BELLEVILLE, ON - After winning 13 of 17 at home in the first portion of the OHL season, the Belleville Bulls haven't been able to rekindle that home ice magic in a new calendar year, seeing their record at the Yardmen drop to 0-4 in 2012 on Saturday after a 5-3 loss to the Sudbury Wolves.

The frustrating defeat came after the Bulls fell behind 2-0 after one period as goals by Alex Racino and Andrey Kuchin put Belleville in a hole early.

A classy pre-game ceremony in recognition of Head Coach and General Manager George Burnett's 500th OHL victory and 1000th game coached earlier this season featured a video including congratulations from familiar faces such as Brad May, Brian Kilrea, Shawn Matthias and Matt Beleskey.

Once the puck dropped however, the boys were all business as a physical tone was set in the early going. Mack Lemmon's presence was felt early as his punishing checks were inserted back into the lineup after he suffered a concussion back on December 9th and missed over a month of action. Garrett Hooey was also digging for loose pucks and finishing checks as he skated on a line with Luke Judson and Michael Curtis.

Sudbury drew first blood by winning a matchup of fourth lines. Racino tucked a backhander through the legs of John Chartrand for his 5th of the year before Andrey Kuchin took a nice feed from linemate Joshua Leivo and beat Chartrand through the legs at 19:12.

With the shots tied 10-10 after one period, the Bulls weren't being swamped in their own zone and remained optimistic that they'd come charging out of the gate in the second.

Unfortunately the opposite was true as Kuchin struck again, extending the Sudbury lead to 3-0 while chasing Chartrand from the Belleville net after allowing 3 goals on 15 shots. Charlie Graham took over in relief as the 16 year-old hoped to swing the momentum back into his club's favour.

Like clockwork, the Bulls picked up the pace as Jordan Mayer collected his first goal in a Bulls uniform 18 seconds later, snapping a wrister over the blocker hand of Johan Mattsson. 

The thrill of the Bulls' first goal of the night wore off quicklier than expected though. Sudbury got back on the victory trail with a powerplay goal at 8:53 as Leivo and Kuchin switched roles, with Leivo taking a crisp feed in the high slot to beat Graham along the ice through the five hole.

Just beyond the midway point of the contest a pair of the OHL's tough customers exchanged blows as Belleville defenceman Branden Morris paired off with newly acquired Sudbury winger Michael Kantor. Kantor's jersey took some damage in the fight and he'd wear #2 for the remainder of the contest.

With a pair of Sudbury's best defencemen in Justin Sefton and Frank Corrado in the penalty box, the Bulls embarked on a 5-on-3 powerplay and converted with Brendan Gaunce sniping a shot past Mattsson on the short side. Gaunce's 21st from Daniil Zharkov and Joseph Cramarossa gave the Bulls new life as they trailed 4-2 with just over two minutes left in the period.

Derek Schoenmakers effectively zapped any momentum the Bulls had generated in the minutes prior as he swooped down the right wing and beat Graham on a shot that handcuffed the rookie over the glove. Schoenmakers' first goal in a Wolves uniform since joining the club from Mississauga put Sudbury back up by three goals before Garrett Hooey ended the second frame in fine style.

Hooey was awarded a penalty shot with no time left on the second period clock. The speedy winger was hauled down by Ryan Hanes and referee Sean Reid quickly pointed to centre ice to signal the big opportunity. Hooey made no mistake, snapping a low shot through the legs of Mattsson to make the score 5-3 Sudbury headed into the third.

Despite a stronger effort, the Bulls came up short on Saturday. Although they outshot Sudbury 13-3 in the third period, they couldn't solve Mattsson and saw their record drop to 22-18-1-0 on the season.

"We saw a great opportunity pass us by tonight," said Bulls Assistant Coach Jake Grimes. "That was a team that played at home last night, traveled five hours today and was missing three of their best players...we simply didn't capitalize on that."

Hooey, Cramarossa and Mayer served as bright spots for the Bulls on an otherwise disappointing night. Hooey earned third star honours with his relentless puck pursuit and forechecking while Mayer and Cramarossa battled hard and created opportunities for their linemates. "We're still working on finding the right combinations," concluded Grimes. "There's select guys that are showing us a lot, but when you get new players added to your lineup it takes a little time to get a feel for how they're going to fit with certain playing styles."

Josh Leivo and Andrey Kuchin rounded out the three stars on Saturday as the Wolves leaped into 4th place in the Eastern Conference while the Bulls sit in 7th. 

Despite turning 19 on Saturday, Austen Brassard saw point streak snapped at eleven games. Brassard had 8 goals and 6 assists in that span.

Things won't get any easier for the Bulls as they're back on the bus bright and early on Sunday afternoon to head to Ottawa for a 2pm matchup. The Bulls are looking to overcome a drought of ten straight losses in the nation's capital dating back to September 26th, 2008. They'll turn to Charlie Graham as the man between the pipes when they set out to strike back at the 67's for a 3-2 loss in Belleville last Saturday night.

Bulls voice Jack Miller goes live on Sunday afternoon at 1:45pm on AM 800 CJBQ. The Bulls don't return home until Wednesday night when the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors are in town at 7:05pm.

(Photo Credit: Aaron Bell)