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Furious Bulls Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Oshawa
 Belleville Bulls Captain Matt Beleskey had a goal and two assists in a 5-3 loss to the Oshawa Generals Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls nearly erased a 4-0 deficit after two periods of play but their comeback bid fell a bit short, as they lost their home opener 5-3 to the Oshawa Generals Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls scored three times in the first nine minutes of the third period to cut the Generals lead to a single goal but were unable to complete the comeback. The Bulls inability to stop the Generals power play was the difference in the game, as Oshawa scored four times with the man advantage.
Both sides skated extremely well in a fast paced, end to end first period. The Generals scored the lone goal of the period when John Tavares one-timed a Dale Mitchell pass past Bulls goaltender Edward Pasquale just as an Oshawa 5 on 3 power play advantage had expired. Pasquale was only able to get a piece of the Tavares shot and the Generals led 1-0 seven minutes into the first period. Both sides had numerous quality scoring chances in the period but Pasquale and Oshawa goaltender Mark Packwood played extremely well to keep the score 1-0. Shots on goal in the first period were 11-8 Oshawa.
Oshawa increased their lead to 2-0 six minutes into the second period on another power play when Ryan McGinnis’ point shot made its way through a crowd and past a screened Pasquale. The Generals took a 3-0 lead with eight minutes remaining in the second period when Tavares broke down the wing and fired a wicked wrist shot top corner past Pasquale for his second goal of the game. Oshawa then increased their lead to 4-0 heading to the third period with just over one minute remaining in the middle frame on the power play when Shea Kewin tipped a Tavares shot between the pads of Pasquale. Shots on goal in the second period were 10-6 Oshawa, as they led 4-0 heading into the final frame.
The Bulls came out flying to begin the third period and dominated the final twenty minutes of play. Keaton Turkiewicz got Belleville on the board just one minute into the third period when he one-timed a Shawn Matthias pass past Packwood for his first goal as a Bull. Matt Beleskey also assisted on the goal. Matthias then cut the Oshawa lead to 4-2 four minutes into the period just as a Bulls two man power play advantage had expired when he one-timed a Bryan Cameron cross-ice pass past Packwood from the side of the goal. Beleskey also assisted on Matthias’ third goal of the season. The Bulls power play struck once more nine minutes into the third period when Beleskey fired a rebound past Packwood from a Matthias shot to cut the Oshawa lead to just one. P.K. Subban also assisted on Beleskey’s third goal of the season. The Bulls continued to press for the equalizing goal and had a great chance when Cory Tanaka broke in all alone on Packwood but he could not beat the Generals goaltender. Oshawa got a much needed insurance goal on the power play with seven and a half minutes remaining in the game when Dean Howard tipped a Michael Del Zotto point shot that just made its way through Pasquale to give the Generals a 5-3 lead. The Bulls continued to press throughout the remainder of the third period but could not beat Packwood despite a pair of late power plays and numerous good scoring chances. Shots on goal in the third period were 19-8 Belleville and overall favoured the Bulls 33-29.
Pasquale made 24 saves in a losing effort for the Bulls while Packwood stopped 30 Belleville shots to earn the win for Oshawa. The Bulls power play finished the game two for ten while Oshawa scored four times in just five chances with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Tavares, Beleskey, and defenceman James DeLory who had four assists in the win for Oshawa. With the loss, the Bulls record drops to 1-1-0-0 while Oshawa improves to 2-0-0-0 with the victory. The Bulls now have an entire week off before they play host to the Kingston Frontenacs next Saturday night. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available for the game at the Bulls Box Office.
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