Bulls toppled by Eagles on teddy bear night

The San Francisco Bulls have traded center Jordan Clendenning, left, along with three other players to the Utah Grizzlies in a seven-player deal. (Godofredo Vasquez/SFBay)
Bulls rookie center Dean Ouellet was named a reserve to the ECHL All-Star Game in Colorado Jan. 23. (Godofredo Vasquez/SFBay)
Bulls fan extraordinaire and Matadors member Jay Berger cheers the home team at the Cow Palace in late December. (Godofredo Vasquez/SFBay)

COW PALACE — Hockey fans, I’m not entirely sure what was in the air at the Cow Palace Friday night.

Perhaps it was the pressure of the promotion teddy bear toss that made it just too darn difficult to get that first goal.

Or perhaps it was just the fact that Colorado goalie Kyle Jones wasn’t going to let ANYBODY get the puck past him.

It would take the San Francisco Bulls until 4:12 in the third period to score a goal so fans could throw those stuffed animals for Seton Medical Center. And it would be the only goal that the home team would score as they fell to the visiting Colorado Eagles 5-1.

Colorado’s Chad Costello would score the only goal of the first period  — his 10th of the season — giving the Eagles the 1-0 advantage. For the first time in several home games, the Bulls were outshot going into the locker room at the end of the first period.

Goalies on both ends with the ice would put up a fight in the start of the second period, but Colorado’s Ryan Schnell would get the puck past Thomas Heemskerk for a power-play goal at 6:29. Costello would get another goal, with help from Jake Marto and Isaac Smeltzer, at 15:44 to give the Eagles the 3-0 lead. Forward Teegan Moore would increase the lead 4-0 at 18:46.

Going into the third, it looked like those furry little charity bears might’ve been a jinx.

That is, until the Bulls would take advantage of a Colorado penalty with forward Jordan Morrison tallying the power-play goal to put San Francisco on the board 4-1.

And, of course, give the lively crowd of 3,573 the chance to chuck those teddy bears onto the ice.

The Bulls would not score again. And the Eagles would capitalize on their lead with less than a minute left in regulation with an unassisted goal by Schnell to seal the 5-1 fate.

The Bulls and Eagles will face off again tomorrow night at the Cow Palace. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m.

Last modified December 9, 2012 3:56 am

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