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Bulls Beat 67’s 5-2 For Fifth Consecutive Victory
 Nigel Williams scored once and added an assist in the Belleville Bulls 5-2 victory over the Ottawa 67's Friday night in Ottawa.
The Belleville Bulls continued their winning ways on Friday night, defeating the Ottawa 67’s 5-2 at the Civic Centre in Ottawa. The Bulls put forth a very sound defensive effort that kept the 67’s from generating much offence, as Belleville won their fifth consecutive game and maintain a seven point lead for first place in the Eastern Conference.
The two teams played a penalty filled opening few minutes to begin the game but neither side was able to capitalize on early power plays. It was the Bulls who were able to strike first nine minutes into the opening period when Eric Tangradi skated down the wing and snapped a shot past 67’s goaltender Adam Courchaine to score in his first game since returning from a thumb injury. Andrew Self and Nigel Williams assisted on Tangradi’s 21st goal of the season. The Bulls penalty killing unit was terrific during the first period, as they successfully killed off four Ottawa power plays to hold a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Shots on goal in the first period were 11-9 Belleville.
The Bulls continued to play strong defensive hockey during the second period, limiting Ottawa to very few scoring chances. Goaltender Parker VanBuskirk was also very strong when called upon for Belleville. The Bulls increased their lead to 2-0 seven and a half minutes into the second period when Williams fired a quick shot that beat a surprised Courchaine. Nick Pageau and Keaton Turkiewicz assisted on Williams’ 11th goal of the season. Shots on goal in the second period were again 11-9 in favour of the Bulls, as they led 2-0 heading into the final twenty minutes of play.
Shawn Matthias scored what turned out to be the eventual game winning goal nine and a half minutes into the third period when he fired a shot past Courchaine after receiving a perfect cross-ice pass from P.K. Subban to put the Bulls ahead 3-0. Cory Tanaka also assisted on Matthias’ 24th goal of the season. The 67’s were able to cut the Bulls lead back to two goals just over a minute later when Jamie McGinn banged the puck past VanBuskirk during a goalmouth scramble. Shawn Lalonde restored Belleville’s three goal lead with seven minutes remaining in the game when he picked up a loose puck in his own end and skated into the Ottawa zone before making a nice move and snapping a shot past Courchaine from the faceoff circle. The goal was Lalonde’s ninth of the season. The 67’s were again able to cut into the lead with five and half minutes remaining in the game when McGinn fired a rebound overtop of VanBuskirk for his second goal of the period. The 67’s did have a late power play to try to get even closer but VanBuskirk and the Bulls penalty killing unit were outstanding to preserve the victory. Matthias rounded out the scoring by firing the puck into the empty net with just 38 seconds remaining in the game. Tanaka picked up the lone assist on Matthias’ 25th goal of the season. Shots on goal in the third period were 18-8 Ottawa and overall favoured the 67’s 36-30.
VanBuskirk was very strong in goal for Belleville, stopping 34 shots to earn his 10th victory of the season. Courchaine made 26 saves in a losing effort for Ottawa. Neither side could generate anything on the power play, as the Bulls went scoreless in three chances while the 67’s failed to score in seven opportunities with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Williams, Tangradi, and McGinn. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 38-12-3-2 while Ottawa drops to 25-25-2-3 with the loss. The Bulls will now attempt to wrap up a perfect week on Saturday night when they will host the London Knights. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office for London’s only trip to Belleville this season.
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