KINGSTON, ON - Malcolm Subban weathered the storm early, and the Belleville Bulls put on a big show of character late as they exploded for six third period goals after losing captain Luke Judson to injury at the end of the second period.

George Burnett's 500th career OHL coaching victory came on a night where the Bulls didn't look so hot in the early going, but a late game show of determination and depth gave them a commanding 8-1 victory over a Frontenacs team that played them tough for the first fourty minutes. The Bulls also won their 1000th game as an OHL franchise as three different players had multi-goal efforts.

An exciting first period of hockey in downtown Kingston began with a bang as each team's frontline players strutted their stuff in front of a Friday night crowd at the K-Rock. It didn't take long for Ryan Spooner to take the spotlight as he broke into the Belleville zone inside the game's first minute and blew past two Bulls defenders. The Bulls as many have learned, have a big game performer of their own however as Subban stopped Spooner not once but twice as the streaky forward got his stick on a rebound but still couldn't beat Subban.

The Frontenacs had the upper hand in four-on-four situations on Wednesday in Belleville, and that trend continued in the first period on Friday as Spooner and Subban locked horns again just under two minutes later. In alone on Subban, Spooner attempted to get the Bulls goaltender moving laterally before stuffing the puck through the five hole. Subban had other plans though, making a calm save with the left pad to keep the Bulls even early.

The Bulls took to the offensive after their goaltender made some big saves early but neither Michael Curtis or Adam Payerl could beat big Russian netminder Igor Bobkov in the Kingston goal on separate opportunities.

The play shifted back into the Belleville zone just beyond the midway point of the first as Subban made perhaps the best two saves he has all season in highlight reel fashion. Malcolm took away two goals with pucks lying literally on the goal line as a result with desperation efforts, using his stick to his advantage on both occasions. Subban first took away a sure goal from former Bull Cody Alcock in the slot after his shot deflected off a Belleville skate and headed perilously toward the goal line. Subban quickly reached back and pulled the puck out of danger with his goal stick. With just under five minutes remaining, Subban reached back and robbed Tyler Brown who had a wide open net to shoot at, using his blocker to knock away a shot along the ice.

Still scoreless after one thanks in large part to their goaltender, the Bulls came out for the second period and killed off an early penalty before enjoying a powerplay of their own.

On that advantage Belleville took control of the game by drawing first blood. Jordan Subban, who seems to be getting more and more confident with each passing game, took a cross-ice pass from defensive partner Jake Worrad and wristed a low shot that found it's way through a crowd and past Bobkov for Subban's third of the season.

The Kingston fans were surely getting anxious with their teddy bears in hand past the midway point of the second period. Fifth year veteran and captain Tyler Brown gave Fronts fans a reason to cheer with his seventeenth goal on the powerplay at 15:31. After Subban turned away Spooner for what seemed like the tenth time in the game, Brown collected the rebound and from a poor angle, beat Subban inside the near post as Kingston finally figured out a way to beat the Belleville goaltender and bring the bears tumbling to the ice.

Bulls fans endured a scary moment with just under three minutes remaining in the period when a couple captains hooked up for some fisticuffs. Luke Judson and Tyler Brown decided to go off a neutral zone draw with the two exchanging right hands. Brown managed to tag Judson with a right that sent him to the ice motionless. Fortunately for the Bulls, Judson soon made his way off the ice and to the dressing room as the Fronts bench was up and energized.

Although the momentum may have seemed to shift to Kingston's favour following the tilt, the Bulls quickly erased any advantage Kingston might have gained from the big knockout as Austen Brassard silenced the K-Rock on a rebound just fifteen seconds later. Jake Worrad's point blast was deflected by Brendan Gaunce from the bottom of the right faceoff dot as Bobkov made the save but kicked out a juicy rebound to Brassard who capitalized for his eleventh of the year.

The Bulls entered the second intermission with a 2-1 lead and the shots knotted at 25 on the clock.

Jordan Subban continued his outstanding performance at 6:22 of the third period when his headfake off the blueline took Michael Moffat out of position, allowing Subban to snap a shot on Bobkov as the rebound came out to Michael Curtis who banged home his seventh of the year.

The Belleville offense began picking up speed in the ensuing moments as Belleville's rendition of the Russian Rocket went to work on the Frontenacs defence. Daniil Zharkov scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season just 1:16 apart as the Bulls quickly found themselves up 4-1. Zharkov took advantage of some great neutral zone play by Adam Payerl, finishing on an odd-man rush at 8:42 and then proceeded to beat Bobkov under the glove on one of his signature wrist shots from the top of the circle on the powerplay at 10:02.

The fans may have been heading for the exits, but the Bulls were just getting fired up as Mack Lemmon kept dishing out his monster hits and giving his teammates some needed energy.

Without Judson, who didn't return to the game, the Belleville offence was finding all kinds of different ways to beat Bobkov as Adam Payerl notched a pair of markers and Brassard scored one of his own to give the Bulls the eventual 8-1 win.

"Judder is a guy who would do anything for the boys," said Payerl following the game. "We wanted to go out and play the third period for him and I think we did him proud out there in the final twenty minutes."

Eleven different Bulls hit the scoresheet and Payerl also commented on the depth the team has shown of late. "Guys like Corson and Simmer are really stepping up and it's good to see. I thought Lemmon and Carnevale were also very effective in their time on the ice tonight."

Belleville outshot Kingston 15-9 in the third period and was an impressive 3 for 8 on the powerplay for the game with two of those goals on the man advantage coming in the third.

The Bulls took a clean sweep of the three stars as Austen Brassard was named third star, Malcolm Subban the second and Daniil Zharkov with two goals took the first.

Despite the one-sided result on the scoreboard, Subban saw his fair share of work as he made 33 saves on 34 Kingston shots.

The Bulls await to hear the status on consistent performer and captain Luke Judson who isn't likely to suit up in Saturday night's game against the Windsor Spitfires. In the meantime, they can rest easy knowing they currently lead the Eastern Conference by four points over the Niagara IceDogs with a record of 18-9-0-0. The Bulls are also on a five game winning streak dating back to November 17th.

Saturday night is Teddy Bear Toss at the Yard Barn as the Bulls host the Windsor Spitfires who'll be cranky after an overtime loss on national television in Ottawa on Friday. Game time is 7:05pm. For ticket information, contact the Bulls Box Office at 613-966-8338.