OTTAWA, ON - "It was another one of those days," Bulls defenceman Jake Worrad exclaimed boarding the bus following a 6-1 loss at the J. Benson Cartage Centre in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon. "Those days" seem to be haunting the Bulls with a little more regularity than they'd like to see early on in the 2012 calendar as they fell to 1-6-0-0 in the new year at the hands of the Eastern Conference leading 67's. Shane Prince and Jake Cardwell each had three point afternoons.

The sharpshooting 67's didn't wait around for the Bulls to get into game form, burying Belleville for three in the opening 20 minutes of play. 

Cardwell snuck in off the blueline after Prince won a battle in the corner and muscled his way to the net. Prince dished quickly to the slot as Cardwell beat Charlie Graham under the crossbar 7:47 into the game.

A fine glove save by Graham later, the 67's were back on the war path as Tyler Toffoli kept on padding his resume, collecting his 34th goal of the season and 300th point of his OHL career when he banked a puck in off the skate of Brady Austin.

Prince continued his stellar play 59 seconds later as the 67's in their barberpole jerseys took a 3-0 lead. The Spencerport, New York native capitalized on a turnover in the Belleville zone for his 22nd goal of the season.

Down 3-0 before they could blink, the Bulls would head to the intermission in the same predicament they found themselves in on Saturday night as they had trailed the Sudbury Wolves by a pair of goals.

Dalton Smith stretched the deficit to four goals at 8:54 of the second period with an assist from Cody Ceci. After the puck was turned over at the Belleville blueline, Ceci pounded a low shot on goal that Graham stopped, but the big forward Smith was on the doorstep to grab his 12th marker of the year.

Cardwell scored again 50 seconds later to make it a 5-0 game when a nifty drop pass from Tyler Graovac connected with the Niagara Falls native who jumped into the rush. Nobody picked up Cardwell as he beat Graham under the glove for his 6th of the year, further deflating the Belleville bench.

The Bulls managed to muster up a little bit of offensive life in the form of a newcomer as Joseph Cramarossa scored on a rebound off Brendan Gaunce's shot to spoil Petr Mrazek's shutout bid.

Mike Cazzola would round out the afternoon's scoring at 18:32 of the second as yet another turnover burned Belleville with the end result being Cazzola`s 4th goal of the season.

The Bulls managed to stop the bleeding in the third period and came away on the receiving end of a 6-1 loss.

Now 4-10-1-0 over their last 15 games, the Bulls have slid to 7th in the Eastern Conference as they leave behind a less than satisfactory weekend. "Our turnovers were as high as they've ever been today," said Head Coach George Burnett on the bus following the loss. "If we're going to give them free chances they're going to burn us. We've learned that lesson before and we learned it again this afternoon."

When asked if the recent string of disappointing outings has frustrated the players, Burnett said the team needs to get back on even footing. "We've got a few too many guys being individuals, not distributing the puck and getting it deep. We've got guys pointing the finger right now as opposed to playing for the team and working for the guy sitting next to them. We're going to get some of these things sorted out in the next few days and be ready for Mississauga on Wednesday."

Despite the lopsided verdict on the scoreboard, the Bulls were only outshot 40-38. They've scored just one third period goal in 2012.

The unexpected loss of defenceman Jason Shaw to the flu virus left the Bulls shorthanded on the blueline and forced Luke Judson to spend much of the afternoon paired with Stephen Silas. The Bulls also dressed 13 forwards for the first time this season as both Mack Lemmon and Alex Carnevale suited up.

With a record of 22-19-1-0, the Bulls look to get back on track this coming Wednesday night at the Yardmen when the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors are in town. The Majors sit just below Belleville with a record of 19-18-1-5 as Joseph Cramarossa and Jordan Mayer square off with their old mates for the first time.

For ticket information on Wednesday's game or to purchase, contact the Bulls Box Office at 613-966-8338.