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Bulls Fall in Overtime 4-3 to 67’s
 Nick Pageau had an assist in his return to the Bulls lineup in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa 67's Friday night in Ottawa.
The Belleville Bulls lost their second consecutive game for the first time this season, losing 4-3 in overtime to the Ottawa 67’s Friday night in Ottawa. Belleville had tied the score in the final minute of the third period but could not complete the comeback. The Bulls welcomed back two familiar faces to the lineup on Friday with the return of Nick Pageau who was cleared to play after a lengthy bout of mononucleosis along with Andrew Self who returns the Belleville as a free agent signing.
The Bulls got off to a sensational start, opening the scoring on the very first shift of the game just 33 seconds into the first period when Matt Beleskey broke in on a partial breakaway after receiving a pass from Shawn Matthias and blasted a shot that 67’s goaltender Adam Courchaine could only get a piece of. Eric Tangradi also assisted on Beleskey’s eighth goal of the season. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they were unable to seize momentum from the early goal, as neither side generated much offence during the early portions of the game. The 67’s were able to tie the score midway through the period on the power play when Matthieu Methot made a nice play to beat a Bulls defender before passing the puck to Matt Lahey who was left with an easy deflection at the side of the Bulls goal past Edward Pasquale. Ottawa then took the lead with three minutes remaining in the period on another power play when Cody Lindsay took a pass from Methot and wired a low, hard shot between the pads of Pasquale from the slot. The 67’s almost took a two goal lead in the dying seconds of the period but hit the goalpost to keep the score 2-1 Ottawa.. Shots on goal in the first period were 14-8 for the 67’s.
The Bulls were able to tie the score just five and a half minutes into the second period on a power play of their own when Bryan Cameron found Keaton Turkiewicz all alone in the slot where the Bulls forward fired a quick shot past the blocker of Courchaine to tie the game. Tangradi also assisted on Turkiewicz’s ninth goal of the season. Ottawa then retook the lead midway through the middle frame with their third power play goal of the game when Sean Ryan beat a partially screened Pasquale with a wrist shot from the high slot for his first goal of the season. The 67’s defence continued to frustrate the Bulls, as Belleville was able to generate little offence throughout the first two periods. Shots on goal in the second period favoured Ottawa 9-6.
Ottawa continued to limit the Bulls scoring chances throughout the third period, as it appeared as if they were headed to victory. The Bulls were finally able to breakthrough on the power play with just 25 seconds remaining in the third period when P.K Subban’s point shot found its way through traffic and past Courchaine. Matthias and Pageau assisted on Subban’s fourth goal of the season. Belleville outshot Ottawa 8-6 in the third period, as the game headed to overtime. In overtime, Logan Couture ended the game just 34 seconds into the extra session when he lifted a puck over Pasquale’s shoulder from in tight after the Bulls goaltender had made a terrific first save. Shots on goal in overtime were 2-1 Ottawa and overall favoured the 67’s 31-23.
Pasquale played well for the Bulls making 27 saves in a losing effort while Courchaine was also strong for Ottawa, stopping 20 shots to earn the victory. Specialty teams played a key role in the game, as the Bulls finished two for six on the power play while Ottawa scored three times in seven attempts with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Thomas Kiriakou, Methot, and Couture all of the 67’s. With the overtime loss, the Bulls record moves to 8-3-1-1, as they move into sole possession of first place in the East Division thanks to losses by both the Oshawa Generals and Peterborough Petes on Friday. Ottawa improves to 6-6-0-2 with the win. The Bulls will now look to bounce back and snap their mini losing streak Saturday night when they host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Greyhounds are currently as the top ranked team in Canada and have lost just twice this season. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets for the game are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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