Eagles nearly spoil Bulls Teddy Bear Toss

DALY CITY, Calif. – Jordan Clendenning, Andrew Crescenzi and Kris Belan shut down the Colorado Eagles top line at the Cow Palace on Friday. But the San Francisco Bulls could not rebound from the sting of two early penalties in a 5-1 loss on Teddy Bear Toss night.
         
The defeat puts the Bulls and Eagles in a deadlock for fifth place in the ECHLs Western Conference with a rematch slated for Saturday night.  
         
“We’re going to see them again tomorrow, so we have to put this game behind us right now,” Clendenning said. “It’s a new day and we’ve got to follow our game plan a little better.”
         
The Bulls wanted to set a physical tone against the Eagles first line, which features the ECHLs top three scorers in Chad Costello, Jack Combs and Michael Forney. The scrappy play led to an early fight between Clendenning and Eagles tough guy Norm Ezekiel. They dropped the gloves at 7:05 of the first period immediately after the referee dropped the puck on a blue line faceoff.
         
“I was trying to get under the skin of the first line,” Clendenning said. “I think they probably sent one of their guys out to keep me honest, but if I’m going to take on the role of being a third-line checking forward then that’s going to happen.”
         
Ten second later, Jamie Devane went to blows with Eagles defenseman Issac Smeltzer.
         
The Eagles jumped on the board at 10:07 of the first period when Costello netted his tenth goal of the year on a 5-on-3 power play. Colorado received the man advantages after Jordan Morrison and Belan picked up boarding penalties that Curcio did not agree with.  
         
“Sooner or later we’ve got to get some calls, I thought it took the momentum right out of our game,” Curcio said. “They weren’t calls that I would have made.”
         
The second Eagles goal was particularly frustrating for the Bulls because it came after they lost a faceoff in their own zone with eight seconds remaining on another penalty kill. The Eagles scored two more goals in the period – Costello’s 11th and Teegan Moore’s second – and the Bulls went into the second intermission down 4-0.
         
Curcio said his team still needs to learn how to play through adversity.
         
“When we get down behind the eight ball, she’s a real-steep hill,” Curcio said. “If we get up early, we can do anything. But when we’re down we’re a different group of guys.”
         
Taylor Nelson relieved goalie Tommy Heemskerk after two periods. Heemskerk was steamrolled in the second period, but Curcio expects him to mind the net in Saturday’s rematch.
         
“He is our No.1 guy,” Curcio said. “We’ll talk about it in the morning and make a decision.”    
 
The Bulls finally lit the lamp at 4:12 of the third period when Morrison shelved his seventh goal of the season. But the team couldn’t capitalize on a double-minor penalty and two other power play opportunities in the period. They finished the night 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
 
The Eagles added a fifth goal on a breakaway late in the third period, Ryan Schnell’s second of the night.
 
The Bulls played with five defensemen again on Friday. Rob Kwiet is day-to-day with a leg contusion.
 
Curcio said the loss is tough to swallow and he wants to see more grit from his squad on Saturday.
 
“Man, I wanted those points tonight. This one bothers me,” he said. “I’m going to lean on everyone tomorrow to make sure we’re ready.”
All Photos by Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com