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Bulls Reach 40 Wins with 3-2 Victory in Kingston
 Matt Beleskey scored three times to help the Belleville Bulls defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 3-2 Friday night in Kingston.
The Belleville Bulls completed a home and home sweep of the Kingston Frontenacs with a 3-2 victory Friday night at the brand new K-Rock Centre in Kingston. Bulls Captain Matt Beleskey led the Bulls charge with all three goals, including the first goal ever scored at the K-Rock Centre. The win is Belleville’s seventh in eight games against Kingston this season.
Beleskey opened the scoring just four and a half minutes into the game when he took a Jan Mursak pass and snapped a low, hard shot past Kingston goaltender John Murray from the face-off circle. Adam Perry also assisted on Beleskey’s team leading 38th goal of the season. Both sides skated hard during the opening frame but each team played well on defence to keep the score at 1-0. Both Murray and Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy were excellent when called upon during the opening period of play. Shots on goal in the first period were 13-11 Kingston.
The tight checking, defensive game continued into the second period until the Frontenacs were finally able to get on the scoreboard ten minutes into the middle frame when Andris Dzerins tipped a Matthew Kang shot between the pads of Murphy. The Bulls were quick to respond, retaking the lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the second period when Beleskey’s pass from behind the net deflected off a Kingston defender and past Murray. Mursak and Perry assisted on Beleskey’s 39th goal of the season. Beleskey then completed his fourth hat-trick of the season just 22 seconds later when he finished off a pretty three way passing play with Perry and Mursak by sliding the puck past Murray after making a nice move. Perry and Mursak each picked up their third assist of the game on Beleskey’s 40th goal of the season. The Bulls continued to press during the remainder of the second period but could not beat Murray while Murphy continued his stellar play in the Belleville net. Shots on goal in the second period were 13-7 in favour of the Bulls.
After killing off an early Bulls power play, it was the Frontenacs who began to press, forcing Murphy to make several great saves to preserve the two goal advantage. Kingston also enjoyed three straight power plays during the third period but could not penetrate a strong Bulls penalty kill. The Frontenacs were finally able to pull to within one goal with just 11 seconds remaining in the game when Josh Brittain poked a puck past Murphy during a goalmouth scramble. Despite allowing the late goal, the Bulls were able to hang on for the victory and become the first team to ever win a game at the K-Rock Centre. Shots on goal in the third period were 14-5 Kingston and overall favoured the Frontenacs 34-29.
Murphy played an extremely strong game in goal for the Bulls, making 32 saves to earn his 31st victory of the season while Murray stopped 26 shots in a losing effort for Kingston. Belleville failed to score in three power play chances while holding Kingston scoreless in five opportunities with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Beleskey, Dzerins, and Murphy. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 40-12-4-2 and move eight points ahead of the idle Oshawa Generals for first place in the Eastern Conference. The win also marked just the fourth time in club history that they had reached the forty win plateau. Kingston drops to 17-37-0-2 with the loss. The Bulls will now look to wrap up a perfect week on Saturday night when they will host the Sudbury Wolves. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office. Saturday’s game is sponsored by Acklands Grainger and will feature a Tim Horton’s Timbits mini game during the second intermission.
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