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Bulls Lose Memorial Cup Opener 5-4 in Overtime to Spokane
 Cory Tanaka scored twice and added an assist in the Belleville Bulls 5-4 loss to the Spokane Chiefs Saturday afternoon in Kitchener.
The Belleville Bulls opened their 2008 Memorial Cup with a 5-4 overtime loss to the WHL Champion Spokane Chiefs Saturday afternoon in Kitchener. The Bulls had erased a 3-0 Chiefs advantage to take a third period lead but allowed the game tying goal with less than three minutes remaining before losing five minutes into the extra session.
The Bulls got off to a slow start, as they struggled to generate much offence during the opening twenty minutes of play. On the flip side, Spokane was able to capitalize on numerous Belleville turnovers to build an early lead. Drayson Bowman opened the scoring midway through the first period when he broke in all alone on Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy before lifting the puck over top of the Belleville netminder. The Chiefs increased their lead to 2-0 just over two minutes later when Bowman intercepted a Bulls clearing attempt and fed a quick pass to Mitch Wahl. Wahl then fired a hard shot over the shoulder of Murphy. Bowman scored his second goal of the period with just under three minutes remaining in the opening frame when he fired a rebound past Murphy after Chris Burton had been stopped on the original shot. Despite allowing three goals, Murphy was very strong during the opening period, keeping the score 3-0. Shots on goal in the first period were 20-4 Spokane.
Belleville quickly cut the lead to 3-1 just two and a half minutes into the second period when Bryan Cameron picked up the puck before spinning and firing a shot past Chiefs goaltender Dustin Tokarski from the slot. Adam Perry and Cory Tanaka assisted on Cameron’s first goal of the tournament. Both sides pressed throughout the opening half of the period but Murphy and Tokarski were solid to keep the score 3-1. The Bulls did draw to within a single goal on the power play with six minutes remaining in the period when Shawn Matthias wired a bullet shot over the shoulder of Tokarski from the face-off circle. Cameron and P.K. Subban assisted on Matthias’ first goal of the tournament. Belleville then tied the score with less than one minute remaining in the middle frame just as a power play had expired when Tanaka chipped a rebound from a Geoff Killing point shot past Tokarski. Shawn Lalonde also assisted on Tanaka’s first goal of Memorial Cup. Shots on goal in the second period were 13-11 in favour of the Bulls.
The Bulls took their only lead of the game seven and a half minutes into the third period when Perry made an outstanding pass to Tanaka who quickly shot the puck into an open side of the net from the top of the crease for his second goal of the game. Murphy was again sensational in the third period to help Belleville hold onto the lead until the late stages of the period. Spokane tied the score with less than three minutes remaining in the period when Bowman picked up a loose puck at the top of the crease and fired it past Murphy after a scramble in front of the Bulls net. The goal was Bowman’s third of the game. Shots on goal in the third period were 19-8 Spokane, as the game headed to overtime.
In overtime, the Bulls came out hard generating some early chances but could not beat Tokarski. Spokane ended the game five minutes into the extra session when Levko Koper fired a rebound from a Justin McRae shot past Murphy. Shots on goal in overtime were 7-4 Belleville but overall favoured the Chiefs 54-32.
Murphy was terrific in goal for Belleville, stopping 49 shots in a losing effort while Tokarski made 28 saves to earn the victory for Spokane. The Bulls finished the game one for two on the power play while the Chiefs failed to convert on their only chance with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Bowman, Tanaka, and Koper. The Bulls will now prepare for their next game on Monday when they will face the QMJHL Champion Gatineau Olympiques. Game time is 7:00pm in Kitchener.
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