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Bulls Win Fifth Straight Game 4-0 over Peterborough
 Bulls goaltender Edward Pasquale made 23 saves to earn his first career OHL shutout in a 4-0 victory over the Peterborough Petes Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls increased their winning streak to five games with an impressive 4-0 victory over the Peterborough Petes Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls dominated throughout the game and were stymied by a hot goaltender before putting the game away with three third period goals. Edward Pasquale stopped all 23 shots he faced to earn his first career OHL shutout.
The two sides played a back and forth first period of play in which both Pasquale and Petes goaltender Trevor Cann were very strong to keep the game scoreless. The Bulls had the better chances during the opening frame, out-shooting Peterborough 14-9 but were unable to beat Cann, as the game remained 0-0 heading into the second period.
The Bulls continued to press throughout the opening stages of the second period and were rewarded just before the five minute mark of the period on the power play when Brendan Taylor found Keaton Turkiewicz in the slot with a pass that the Bulls forward one-timed past Cann to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead. Matt Beleskey also earned an assist on Turkiewicz’s team leading seventh goal of the season. The Bulls continued to press during the second stanza but were unable to beat Cann on several great scoring chances while Pasquale continued to provide steady goaltending in the Belleville net to keep the score 1-0 heading into the final twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the second period were 17-7 Belleville.
Belleville continued their relentless offensive assault in the third period but Cann continued to his sensational play in the Peterborough goal to keep the game close. The Bulls were however, able to draw the Petes into numerous minor penalties in the third period and were able to finally extend their lead. P.K. Subban gave the Bulls some much needed insurance six and a half minutes into the period just seconds after hitting the goal post when he beat Cann with a wrist shot from the point just as a Petes penalty had expired. Shawn Lalonde and Shawn Matthias earned assists on Subban’s third goal of the season. The Petes continued to take penalties and the Bulls top ranked power play unit made them pay with two goals in just 44 seconds. Lalonde made it 3-0 with seven and a half minutes remaining in the period when he fired the puck into an open side of the goal after Matthias had hit the crossbar with the original shot. Beleskey also assisted on Lalonde’s second goal of the season. Bryan Cameron then rounded out the scoring when he fired a backhand from the slot past Cann for his sixth goal of the season. Eric Tangradi and Cory Tanaka assisted on the goal. The Bulls were then able to cruise to the win, as the Petes took four more minor penalties in the final five and a half minutes of the game. Shots on goal in the third period were 19-7 Belleville and overall favoured the Bulls 50-23.
Pasquale was very strong when called upon, stopping 23 shots to earn the shutout and his first victory of the season while Cann was terrific in a losing cause for Peterborough making 46 saves. The Bulls power play finished the game three for thirteen while Peterborough failed to score in five chances with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Beleskey, Subban, and Pasquale. With the win, the Bulls improve their record to 6-1-0-0 and move into a first place tie in the East Division with the Ottawa 67’s while still holding two games in hand. Peterborough drops to 4-2-0-1 with the loss. The Bulls will now look to complete a perfect weekend on Sunday when they travel to Brampton to face the Battalion at 2:00pm. Belleville’s next home game will come this Wednesday when they play host to the Ottawa 67’s. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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