SF Bulls return for weekend rumble

It feels like forever since SFBay has invaded the Cow Palace to watch the San Francisco Bulls do battle.

Best believe, San Fran’s resident hockey club has been hard at work on the road as of late.

Here’s a quick look at what the boys have been up to leading into their Friday the 13th showdown with the Ontario Reign:

5 out of 6: With a strong showing on the five game road stint last week, the Bulls earned five-of-six points to take possession of sixth place in the ECHL Western Conference.

With 19 game points, San Francisco is ahead of the Utah Grizzlies (17), Las Vegas Wranglers (17) and the Bakersfield Condors (11).

It’s a big leap for the Bulls, who suffered a frustrating skid in late November where, despite outshooting and outworking their opponents, SF couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net.

To make the victorious roadie sweeter, their 2-0-1 weekend included a win against the top team in the division…

Move Over Ontario: Into their second season, and through several roster shifts, the Bulls have always been challenged by the Pacific-leading Reign.

But during last weekend’s two gamer down in Ontario, the Bulls dominated the Reign 4-1 on Friday night and forced Saturday’s tilt into overtime. Despite losing 3-2 in overtime — with San Francisco tying the game up late to force extra play — the Bulls still gained a point in the standings.

The Bulls’ performance down in SoCal will make for a more interesting tilt this Friday, with the Reign looking to upset the Bulls on their home ice.

Gron: If you checked your Twitter feed this past weekend, you would have seen @tgron17 dominating the Bulls In-Game posts.

Rightfully so, since the former Idaho Steelhead has scored points in all seven games since joining the Bulls. Six of those points (3 goals, 3 assists) were during the three-game road trip alone.

Gron’s prowess has garnered the attention of the league, earning him runner-up for the ECHL Player of the Week two weeks in a row.

Perhaps it’s time to show the kid some respect and give him player of the week honors already?

With another strong showing this weekend at the Cow Palace, there’s no reason he can’t.

Next on Tap: The Bulls have an extra competitive weekend of hockey ahead of them. Friday is the second time this season that the Bulls and Reign will face off at the Cow Palace. The first meeting, on November 17, resulted in a 3-1 loss for the Bulls.

Both teams will be coming off several days rest, so everyone should be on their A-game by puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

San Francisco’s homestand continues Saturday with a with a NorCal rivalry tilt against the Stockton Thunder. It is the first time that the Thunder — currently in fifth place in the division with 26 points — have visited the Cow Palace this season. The teams have met twice in Stockton and have garnered a win a piece.

Follow @SFBay and @ChelenaGoldman on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of the San Francisco Bulls.