Bulls Snap Their Six Game Losing Streak As They Dominate Wranglers: Game Recap
San Francisco Bulls v Las Vegas Wranglers February 6, 2013 – Photo courtesy of Mike Tkacheff via the San Francisco Bulls Web Page – SFBulls.com
The Bulls would snap their five game losing streak with a decisive four to one victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers. The Bulls offense would find its rhythm as they would be sparked by a power play goal in the first period to tie the game. The Bulls would score three unanswered goals over the next two periods. Yanni Gourde would lead all scorers with three points as he picked a goal and two assists in the game. Peter Sivak and Christian Ouellet would each score two points each. Taylor Nelson had a light work night, but he turned away the shots he should have as he saved 16 of 17 shots on the night.
First Period:
The Bulls would start off with a great first period. The offense looked active and dangerous in the first period. Nick Walsh would take an early penalty giving the Wrangler an early power play. The Bulls penalty kill would deny Las Vegas with the man advantage, but the Wranglers would score just after going back to five on five. Andrew Sarauer would get a luck bounce as his initial shot would hit off the post and then bounce off of Nelson into the net for to give the Wranglers an early lead. The goal was Sarauer’s 20th of the season. The two teams would get a little chippy as Scott Langdon faced off with Robbie Smith and the right after the two teams would take coincidental slashing penalties. The Wranglers would then take another penalty giving the Bulls a four on three power play. As soon as the teams went to five on four the Bulls would finally strike on the power play. Christian Ouellet would score his 14th of the season. Yanni Gourde and Peter Sivak would be credited with the assists on the power play goal. The Bulls would out shoot the Wranglers 12 to eight in the first.
Second Period:
The Bulls would dominate the second period and control of the puck. The Bulls would build off the momentum from their power play goal at then end of the first. Mikael Tam would take the only penalty of the period early on giving the Wranglers a power play. The Bulls’ penalty kill was much better as they kill off the second Wranglers power play. The Bulls would take their first lead of the game right before the end of the period. Peter Sivak would fake out O’Keefe and tap the puck in for the easy goal for his 29th of the year with just 1:12 remaining. Yanni Gourde and Nick Walsh would combine for the assists on Sivak’s goal. The Bulls would add another one just at the close of the period. Tristan King would beat O’Keefe by going five hole with just nine seconds left for his 21st goal on the season. Bryan Cameron and Dean Ouellet would get the credit for the assists. The Bulls out shot the Wranglers 11 to three in the period.
Third Period:
The Bulls head into the third trying to maintain their one goal lead. They would again control possession like they had for most of the game. The Bulls would get an insurance goal midway through the third Yanni Gourde would get his third point of the evening when he netted his fourth goal of the season. Christian Ouellet earned his second point of the night as he picked up the lone assist on the goal. The defense would shut the door on the Wranglers holding them to just six shots in the period. The Bulls would out shoot the Wranglers 10 to six in the period and 33 to 17 during the game.
The Bulls would play their most complete game in awhile. The offense would finally break out as the power play was finally able to make its mark on a game by sparking the offense. Christian Ouellet would score the power play goal late in the first to tie the game up. The Bulls would then carry that momentum into the next two periods as they would out shoot the Wranglers 21 to nine and score three unanswered goals. Peter Sivak, Tristan King, and Yanni Gourde would be the other goal scorers. Gourde would be the offensive star with three points on the evening. The Bulls defense was stout as they limited the Wranglers chances and kept Nelson relatively clean with the lone Las Vegas goal come on a freak bounce. The Bulls are now 22-34-7 on the season as they push their lead over Bakersfield to eight points, while the Wranglers fall to 31-27-5. The Bulls travel to Stockton for the final time this season as they face off with the Thunder on Wednesday night.
Three Stars:
- Yanni Gourde – San Francisco
- Peter Sivak – San Francisco
- Tristan King – San Francisco