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Bulls Defeat Top Ranked Greyhounds 3-1
 Shawn Matthias had a goal and two assists to help pace the Belleville Bulls to a 3-1 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Saturday at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls put forth a solid all around performance, as they defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3-1 in a highly entertaining game Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Greyhounds entered the week as the CHL’s top ranked team and lost for just the second time this season in regulation. The win also moves the Bulls into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.
Both teams came out skating to begin the game but solid defensive play meant that few quality scoring chances were generated during the opening stages of the first period. Belleville did strike first just before the midway mark of the period when Shawn Matthias found Matt Beleskey in the slot with a pass that the Bulls Captain was able to fire past Greyhounds goaltender Kyle Gajewski for his ninth goal of the season. Both Gajewski and Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy were strong for the remainder of the period to keep the score 1-0 after twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the first period were 12-11 Belleville.
The Bulls quickly increased their lead to 2-0 just one minute into the middle frame on a pretty tic-tac-toe goal. P.K. Subban found Matthias streaking to the net with a perfect pass that the Bulls scoring leader was able to deflect past Gajewski. Eric Tangradi also assisted on Matthias’ team leading 11th goal of the season. The Bulls continued to press during the second period to extend their lead while Murphy continued his solid play in net to keep Sault Ste. Marie off the scoreboard. The Bulls power play gave them a 3-0 lead midway through the period when Tangradi was able to collect a rebound off the end boards from a Nick Pageau point shot and lift the puck over Gajewski for his 10th goal of the season. Matthias also assisted on the goal for his third point of the night. Tangradi had two glorious chances to extend the Bulls lead but he was unable to beat Gajewski on two breakaways during the final few minutes of the period. Murphy was also strong in the middle frame to keep the Bulls ahead 3-0 heading into the final twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the second period were 10-7 in favour of the Greyhounds.
The Bulls did a nice job throughout the third period shutting down the Greyhounds top ranked offence and forcing them into taking penalties. Unfortunately for Bellville, their power play struggled for much of the game and they were unable to extend their lead. The Greyhounds broke the Bulls shutout bid with just 33 seconds remaining in the game on a two on one rush when James Livingstone converted a cross-ice pass from Brandon MacLean for his ninth goal of the season. Shots on goal in the third period were 14-9 Belleville and overall favoured the Bulls 33-30.
Murphy enjoyed a very good game stopping 29 shots to earn his seventh victory of the season while Gajewski was also strong turning aside 30 Belleville shots in a losing effort. The Bulls power play had an off night, scoring just once in eleven power play chances while the Greyhounds were scoreless in five opportunities with the man advantage. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 9-3-1-1 while Sault Ste. Marie drops to 12-2-1-0 with the loss. The three stars of the game were Matthias, Tangradi, and Murphy. Matthias finished the week with points on all but one goal scored by the Bulls in their three games. After a stretch of nine games in sixteen days, Belleville will now have some time off, as they will not play again until next Saturday night when they welcome the Peterborough Petes back to the Yardmen Arena. Game time is 7:15pm and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office. Fans attending Saturday’s game will also have another opportunity to quality for the Belleville Bulls McDougall Insurance Million Dollar Shootout.
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