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Bulls Defeat Battalion 5-3 for Fourth Consecutive Victory
 Bryan Cameron recorded a goal and an assist in the Belleville Bulls 5-3 victory over the Brampton Battalion Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls recorded their fourth consecutive victory defeating the Brampton Battalion 5-3 Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena in a highly entertaining end to end game. The win moves the Bulls into first place in the Eastern Conference and is their first victory in three games with Brampton this season.
It was the Battalion who came out hard to begin the game, as they enjoyed several early scoring opportunities that were turned aside by Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy. Belleville also began to generate more offence throughout the latter stages of the opening frame but could not beat Brampton goaltender Bryan Pitton, as the game remained scoreless after twenty minutes. Shots on goal in the first period were 16-9 Brampton.
The fast pace of the game continued into the second period where the Battalion opened the scoring four minutes into the middle frame on the power play when Cody Hodgson one-timed a cross-ice pass from David Lomas into an empty corner of the net. The Bulls were quick to respond three and a half minutes later when Andrew Self batted a loose puck past Pitton after a goalmouth scramble. Keaton Turkiewicz and Cory Tanaka assisted on Self’s 10th goal of the season. The Bulls then took a 2-1 lead midway through the period when Jan Mursak broke in all alone on Pitton and beat the Battalion goaltender after fighting off a player on the way to the net. Bryan Cameron assisted on Mursak’s eighth goal of the season. Belleville’s lead was short-lived, as former Bull John Hughes tied the score just 29 seconds later when he fired a rebound from a Graham McNabb shot past Murphy. Luke Judson restored the Bulls lead just over one minute later when he beat Pitton on a wraparound after significant pressure around the Battalion net. Kyle Tront and Chris Mifflen assisted on Judson’s second goal of the season. The Bulls pressed to extend their lead throughout the remainder of the period but were unable to beat Pitton, as they led 3-2 heading into the second intermission. Shots on goal in the second period favoured the Bulls 14-6.
Belleville was able to score an important insurance goal on the power play five minutes into the third period when Eric Tangradi fired a rebound from a Nigel Williams shot past Pitton. Mursak also assisted on Tangradi’s 19th goal of the season. Brampton was able to cut the lead back to one eight minutes into the period with a power play goal of their own when Matthew Duchene beat Murphy on a quick wraparound. The Battalion pressed to tie the score but Murphy was excellent in goal to keep Belleville ahead 4-3. The Bulls were able to regain their two goal advantage with five minutes left in the game on another power play when Nick Pageau’s missed point shot hit the end boards and bounced right to Bryan Cameron. Cameron quickly fired the puck past Pitton for his seventh goal in as many games. Tangradi also assisted on Cameron’s 22nd goal of the season. Murphy and the Bulls defence were then able to hold off late Battalion pressure to preserve the win. Shots on goal in the third period were 17-4 Brampton and overall favoured the Battalion 39-27.
Murphy played very well in goal for the Bulls, stopping 36 shots to earn his 20th victory of the season. Pitton made 22 saves in a losing effort for Brampton. Both teams had a good night on the power play, as they each finished two for five on the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Mursak, Cameron, and Hodgson. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 24-9-3-2 while Brampton drops to 23-13-1-2 with the loss. The Bulls and Battalion will now wrap up their home and home series on Sunday afternoon in Brampton. The next home game for the Bulls will be next Saturday when they will play host to the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. Game time is 7:15pm and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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