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Bulls Double Up Generals 6-3
 Eric Tangradi scored three times to help lead the Belleville Bulls to a 6-3 victory over the Oshawa Generals Friday night in Oshawa.
The Belleville Bulls moved into a first place tie with the Oshawa Generals after they defeated their East Division rival 6-3 Friday night in Oshawa. Three second period goals in a span of just over six minutes allowed Belleville to erase an early deficit and take a lead that they would not relinquish. Eric Tangradi led the way for the Bulls with three goals, as they defeated Oshawa for the first time in three attempts this season.
The two sides began the game very tentatively, as neither team wanted to make an early mistake. The first period also featured a steady flow to the penalty box with seven power plays in the opening twenty minutes. Oshawa opened the scoring on the power play with nine minutes remaining in the period when John Tavares completed a pretty give and go with Brett MacLean by lifting the puck overtop of Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy from the top of the crease. The Bulls were able to tie the score on a power play of their own with three and a half minutes remaining in the period when Matt Beleskey took a Shawn Matthias pass and one-timed a hard shot over the shoulder of Generals goaltender Jakub Kovar. P.K. Subban also earned an assist on Beleskey’s 11th goal of the season. Shots on goal in the first period were 8-7 Belleville.
Neither team was able to generate much offence during the opening moments of the second period, as the first shot on goal was not registered until past the five minute mark of the middle frame. Oshawa was able to retake the lead with their second power play goal of the game midway through the period when MacLean wired a bullet shot from the faceoff circle past Murphy after his first shot attempt had been blocked. The Bulls were quick to respond, tying the score just 12 seconds later when Andrew Self banged a loose puck at the side of the net past Kovar for his second goal in as many games. Bryan Cameron and Shawn Lalonde both assisted on Self’s third goal of the season. Belleville then took their first lead of the game with six minutes remaining in the period when Tangradi walked out of the corner and slid the puck under Kovar after the Bulls had maintained significant pressure in the Generals zone. Nick Pageau earned the lone assist on Tangradi’s 12th goal of the season. Tangradi gave the Bulls a 4-2 lead just over two minutes later when he skated into the Oshawa zone and ripped a bullet slapshot past Kovar from the high slot for what turned out to be the eventual game winning goal. Subban assisted on Tangradi’s second goal of the game and 13th of the season. The Generals were able to cut the lead back to single goal before the period ended with their third power play goal of the game when MacLean beat Murphy with a terrific snapshot from the faceoff circle. Shots on goal in the period were 10-9 Oshawa, as the Bulls led 4-3 heading into the final twenty minutes of play.
The Bulls regained their much needed two goal lead just over a minute into the third period on the power play when Tangradi completed his hat-trick after he slid his own rebound past Kovar from the top of the crease. Matthias and Cameron assisted on Tangradi’s team leading 14th goal of the season. Belleville was then able to kill off three consecutive penalties during the third period to preserve the victory, as both the defence and Murphy were very strong. Beleskey rounded out the scoring with just 21 seconds remaining when he fired the puck into an empty net for his second goal of the game. Cameron and Subban each earned their third assist of the game on the goal. Shots on goal in the third period were 14-7 Oshawa and overall finished 31-24 in favour of the Generals.
Murphy was very solid when call upon, making 28 saves to earn his 10th victory of the season while Kovar turned aside 18 Belleville shots in a losing effort. The Bulls finished the penalty filled game two for nine on the power play while Oshawa scored three times in eight chances with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Tangradi, MacLean, and Pageau. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 13-5-1-1 while Oshawa drops to 13-6-0-2 with the defeat. The Bulls will now try to complete a perfect weekend Saturday night when they play host to the Guelph Storm in what will be their final home game this month. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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