|
Bulls Lose in a Shootout to Brampton
 Edward Pasquale made 45 saves in a losing effort, as the Belleville Bulls dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Brampton Battalion Sunday aftertoon in Brampton.
The Belleville Bulls were unable to hold a 2-0 third period lead, as the Brampton Battalion scored two goals in the span of just over a minute midway through the period to tie the score before eventually winning the game in a shootout. The Bulls do earn five out of a possible six points this weekend and take over sole possession of first place in the East Division.
As was the case Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena, both the Bulls and their opponent played to a scoreless opening period of play. Both Edward Pasquale and Bryan Pitton played very well in net for their respective sides with Pasquale being the much busier of the two goaltenders. The Battalion had the best chance to open the scoring with a late two man advantage but could not capitalize and the game remained tied heading into the second period. Shots on goal in the opening frame were 15-5 in favour of the Battalion.
The two teams traded chances to begin the second period but both Pasquale and Pitton were strong once again. It was Belleville who opened the scoring eight minutes into the middle frame when Matthew Tipoff found Tyler Randell all alone in front of Pitton with a perfect pass. Randell took his time before firing a bullet shot over top of Pitton to give the Bulls a 1-0 advantage. Brendan Taylor also earned an assist on Randell’s second goal of the season. The Bulls were then able to increase their lead to 2-0 with just over three minutes remaining in the period on the power play when Matt Beleskey beat a screened Pitton with a wrist shot from the high slot. Shawn Matthias earned the lone assist on Beleskey’s seventh goal of the season. Pasquale continued to play extremely well in the Bulls goal throughout the period to keep Belleville ahead 2-0 heading into the third period. Shots on goal in the middle frame were 11-6 Brampton.
The Bulls did a good job in the first half of the third period to limit the Battalion from generating much offence but then ran into penalty trouble which helped turn the momentum of the game. John Hughes cut the lead to 2-1 with ten minutes remaining in the period while on the power play when he was able to slide a rebound from a Bobby Sanguinetti point shot between the pads of Pasquale. Just over one minute later, Brampton tied the game after creating a turnover at the Bulls blueline. Cody Hodgson took a quick pass from Luke Lynes and snapped a low, hard shot past Pasquale from the slot to even the score. The Battalion continued to press for the go ahead goal throughout the late stages of the third period and did enjoy two power plays, but Pasquale continued his solid play to send the game into overtime. Shots on goal in the third period were 20-10 for the Battalion.
In overtime, the Bulls had the majority of the chances and puck possession thanks in large part to a power play but were unable to beat Pitton, as the game headed to a shootout. Belleville held a 4-1 edge in shots on goal in the overtime session. In the shootout, Lynes and Sanguinetti scored for Brampton while Cameron was the only Bull able to reply, as both Matthias and Beleskey were unable to beat Pitton. Final shots on goal in the game favoured the Battalion 48-25.
Pasquale played another terrific game in goal for the Bulls, stopping 45 shots in a losing effort while Pitton was also strong, making 23 saves to earn the win for Brampton. The Bulls finished the game one for seven on the power play while the Battalion scored once in eight chances with the man advantage. The Bulls power play has now scored at least one goal in every game this season. The three stars of the game were Pasquale, Hodgson, and Sanguinetti. With the shootout loss, the Bulls record drops to 6-1-0-1 while Brampton improves to 5-3-0-1 with the victory. Belleville is now off until Wednesday when they play host to the Ottawa 67’s in what will be a battle for first place in the East Division. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office.
| 
