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Bulls Complete Furious Comeback to Defeat Oshawa 4-3 in Game Two
 Parker Van Buskirk stopped all 28 shots he faced in a relief effort to help the Belleville Bulls defeat the Oshawa Generals 4-3 Friday night in Oshawa.
After falling behind 3-0 before the game was four minutes old, the Belleville Bulls stormed back, scoring the final four goals of the game to defeat the Oshawa Generals 4-3 Friday in Oshawa. The win is the Bulls ninth straight in the playoffs and gives them a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Championship series. The series will now shift back to Belleville for game three on Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Generals came out flying to begin the game and were able to open the scoring just 45 seconds into the opening period when Dale Mitchell’s shot from the wing deflected of a Bulls defender and past goaltender Mike Murphy. Mitchell then scored his second goal of the game just 46 seconds later when he blasted a slapshot past Murphy as he skated down the wing. Oshawa extended their lead to 3-0 just before the four minute mark of the first period on the power play when Brett Parnham made a nice individual effort to beat a Belleville defenceman before sliding the puck past Murphy. Following the goal, Murphy was replaced in the Bulls net by Parker Van Buskirk. Despite the terrible start, Belleville slowly was able to settle into the game while Van Buskirk was excellent for the remainder of the period, not allowing Oshawa to extend their lead further. Oshawa goaltender Daryl Borden was also strong to keep the scored 3-0 after twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the first period were 16-14 Oshawa.
It was the Bulls who came out flying to begin the second period, as they worked themselves back into the game. Adam Perry cut the lead to 3-1 just as an Oshawa penalty had expired when he banged a rebound between the pads of Borden before the period was two minutes old. Bryan Cameron and Matt Beleskey assisted on Perry’s third goal of the series and fourth of the playoffs. Belleville seized momentum from the early goal and cut into the lead further just seven minutes into the period when Eric Tangradi fired a rebound from a Keaton Turkiewicz shot past Borden for his third goal of the playoffs. The Bulls kept skating hard, forcing Borden to make several great stops to keep the score 3-2. Belleville was able to tie the score with nine minutes remaining in the middle frame when Shawn Lalonde fired a rebound from the side of the net past Borden after intense Bulls pressure. Tangradi and Turkiewicz assisted on Lalonde’s first goal of the playoffs. Beleskey gave Belleville the lead just over two minutes later when he stole the puck from an Oshawa player before making a nice move around a Generals defenceman and backhanding the puck overtop of the Borden for his fifth goal of the playoffs. The goal was unassisted and turned out to be the eventual game winning marker. The Bulls continued to press during the remainder of the period to extend their lead but could not beat Borden who was very solid despite allowing four goals in the middle frame. Shots on goal in the second period favoured the Bulls 21-7.
Belleville enjoyed three power plays during the opening half of the third period but could not capitalize and extend their lead. Despite not being able to score an insurance marker, the Bulls did play very solid defence during the third period while Van Buskirk was also outstanding when called upon. Oshawa did press during the final moments of the third period and had a late power play but they could not beat Van Buskirk, as the Bulls skated away with the hard fought 4-3 victory. Shots on goal in the third period were 13-10 Belleville and overall favoured the Bulls 48-33.
Murphy made two saves in the game for the Bulls while Van Buskirk was terrific in his first playoff action of the season, stopping all 28 shots he faced to earn the victory for Belleville. Borden was also very strong, turning aside 44 shots in a losing effort for Oshawa. The Bulls power play was scoreless in seven chances while Oshawa scored once in five chances with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Turkiewicz, Van Buskirk, and Borden. Game three of the series will be played Saturday night in Belleville. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets for all Bulls home games in the series are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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