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Bulls Open New Year with 5-2 Victory over Peterborough
 Shawn Lalonde recorded a goal and an assist in the Belleville Bulls 5-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes in their annual New Years Day game at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls rang in the New Year with a 5-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes Tuesday afternoon at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls scored four consecutive third period goals to erase a 2-1 Petes lead en route to their fifth consecutive victory against Peterborough this season.
The two sides played to a fast paced but scoreless first period, as both Mike Murphy and Trevor Cann played well in goal for their respective sides. The Bulls did enjoy four power plays during the opening frame but were unable to capitalize. Shots on goal in the opening period were 9-7 Peterborough.
The tight checking continued into the second period, as neither side was able to generate much offence throughout the opening stages of the middle frame. Matthew Tipoff had the best chance to open the scoring early in the period but rang his shot off the goalpost. The Bulls did eventually open the scoring with nine minutes remaining in the period when Cory Tanaka picked up a loose puck at the side of the net and slid it past Cann for what turned out to be the lone goal of the period. Keaton Turkiewicz and Geoff Killing earned assists on Tanaka’s seventh goal of the season. Shots on goal in the second period were 12-9 in favour of the Bulls, as they led 1-0 after forty minutes of play.
The Petes were able to tie the score just before the two minute mark of the third period on a two man power play advantage when John Armstrong fired a rebound from an Arturs Kulda point shot past Murphy. Peterborough then went ahead 2-1 with nine minutes remaining in the third period when Yves Bastien took an Armstrong pass and fired a quick shot between the pads of Murphy. The Bulls were quick to respond, tying the score just 39 seconds later when Shawn Lalonde scored a highlight reel goal. Lalonde took the puck from the point before stick handling past three Petes defenders and firing a shot past Cann for his fifth goal of the season. Bryan Cameron assisted on the goal. Belleville then took the lead less than three minutes later on the power play when Marc Cantin beat Cann with a shot from the point for his first career OHL goal. Tanaka earned the lone assist on what turned out to be the eventual game winning goal. Turkiewicz then gave the Bulls some much needed insurance less than two minutes later when he picked up a loose puck and broke down the wing before firing a hard shot past Cann. Lalonde earned an assist on Turkiewicz’s 16th goal of the season. Cameron then rounded out the scoring with just 44 seconds remaining in the game on the power play when he tipped a Nick Pageau point shot past Cann. Nigel Williams also assisted on Cameron’s 20th goal of the season. It marked the third consecutive season that Cameron had scored at least 20 goals with the Bulls. Shots on goal in the third period were 13-10 Belleville and overall favoured the Bulls 33-28.
Murphy played another very strong game in goal for the Bulls, stopping 26 shots to earn his 18th victory of the season while Cann made 28 saves in a losing effort for Peterborough. The Bulls finished the game two for eight on the power play while Peterborough scored once in four attempts with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Lalonde, Tanaka, and Armstrong. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 22-9-3-2 and remain one point behind the Oshawa Generals for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Petes drop to 14-20-0-2 with the loss. The Bulls are now off until Friday when they travel to Mississauga to face the St. Michael’s Majors. The following night the Bulls will begin a home and home series with the Central Division leading Brampton Battalion. Game time on Saturday night is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets for the game are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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