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Bulls Complete Perfect Weekend with 3-1 Victory over Guelph
 Mike Murphy stopped 28 shots in a 3-1 victory over the Guelph Storm Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena.
The Belleville Bulls completed a perfect week of games and took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 victory over the Guelph Storm Saturday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls played a sound defensive game in which they never trailed en route to their third consecutive victory.
The Bulls got off to a quick start pressuring the Storm during the opening minutes of the game but could not beat Guelph goaltender Thomas McCollum. Belleville did open the scoring eight minutes into the first period when Eric Tangradi broke down the wing on an odd man rush and wired a hard shot past McCollum for his fourth goal in the past two games. Paul Cianfrini picked up the lone assist on Tangradi’s team leading 15th goal of the season. The two sides played a penalty filled opening period but both penalty killing units were strong, as the game remained 1-0 Belleville after one period. Shots on goal in the first period favoured the Bulls 12-7.
Belleville’s power play finally clicked two minutes into the second period when Bryan Cameron was left alone at the side of the Storm net to fire the puck past McCollum after receiving a Matthew Tipoff pass. Cory Tanaka also assisted on Cameron’s ninth goal of the season. The Storm were able to cut the lead back to a single goal seven minutes into the middle frame when Leigh Salters fired a rebound into the open side of the net after Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy had made the original save. Both teams pressed during the remainder of the period, but both Murphy and McCollum were excellent to keep the score 2-1. Shots on goal in the second period were 11-11.
The Bulls played a very strong defensive third period, as they limited Guelph to few quality scoring opportunities and Murphy was solid when called upon to preserve the victory. Belleville’s penalty killing was outstanding throughout the game, as the Storm were unable to generate much offence with the man advantage. Matt Beleskey rounded out the scoring with 42 seconds remaining when he fired the puck into the empty net from his own zone while the Bulls were killing a penalty. Beleskey’s goal was his 13th of the season and extended his point scoring streak to six games. Shots on goal in the third period were 11-6 Guelph and overall finished even at 29-29.
Murphy was again outstanding in goal for the Bulls, as he made 28 saves to earn his third victory this week and 11th this season. McCollum was also strong for Guelph, stopping 26 shots in a losing effort. The Bulls power play finished the game one for six while the Storm were scoreless in seven chances with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Beleskey, Murphy, and McCollum. With the win, the Bulls record improves to 14-5-1-1 and they move two points ahead of the Oshawa Generals for first place in the East Division while still holding a game in hand. Guelph drops to 8-11-3-0 with the loss. The Bulls now hit the road for four consecutive road games including contests in Erie, Guelph, and Owen Sound next week. The Bulls next home game is not until Saturday, December 1 when they play host to the Brampton Battalion. Game time is 7:15pm at the Yardmen Arena and tickets for the game are available at the Bulls Box Office.
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