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The Bulls won their second game in pool play against the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers by a score of 6-3. Here’s how it happened.

1st Period

USF got off to a slow start in this one, and the issue was compounded by the fact that they were playing a motivated UWM team. UWM lost yesterday 10-1, so not only were they looking to rebound from a terrible game, but they were also fighting to stay alive in pool play. The Bulls were flat, committed several bad turnovers, and gave up a number of odd-man rushes. The Panthers pounced on the generous opportunities provided to them by the Bulls, scoring 2 goals to take a 2-0 lead into the 1st intermission.

2nd Period

Whereas the Panthers controlled most of the play in the 1st period, the Bulls got off to a much better start in the 2nd and maintained that pressure. USF goaltender Samuel Coleman played very well in the 1st to limit the Panthers to just 2 goals, and in this period it was his counterpart, the UWM goalie, who played very well. USF seemed to be just inches away from scoring multiple times, and the UWM goalie made several excellent saves to keep the Bulls scoreless. USF was excellent in the faceoff dot and held much of the possession. After receiving a powerplay, the Bulls finally broke through with a goal from Scot Nelson to cut the UWM lead to 1. Minutes later on another powerplay the Bulls scored again, this time courtesy of Logan Sheehan, to tie the game at 2 heading into the 2nd intermission.

3rd Period

For a team that had all the momentum going into the 3rd, this period started very poorly. UWM scored in the opening minute of the period to take back the lead and make the score 3-2. However, the Bulls stuck to their game by creating chances with their extended possession. Not too long after the UWM goal, USF responded with a goal from Michael Lozicki to tie the game at 3 apiece. At this point, it had become a game where the Bulls just needed to stick to the way they were playing and find a way to beat the UWM goalie, who continued to play very well. Eventually, they were rewarded with a goal from Kenny Weightman to make the score 4-3 and give the Bulls their first lead of the day. Moments later, Alex Rhoads scored again to make it 5-3 and really blow the game open. The Bulls maintained their pressure and didn’t allow the Panthers to get back into it. Lozicki scored his second of the game on an empty-netter to make it 6-3 and ice the game. Coleman finished with 31 saves on 34 shots.

Next Game

USF will finish pool play tomorrow with an 8 pm EST game against top-seeded Sault College.

Written by Ian MacLeod.