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Bulls Win Streak Ends at Twelve with 2-1 Loss in Kitchener
 Mike Murphy made 35 saves in the Belleville Bulls 2-1 loss the Kitchener Rangers Friday night in Kitchener.
The Belleville Bulls dropped their first game in 2008 after a close 2-1 loss to the Kitchener Rangers Friday night in Kitchener. The Rangers entered play as the number one ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League while the Bulls are sixth. Both sides played extremely hard, as the game featured a fast pace, tight checking game that was decided by a Kitchener power play goal during the first half of the third period.
Both Belleville and Kitchener came out hard to begin the game, as a physical tone was set early on. Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy was outstanding in the opening frame to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard while Steve Mason was also extremely strong in goal for Kitchener when called upon. Shots on goal in the first period were 10-9 Kitchener in a scoreless opening period of play.
It was the Rangers who came out strong to begin the second period, opening the scoring five minutes into the middle frame on a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play that was finished off by Mike Duco. Kitchener pressed to go ahead further but were once again turned aside by Murphy. The Bulls seemed to come alive during the second half of the period, as they forced Mason to make several excellent stops to keep the Rangers lead at 1-0 heading into the final twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the second period were 10-6 in favour of the Rangers.
Belleville was able to quickly tie the score just one minute into the third period when Keaton Turkiewicz stole the puck from a Rangers defender before driving towards the Kitchener net. Mason made the first save but was unable to stop Adam Perry on the rebound. The goal extended Perry’s goal streak to five games and was his 22nd of the season. The Rangers were able to retake the lead seven and a half minutes into the third period when Yannick Weber blasted a point shot past a diving Murphy for what turned out the be the eventual game winning goal. The Bulls did press for an equalizing goal and had a glorious chance to tie with a pair of late power plays. However, Belleville was unable to penetrate a terrific Rangers penalty kill and the game remained 2-1. Murphy was also very strong in the period to keep the Kitchener lead at just a single goal. Despite a late penalty, the Bulls pressed hard to tie the score in the dying minutes but were unable to beat Mason, as the Rangers skated away with the 2-1 victory. Shots on goal in the third period were 17-11 Kitchener and overall favoured the Rangers 37-26.
Murphy enjoyed a great start in goal for Belleville, as he stopped 35 shots in a losing effort. The loss snapped a personal nine game winning streak for the Bulls goaltender. Mason was also very strong in net for Kitchener, making 25 saves to earn the victory. The Bulls finished the game scoreless in five power play chances while Kitchener converted once in four opportunities with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Mikkel Boedker, Murphy, and Mason. Boedker had two assists in the win for the Rangers. With the loss, the Bulls record drops to 32-10-3-2 while Kitchener improves to a league best 38-6-1-2 with the victory. The Bulls will now look to rebound from the loss on Saturday night when they will play host to the Windsor Spitfires. Game time on Saturday night is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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