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Bulls Blow Third Period Lead in 6-4 Loss to Sting
 Andrew Self scored twice in the Belleville Bulls 6-4 loss to the Sarnia Sting Thursday night in Sarnia
The Belleville Bulls had an uncharacteristically poor third period and it cost them in a 6-4 loss to the Sarnia Sting Thursday night in Sarnia. The Bulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead and led the game 4-2 in the final frame but were unable to stop a furious Sting comeback, as Sarnia scored four unanswered goals to skate away with the victory.
The first period featured a tremendous pace with both sides skating very well. The Bulls were able to open the scoring with nine minutes remaining in the opening frame on the power play when Andrew Self fired the puck past a diving Andrew Perugini at the side of the Sting net for his 12th goal of the season. Shawn Matthias and Keaton Turkiewicz picked up assists on the goal. Both Perugini and Bulls goaltender Parker VanBuskirk were solid in the first period, as the shot on goal favoured the Bulls 10-9.
Matt Beleskey increased the Bulls lead to 2-0 nine minutes into the second period just after a Belleville penalty had expired when he tipped a perfect cross-ice pass from Jan Mursak past Perugini for his team leading 33rd goal of the season. The Bulls then went ahead 3-0 less then two minutes later on the power play when Self one-timed a terrific pass from P.K. Subban past Perugini for his second goal of the game and 13th of the season. Despite being down 3-0, it was the Sting who pressed hard to get back into the game and were finally able to get on the scoreboard with four minutes remaining in the second period when Jamie Arniel fired a shot over the shoulder of VanBuskirk from the front of the net. Sarnia cut the lead to 3-2 just over one minute later on their fifth power play of the period when Justin DiBenedetto deflected a Mark Katic point shot past VanBuskirk. Shots on goal in the second period favoured the Sting 15-14.
The Bulls were able to quickly restore their two goal advantage just 49 seconds into the third period when Nigel Williams’ point shot eluded Perugini. Cory Tanaka earned the lone assist on Williams’ 10th goal of the season. Sarnia cut the Bulls lead back to a single goal six and a half minutes into the final frame when Steve Reese picked up a loose puck in the slot and slid it past VanBuskirk. The game remained 4-3 until Steven Stamkos tied the score with five minutes remaining in the period when he beat VanBuskirk with a bullet shot from the wing. Sarnia then took their first lead of the night two minutes later just as a Belleville penalty had expired when Stamkos’ shot hit DiBenedetto and then deflected off a Bulls defender past VanBuskirk. The Bulls tried to tie the score in the dying moments but the Sting did an excellent job keeping Belleville from generating much offence in the final few minutes. Stamkos rounded out the scoring with an empty net goal with just one second remaining in the game. Shots on goal in the third period were 8-8 and finished 32-32.
VanBuskirk made 26 saves in a losing effort for Belleville while Perugini stopped 28 Bulls shots to earn the win for Sarnia. The Bulls finished the game a perfect two for two on the power play while Sarnia converted once in seven opportunities with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were DiBenedetto, Self, and Ryan Wilson who had three assists for the Sting. With the loss, the Bulls record drops to 33-11-3-2 while Sarnia improves to 27-19-2-0 with the win. The Bulls will now look to quickly rebound tomorrow night when they travel to London to face the Knights. On Saturday night, Belleville will return home to host the Sudbury Wolves in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch from last season. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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