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By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

 PELHAM– In a sea of red and black, fans poured into the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena on Friday, Oct. 19 to celebrate the start of the 2024-25 regular season in an action-packed game against their in-state rival, the Huntsville Havoc.

The neck-and-neck game resulted in an overtime loss with a score of 5-4, but the Bulls surged back the following night to win 4-3 against the Macon Mayhem on the road.

In the opening game of the season, Bulls fans showed up in full force and packed the arena, while their neighbors to the north also brought a sizeable collection of fans that congregated behind the Havoc bench.

Determined to get on the board early, Birmingham kicked off scoring with a goal courtesy of Bulls newcomer Kolten Olynek just four minutes into the first period. This early point gave Birmingham the momentum, and six minutes later, multiple Bulls charged into the Havoc zone with Carson Rose effortlessly lobbing the puck into the net at the 10:25 mark.

With Birmingham two points ahead, the Havoc regrouped and began dominating possession during the first period. And while the Bulls had some beautiful breakaways, they were unable to get anything past Huntsville goaltender Mike Robinson.

At the 16:35 mark, Havoc player Robbie Fisher slipped the puck right under Bulls netminder Hayden Stewart to put Huntsville on the board. Before Birmingham even had time to recover, Noah Finstrom launched a second puck into the net to the delight of the Havoc fans in the audience.

After an electrifying first period, both teams left the ice tied at 2-2.

The second period began much as the first ended with Huntsville dominating possession, but Birmingham kept at it and began to slowly shrink the shots on goal differential throughout the period.

Towards the end of the period, the Havoc made a critical mistake with Craig McCabe earning a tripping penalty at the 17:55 mark. Bulls fans erupted in cheers as Birmingham went on the power play for the first time in the season.

As the Bulls’ players surrounded the Havoc’s shorthanded defense, a series of lovely passes placed the puck right in front of the net for Rose to slap in at the 18:33 mark, once again putting Birmingham in the lead at 3-2.

Less than a minute after that goal, Birmingham’s Troy MacTavish went to the box for a quick punch that earned him a roughing penalty at the 19:07 mark.

The Huntsville Havoc started the third period on the power play, but was unable to capitalize on the man advantage as the Birmingham Bulls completed their first penalty kill of the season.

Despite not scoring shorthanded, Huntsville overcame the Bulls’ lead as Phil Elgstam scored at the 3:35 mark and Benito Posa scored at the 8:30 mark to give the Havoc the lead with a score of 4-3.

A few minutes later, Bulls’ Olynek committed a hooking penalty along the boards in the Havoc zone at the 13:04 mark. In the resulting play, a Birmingham shorthanded breakaway drew an interference penalty from Huntsville’s Cole Reginato.

During the 4-on-4 action, the Bulls calmly controlled the puck with measured passes. After several great shot attempts and sheer determination, Birmingham’s Michael Gillespie got a puck past the goalie to the ecstasy of the fans in the arena at the 15:00 mark to tie the game.

For the remainder of the period, fans from both sides were on their feet as every second was imbued with electrifying intensity, but neither team was able to score, sending the game to overtime.

The overtime period quickly favored the Havoc as Bulls’ Filimon Ledziankou committed a tripping penalty at the 2:16 mark to send Huntsville on the power play.

In the resulting play, the Havoc overwhelmed the Bulls with a series of passes before Finstrom scored the game winning goal just 20 seconds into the power play, finishing the game with a 5-4 Huntsville victory.

The following night on Saturday, Oct. 19, the Birmingham Bulls traveled to Georgia to face off against the Macon Mayhem. In the action-packed evening, the two teams managed to commit a combined total of 10 penalties and scored seven goals, five of which were scored on power plays.

The Bulls committed the first penalty of the evening and scored the first goal of the night as Michael Gillespie got a puck past the Mayhem’s goalie, Josk Boyko, at the 13:28 mark.

Two minutes later, Rose went to the box for interference, allowing Amedeo Mastrangeli to tie up the game with a power play goal at the 16:35 mark.

In the final minutes of the first period, Macon’s Dan Winslow committed a high sticking penalty. Birmingham’s Rose scored just seconds into the resulting power play, making the score 2-1.

The Bulls ended the first period with a roughing penalty courtesy of Matt Clark, while the Mayhem started the second period with Matteo Ybarra earning a delay of game penalty at the 5:59 mark.

Despite this rocky start to the second, the Mayhem’s Alex Cohen got a shot past Birmingham netminder Austin Lotz at the 8:28 mark to tie the game.

This stalemate would hold for the majority of the period until Macon’s Brad Jenion went to the box for cross checking. On the resulting power play, the Bulls wasted no time with Olynek scoring just 40 seconds later at the 18:47 mark.

Less than a minute after that, Birmingham’s Drake Glover committed a high sticking double minor at the 19:11 mark to end the period.

The Bulls started the third period on the penalty kill, but were unable to stop Macon’s Tao Ishizuka from scoring at the 2:34 mark. The Bulls responded with another power play goal of their own to take the lead at the 7:32 mark with a score of 4-3.

To finish off the period, Jenion went to the box with a boarding penalty, and Glover followed suit due to unsportsmanlike conduct. Neither team capitalized on the resulting 4-on-4.

Unlike the night before, the Birmingham Bulls escaped the match up victorious with a final score of 4-3.

With a 1-1 record following the opening weekend, the Birmingham Bulls then turned their attention to the home game against the Evansville Thunderbolts on Friday, Oct. 25, before traveling to Florida to face the Pensacola Ice Flyers on Saturday, Oct. 26.