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Bulls Take 3-0 Series Lead with 2-1 Victory over Colts
 Eric Tangradi scored the game winning goal in the Belleville Bulls 2-1 victory over the Barrie Colts Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls took a 3-0 series lead with a hard fought 2-1 victory over the Barrie Colts in game three of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena. The two sides battled in a tight checking, close game all night long, as Eric Tangradi’s second period goal held up as the game winner. The victory is the Bulls sixth straight in the playoffs and gives them a chance to wrap up the series on Tuesday night in Barrie with a win.
It was the Colts who got off to a quick start, grabbing their first lead of the series while on the power play two and a half minutes into the first period when Cory McGillis took a pass from Alex Hutchings and snapped a shot past Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy as he skated towards the net. Despite falling behind early, Belleville worked themselves back into the game and were able to tie the score midway through the opening frame when the Colts ran into penalty trouble. Matt Beleskey one-timed a hard shot from the face-off circle past Barrie goaltender Peter Di Salvo while the Bulls enjoyed a two man advantage to level the score. P.K. Subban and Jan Mursak assisted on Beleskey’s fourth goal of the postseason. The assist extended Subban’s point streak to a league leading eight games while Beleskey and Mursak are now enjoying seven game streaks. Both teams had chances to go ahead during the remainder of the first period but both Murphy and Di Salvo were excellent to keep the score tied 1-1 after twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the first period were 11-8 Belleville.
The Bulls came out hard to begin the second period, as they looked for their first lead of the game. Despite numerous scoring chances, Belleville had difficulties beating Di Salvo while Murphy was also strong in goal for the Bulls when called upon. Belleville was finally able to take a 2-1 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the period when Tangradi beat Di Salvo with a hard shot from the slot for his second goal of the playoffs. Adam Perry earned the lone assist on the goal. The goal capped a tremendous shift for Tangradi, who had moments earlier excited the crowd with a thunderous bodycheck. Shots on goal in the second period favoured the Bulls 15-7.
After killing off two early Belleville power plays to begin the third period, it was the Colts who seized momentum, as they pressed hard to tie the score for much of the final twenty minutes. Barrie came close to tying to score on a number of goalmouth scrambles but Murphy was outstanding to keep the Bulls lead intact, as Belleville skated away with the 2-1 victory. Shots on goal in the third period were 12-8 Barrie but overall favoured the Bulls 34-27.
Murphy was excellent in goal for the Bulls, stopping 26 shots to earn the victory while Di Salvo was also impressive, making 32 saves in a losing effort for the Colts. Belleville finished the game one for six on the power play while Barrie converted once in four opportunities with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Tangradi, Murphy and Di Salvo. The series will now shift back to Barrie for game four on Tuesday night. Game five, if necessary, will be played Thursday night in Belleville. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets for the remaining home games in the series are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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