San Francisco Bulls

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San Francisco Bulls
CityDaly City, California
LeagueECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionPacific
Founded2011
Home arenaCow Palace
ColorsOld Gold, Orange, Black, White
       
MascotRawhide
Owner(s)Pat and Elouise Curcio (Utah Sports Management)
Angela Batinovich
Shmuel Farhi (Farhi Holdings)
Peter Higley (Pickle Barrel)
General managerPat Curcio
Head coachPat Curcio
MediaSan Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Examiner
Comcast Hometown Network
KNBR
AffiliatesSan Jose Sharks (NHL)
Worcester Sharks (AHL)
Franchise history
2012-2014San Francisco Bulls

The San Francisco Bulls were a professional minor ice hockey team of the ECHL located in Daly City, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area market. They were an affiliate to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League and the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League.

History

Beginning with the 2012–13 season, the Bulls began playing their home games at the Cow Palace (former home of their NHL affiliate, the San Jose Sharks), which is right on the Daly City/San Francisco border. To accommodate the Bulls, the team spent $2 million installing a new ice system and a custom-made 360-degree wraparound LED video scoreboard with its game presentation system and ten sets of speaker arrays. The center hung video board has a 360 degree view for game presentation and full timekeeping and statistics. The new Colosseo Cube scoreboard had to be custom built by Colosseo USA because of the weight limitations on the 71-year-old building's roof. The Cow Palace made steel support beams and installed them in the rafters to help provide the additional support.[1]

On July 11, 2012, the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks announced that they had entered into an affiliation agreement with the Bulls.[2]

The Bulls are the first ice hockey team to represent San Francisco since the San Francisco Spiders of the International Hockey League played only the 1995-96 season before folding.[3][4]

The Bulls made their debut on October 12, 2012 with a 4-3 loss to the Bakersfield Condors in front of a capacity crowd of 8,277 at the Cow Palace.

Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Minnesota Wild forward Torrey Mitchell, who was a former San Jose Shark, signed a standard contract with the Bulls on December 31, 2012.[5] He played his first official game as a Bull two days later and scored the only regulation goal for the team in a 2-1 shootout loss at home.[6]

On January 20, 2014 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Bulls might fold or move the next week. [7] On January 27, 2014; the Bulls folded and all players on its roster immediately became unrestricted free agents.[8] San Francisco was the third team in ECHL history to fold mid-season after the Augusta Lynx and Fresno Falcons, both of which folded during the 2008–09 season.

Goaltender Thomas Heemskerk on November 10, 2012 at the Cow Palace

Current roster

Template:San Francisco Bulls roster

References

  1. ^ Randy, Thompson. "Bulls Unveil Multi-Million dollar improvements". Pro Hockey News. Pro Hockey News. Retrieved Sep 7, 2012.
  2. ^ Press release (July 11, 2012). "Sharks announce affiliation with ECHL's San Francisco Bulls". San Jose Sharks. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012.
  3. ^ Staff report (September 20, 2011). "Minor league hockey team coming to San Francisco". San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Press release (November 29, 2011). "Pro hockey returns to San Francisco after more than 15 years". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "Bulls Sign Former Sharks Fan Favorite Torrey Mitchell". San Francisco Bulls Pro Hockey (Official Site). 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  6. ^ "Torrey Mitchell Scores in Bulls Debut, a 2-1 Shootout Loss to Colorado". San Francisco Bulls Pro Hockey (Official Site). 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  7. ^ http://blog.sfgate.com/sgreen/2014/01/20/sf-bulls-to-fold-or-move-as-soon-as-next-week/#19797101=0
  8. ^ http://blog.sfgate.com/sportsevents/2014/01/27/sf-bulls-cease-operations/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Francisco Bulls.
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