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Bulls Open Series with 7-2 Victory over Colts
 Nigel Williams scored once and added two assists in the Belleville Bulls 7-2 victory over the Barrie Colts Wednesday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls got off to a great start to their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series, firing 62 shots on net in a 7-2 victory over the Barrie Colts Wednesday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls battled through some outstanding goaltending from Barrie netminder Michael Hutchinson before scoring four times in the third period to break the game open. The series will now shift to Barrie for game two on Thursday night.
Both sides came out tentative to begin the game, as neither team was able to generate much offence during the opening moments of the first period. It was the Bulls who found their legs first, using a power play opportunity to build momentum despite being unable to score with the man advantage. Belleville was able to open the scoring with seven and a half minutes remaining in the first period when Cory Tanaka fired a rebound from a Nigel Williams shot past Hutchinson for his second goal of the playoffs. Shawn Lalonde also assisted on the goal. The Bulls were then able to extend their lead to 2-0 with four minutes remaining in the opening frame when Chris Mifflen’s dump in took a funny bounce off the boards and deflected right to Jan Mursak in the slot. Mursak quickly fired a shot between the pads of a surprised Hutchinson for his fourth goal of the playoffs. Belleville pressed to extend their lead further during the remainder of the period but could not beat Hutchinson. Shots on goal in the first period were 21-8 Belleville.
The Bulls came out hard to begin the second period, forcing Hutchinson to make several outstanding saves to keep the score 2-0. Belleville also enjoyed significant power play time during the middle frame but have difficulty extending their lead. Bulls’ goaltender Mike Murphy was also excellent when called upon to keep Barrie off the scoreboard. Belleville was finally able to extend their lead on the power play with just under two minutes left in the period when Matt Beleskey one-timed a Mursak cross-ice pass past Hutchinson for what turned out to be the eventual game winning goal. Adam Perry also assisted on Beleskey’s third goal of the playoffs. Shots on goal in the second period favoured the Bulls 27-10.
Williams gave the Bulls a 4-0 lead three and a half minutes into the third period on the power play when he snapped a shot from the point through traffic and past Hutchinson. Lalonde and Keaton Turkiewicz assisted on Williams’ fourth goal of the playoffs. Belleville extended their lead just 29 seconds later when Stephen Johnston jammed a rebound past Hutchinson for his fourth goal of the playoffs and third in the past two games. Williams and Eric Tangradi assisted on the goal. Barrie was able to cut into the lead just over six minutes into the period when Ryan Gottschalk one-timed Daniel Michalsky’s pass from behind the net past Murphy. P.K. Subban quickly restored Belleville’s five goal lead just over a minute later when he took a pass from Beleskey and made a nice deke on Hutchinson before firing the puck over the Colts goaltender. Mursak also assisted on Subban’s fourth goal of the playoffs. Following the goal, Hutchinson was replaced in the Barrie net by Peter Di Salvo. The Bulls went ahead 7-1 with seven minutes remaining in the game on the power play when Turkiewicz poked a loose puck past Di Salvo from the top of the crease. Tanaka and Andrew Self assisted on Turkiewicz’s second goal of the playoffs. The Colts then rounded out the scoring with just over four minutes remaining in the third period when Tomas Marcinko slid the puck past Murphy on an odd man rush. Shots on goal in the third period were 14-12 Belleville and overall favoured the Bulls 62-30.
Murphy played a strong game in goal for the Bulls, stopping 28 shots to earn the victory. Hutchinson and Di Salvo were also strong, turning aside 50 and 5 shots respectively in the loss for Barrie. Belleville finished the game three for nine on the power play after failing to convert on their first six chances with the man advantage. The Colts finished the game scoreless in three power play opportunities. The three stars of the game were Williams, Mursak, and Beleskey. The series will now shift to Barrie for game two on Thursday night. Game three will be played back in Belleville on Saturday night. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets for all home games in the series are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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