BULLS LOSE SUNDAY GAME TO CONDORS

Today marked the second game in the Bulls-Condors series and the last day of the special Sharks Throwback series. The special jerseys were designed to honor the Sharks first two seasons at the Cow Palace. More on that in a bit. First about the game.

Dean Ouellet

San Francisco lost 4-2 to Bakersfield. Peter Sivak scored both goals for San Francisco.

The Bulls have one major problem. They're not consistent. They run hot or cold. One night they can be magnificently brilliant and the next they’re just not together. Such was this afternoon’s game. They weren’t terrible, but they weren’t good enough to win. It wasn’t one player’s fault. It was a collection of miscues, lost passes and slow defense. This isn’t taking anything away from the Condors goalie Brian Stewart, who, with 40 saves, did a great job.

It was a good game for the most part. But the little things hurt the Bulls. Not taking advantage of power plays hurt the Bulls. Not protecting the net at crucial times hurt the Bulls. And communication, always the big question mark, misfired today. Noting that one player, Sivak, scored BOTH San Francisco goals shows how off they were as a team.

There was a good sized crowd for the Sunday Family Day game. I like these afternoon games. It gives everyone enough time to get home, make dinner and a good start for the week. Amy Snow, writer at Fearless in the Fog, also hosts a radio show and promotes Gong Show Gear, was visiting from Southern California this weekend and I had the chance to meet and talk with her. That was a treat! I'll post a link to her writing at the end of this blog. You do need to read it. 

Amy Snow

This was Day Two special Teal Throwback Jerseys, so the those that weren't won yesterday were up for auction today, minus two, which were raffled off. 

The special teal jerseys are nice but, no they are not the Bulls team colors. No, the Bulls are NOT changing their team colors or even thinking about it. No, the Bulls are NOT the baby Sharks. (Someone on Facebook called them that.) What a condescending name! They are their own entity who happen to be an Affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. They are NOT owned by the Sharks.

Rob Kwiet

There are so many misunderstandings caused by these jerseys that I thought it was best to write a little about them here. The jerseys were only available yesterday and today by silent auction or raffle. 

Many San Francisco Bulls fans are not San Jose Sharks fans. You can see plenty of other NHL and other league jerseys at Bulls games. I regularly see Flyers, Canadien, Kings, Bruins, to name a few, at Bulls games. I myself love the New York Rangers. It’s a huge mistake to automatically think that every Bulls fan loves the Sharks. I happen to also like the Sharks, but that doesn’t mean that everyone does. I know several who aren’t and were not excited to see the Orange & Black Bulls in teal.

The crowds this weekend were large but many were not Bulls fans. I certainly hope they weren’t there just to spend money on the teal jerseys. To think that those jerseys went to Sharks fans who don’t care about the Bulls and not to the real Bulls fans would be a shame, in my opinion. I only wish they had placed more jerseys in the raffle, rather than auctioned.

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The Bulls need to push back today’s loss and quickly. They take off on the road later tonight to Boise, Idaho, via bus travel for two games versus the Steelheads, starting Tuesday the 12^th and Wednesday the 13^th. Then it’s one of two games against the Thunder in Stockton, Saturday the 16^th and back at the Barn on Sunday the 17^th finishing the series.  

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To read Amy's great writing, go to: http://www.gongshowgear.com/blog/author/a-snow

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I hope to see you next Sunday, should be a great game!

GO BULLS!!!

BULLS TRIUMPH OVER CONDORS ON THROWBACK JERSEY NIGHT

The Bulls had complete control of tonight’s win over the Bakersfield Condors. Before a large crowd, San Francisco played the way we always want them to play, with strength, communication, great scoring and defense.

It was also the first night of their special Teal Throwback Jerseys. This was done to honor the Sharks’ first two years playing at the Cow Palace. The jerseys are being worn by the Bulls players only for the weekend and then they’ll go up for either auction or raffle. Most, except for four, I believe, will be up for auction.

Peter Sivak

I thought maybe I’d bid on Tuckerman’s jersey but then I saw the starting bids were the top bid I could afford, so it wasn’t for me, obviously. And the raffle tickets were $1.00 each, so I only bought a couple of those. The money goes to charity, I’ll have the specific organizations it goes to on my blog tomorrow, so I understand why the amounts are so high.

And to be honest, I like their normal team colors better. The teal was nice, something different, but orange, black and gold are in tribute to the SF Giants and SF 49ers. And the Bulls are a San Francisco team. In fact, I can see them doing something to honor the Giants and Niners in future seasons. Who knows?

Alex Tuckerman

After getting over my sticker shock of the silent auction, I ran into Rich & Nick who had an extra seat where they sit on the glass on the North End.

Taylor Nelson was on the net tonight and did an incredible job, making 34 saves. There were no scores in the First Period. It was a real battle, both sides pushing hard. But then in the Second, the Bulls broke it open with Rob Kwiet scoring the first goal for San Francisco. Marek Viedensky is back with the Bulls and let his presence be known by scoring the second goal in the Third Period. The Condors then got one puck past Nelson, but that was it for Bakersfield. Taylor shut it down tight. Jordan Morrison scored a third point for the Bulls and the team carried it to the end.

Face Off

Some other highlights were Kwiet’s continued defensive leadership and Alex Tuckerman’s impressive hit on a Bakersfield player in the Second Period. Tuck’s becoming a lot more aggressive in his play, being more eager to give it out, rather than take it. And this is a good thing, because he’s strong enough to make an impact. Cody Carlson also did well both on defense and assisting on goal, picking up a point.

Hans Benson, Me & Alex Tuckerman 

The two teams repeat tomorrow in an afternoon game. Puck drops at 2:15pm. Be there!

GO BULLS!!!