the Bulls with two assists in regulation and had the only goal in the shoot out to give the Bulls the victory. Four different Bulls had a goal in the game as the offense broke out for a nice outburst. The Bulls finish 2-4-1 against the Eagles on the season.
First Period:
The first period would be a perfect barometer to how the rest of the game would play out. Both team would have several great chances in the game. The Bulls would get the only power in the period when Michael Forney was called for a cross check at 7:12 mark in the first. The Bulls power play would be unable to capitalize as the unit continues to struggle to find consistency. The Eagles would open up the scoring midway through the first period. Steve Haddon deflected Collin Bowman’s point shot past Thomas Heemskerk for his 7th goal on the season. The Bulls would answer back quickly to tie the game at one. Bryan Cameron would beat Kyle Jones following a beautiful cross ice pass from Yanni Gourde for his 17th goal on the season. The Eagles out the Bulls 12 to eight.
Second Period:
With Both teams tied at one heading into both teams were searching for chances to pull away from the other. The Eagles would strike first following an early Bulls’ penalty. Trent Daavittila would beat Heemskerk for his 16th goal of the season giving the Eagles another one goal lead. The Bulls would counter back quickly on another Eagles power play. Christian Ouellet was able to get a goal while the Bulls were short handed for his 13th of the year and tying the game back up again. The Eagles would again take a lead right before the end of the period. Collin Bowman would put the Eagles on top with his seventh goal of the season. Again, the Bulls would tie up the game at the 18:32 mark of the second as Simon Denis-Pepin’s shot from the point was able to beat Jones, who was screened on the play. The Eagles out shot the Bulls 13 to nine.
Third Period:
Both team were able to find some offensive rhythm as they searched for a game winning goal. The Eagles would again strike first as they scored just following a Denis-Pepin tripping minor. Kyle Ostrow was able to get past Heemskerk by going with the backhand to beat him high. The Bulls would get back to back power plays mid way through the period, but again the Bulls were unable to capitalize on the man advantage both times. The Bulls would battle back for the fourth time time as Peter Sivak was able to sneak weird angle shot from the boards past Jones for his 27th on the season. The Bulls would kill off another penalty immediately following the goal to push the game in overtime. The Bulls out shot the Eagles 12 to 11 on the period, while the Eagles out shot the Bulls 36 to 29 in regulation.
Overtime:
Neither team was able to get a goal in the overtime period. Both teams had three shots on the net.
Shoot Out:
*Colorado Shoots First
- Kyle Ostrow – No Goal; Bryan Cameron – No Goal
- Steve Haddon – No Goal; Dean Ouellet – Goal
- Trent Daavettila – No Goal; Tristan King – No Goal
- Michael Forney – No Goal; Peter Sivak – No Goal
- Collin Bowman – No Goal; SF not needed
The Bulls played tough last night as they constantly battled back and answered every goal the Eagles threw at them. Dean Ouellet was the hero of the game as he set up two of the Bulls’ four goals and had the only goal by either team in the shoot out. Bryan Cameron, Christian Ouellet, Simon Denis-Pepin, and Peter Sivak all had goals for the Bulls on the evening. Thomas Heemskerk had a rough game as he surrendered four goals on 39 shots, but he did well to come up big in overtime and in the shoot out where he was perfect. The Bulls penalty kill was effective tonight as they went 3 for 4 on the night and added a short handed goal to tie the game up early in the second. The Bulls improve to 21-29-7 on the season, while the Eagles fall to 27-24-5. The Bulls will head to Las Vegas on Friday as they wrap up their road trip with two games against the Wranglers.
Three Stars:
- Collin Bowman – Colorado
- Kyle Ostrow – Colorado
- Kevin Ulanski – Colorado