SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - It took the Belleville Bulls just 34 games to match their win total from a season ago as Adam Payerl's winner with 56 seconds remaining solidified a 6-5 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at the Essar Centre on Thursday night.

Without starting goaltender Malcolm Subban, who suffered a lower body injury at the team's morning skate, the Bulls sent 18 year-old John Chartrand to the pipes to start off their two game northern road trip.

The Bulls' dominant cycle game went to work early on as Austen Brassard notched his 15th goal of the season on an assist from Michael Curtis. Brassard managed to slip a low shot through the legs of Matt Murray on the backhand at 3:06.

With the bus/Christmas legs out of the system, the Bulls were off to a running start after a strong morning skate that helped prepare them to jump out to an early lead.

With a full house at the Essar Centre, veteran Greyhounds forward Michael Kantor wanted to spark his mates and found an eager Dylan Corson who obliged to drop the mitts. 

The Bulls put together a very tidy first period considering the short bench they brought to the Soo. All three lines were playing well and the hard work paid off again 16:02 when Daniil Zharkov gave Belleville a two goal lead. Camped out in the slot, Zharkov managed to get a stick on Stephen Silas' low point shot that skipped past Murray as the Russian rookie picked up his 15th goal in 17 games.

The cushion didn't last long for the Bulls, who lost a defensive zone draw 38 seconds later, with the end result being former Kingston Frontenac Dylan Staples' 7th of the season. The Hounds created traffic in front of the Belleville goal as Staples redirected Alex Morgan's wrister past Chartrand. 

The Bulls wrapped up a stellar first period showing with a 2-1 lead headed to the intermission. 

Branden Morris looked like he hadn't missed a beat playing in his first game since training camp. The big stay-at-home blueliner set the tone early with a crushing hit on Greyhounds power forward David Broll in his first shift of the game. Morris would log considerable minutes, being paired off with Jake Worrad.

Although they've had their powerplay struggles this season, the Bulls saw their man advantage get off to a terrific start in the second half as it converted on it's first opportunity. With Joe Rogalski off in the box for a tripping minor at the expiration of the first period, the Bulls put together a nifty passing combination with Michael Curtis capping it all off with his first goal since December 2nd. Adam Payerl showed great vision on the goal with a strong cross-ice feed to Curtis who was waiting to unload for his 8th of the year.

It was a good thing the Bulls powerplay was clicking, as Sault Ste. Marie countered quickly once again as native of nearby Echo Bay Brett Findlay brought the score back to 3-2. 

The see-saw battle continued at 6:02 when David Broll scored his second goal of the season and first since October 14th. Broll put a one-timer past Chartrand after linemate and Belleville native Nick Cousins carried the puck around the offensive zone on a string, eventually making a nice pass on the tape that tied the score up at three.

The Sault Ste. Marie fans were right back in the game with their team clawing back to tie the score. The Bulls however, provided an answer under a minute later as Brassard continued his tear across the scoresheet, taking a feed from Payerl and splitting the defence to eventually deke Murray on the forehand and slide in his 16th of the year at 6:45.

Belleville rounded out the second period scoring on a rocket wrist shot from Brendan Gaunce from down the right wing. Gaunce's 20th put the Bulls back in the driver's seat with a two goal lead headed into the second intermission.

Like they had all game, the Greyhounds continued to find ways to get back on track. A Colin Miller goal just 19 seconds into the third came off a pointshot that handcuffed Chartrand just as the Bulls came back to full strength.

Findlay provided his second of the night at 3:10 to make it a 5-5 hockey game. Poor coverage in the defensive zone gave Michael Schumacher a perfect target in the high slot as Findlay was all alone and put a shot up over the shoulder of Chartrand.

"It was an admittedly bad feeling when they came back to tie the score at five," said Bulls Coach Jake Grimes. "I knew that something needed to be done and decided to call a timeout just to get the guys settled down. In the following minutes they really slowed the play down and seemed to neutralize the momentum Sault Ste. Marie was building."

The offensive guns then went silent as the two teams had combined for ten goals in 44 minutes of hockey.

The ceasefire wouldn't end until 19:04 of the final frame as the Bulls managed to pull two points away from the Greyhounds in a classic "last shot wins" affair. Stephen Silas, who had been stellar in all three zones throughout the game, pulled up at the point and made a great decision to send a low slapshot towards the Greyhound net. Payerl was positioned in the slot and managed to get his stick on the puck, deflecting it past Murray to give the Bulls the eventual 6-5 win.

The momentous victory improves the Bulls' all-time record in Sault Ste. Marie to 5-24-5, something that gave the team a sense of accomplishment once all was said and done. "This is a tough place to win hockey games," said Grimes. "Our guys didn't let up tonight and I thought we had some great contributions from guys we didn't really expect them from. Both Morris and Adam Bignell were steady in their first games back from relatively substantial injuries. We also had great efforts from our penalty killers who managed to hold off our opponents in the third period with three consecutive successful kills...that's a momentum booster."

Grimes also credited his team for being a very intelligent group. "Every year you look at your roster and see different strengths. Everybody brings something to the table. This season we're fortunate to have a very smart group of players. These guys are able to pick up on trends and adapt their game accordingly. I thought tonight was a great example of that."

John Chartrand picked up his first win since November 2nd, making 31 saves. Chartrand finished the third period strong after a steady barrage from the Greyhounds early in the frame.

Curtis, Brassard and Silas each had three points on the night with Brassard coming away with second star honours.

Now 21-13-0-0, the Bulls make the three hour trek east on Highway 17 to Sudbury to battle the Wolves for the first time this season on Friday night. Sudbury is 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games and is currently one of the hottest teams in the OHL.

The puck drops at the Sudbury Memorial Arena at 7:35pm and Jack Miller will go live on AM 800 CJBQ at 7:20PM with pre-game coverage.