BELLEVILLE, ON - Daniil Zharkov is getting better with each passing game. Paired up with Brendan Gaunce and Austen Brassard, the three elite forwards fueled the Bulls to a 4-1 win despite the absence of core forwards Luke Judson and Michael Curtis.

The Belleville Bulls and Windsor Spitfires drew a throng of scouts and media who packed the Yardmen's scouts room prior to faceoff. With exciting high flying Russian forward Alexander Khokhlachev and the Spits in town, the Bulls were sure to be in for a fight especially after a pair of highly physical games against Kingston earlier in the week. Khokhlachev however, was overshadowed by another Russian on Saturday, as Daniil Zharkov scored twice, leading the Belleville Bulls to their sixth straight victory.

The two teams kicked off a home and home set and didn't waste any time getting involved in the rough stuff as Windsor captain Adrian Robertson wanted a piece of former Spitfire and Windsor native Austen Brassard off the opening faceoff. Brassard obliged and the two shared a brief tussle before the officials intervened.

A healthy crowd on a Saturday night at the Yardmen had teddy bears in hand waiting anxiously for the Bulls to light the lamp and take an early lead. They may have been possible if Windsor netminder Jaroslav Pavelka wasn't on the top of his game. Pavelka made a start at the Yardmen earlier in the season as a member of the Niagara IceDogs. His night back on October 1st lasted just 5:38 as he allowed a pair of goals on eight shots. Come December however, the eighteen year-old Czech goaltender seemed to have things turned around as robbery of Zharkov with just under seven minutes to go in the first was worthy of OHL Plays of the Week consideration. After stopping Gaunce on a two-on-one, Pavelka reached across the crease and took a sure goal away from Zharkov who had a gaping cage to shoot at but was denied by the glove hand.

After the teddy bears nearly made an appearance, Malcolm Subban continued his strong play with a point blank save on Kerby Rychel from the slot. The Spits managed to win an offensive zone faceoff to Subban's right as the puck squired out to Rychel who was unable to beat Malcolm through the legs.

Both teams had a pair of powerplay chances that went unconverted with the Bulls taking a slight advantage on the shot clock by a tally of 14-12.

Early on in the second period, Zharkov came over the blueline on an odd-man rush eerily similar to the one he and Gaunce were turned away on in the first period. As they say, fool me once shame on me, but Zharkov wasn't being stopped again as the Russian beat Pavelka across the crease this time on a rebound coming off Gaunce's low shot on the pads. Zharkov's tenth of the season came at 3:53 of the second as a mob of teddy bears came tumbling down onto the ice from the Belleville crowd.

The Bulls' top unit managed to outmaneuvre Windsor's first line again just prior to the midway point of the period. Brassard picked up his second point against his old team, dishing back to the blueline for Simon Gronvaldt who unloaded on a shot that was tipped by Gaunce, ringing off the crossbar before tickling the twine. Gaunce's team leading sixteenth gave the Bulls a 2-0 lead at 8:41.

The Spits brought the Belleville margin back to one goal at 11:28 when the son of long time OHL bench boss Dave MacQueen scored on a magnificent shot. Subban had no chance of stopping Zack MacQueen's eighth of the season as the miniscule winger used his right handed shot off the off-wing to fire a bullet through a crowd and past Subban. 

The second period was nearly a penalty free affair until Brassard headed off to the box at 17:46, forcing the Bulls to kill off their third disadvantage of the evening. Despite missing key penalty killer Michael Curtis who was a late scratch due to illness, the Bulls pulled things together and saw great performances from Dylan Corson and Scott Simmonds on the PK.

The Bulls entered the third period up 2-1 with a spotless 10-0-0-0 track record when leading after the second period. Just 5:44 into the frame, the Bulls added insurance to their lead when Stephen Silas made an excellent cross-ice pass, threading the needle to Zharkov who beat a sprawling Pavelka a second time. Zharkov's eleventh goal gave him his fifth two goal game of the season as the Yardmen was rockin'.

Brassard would add an empty netter at 17:56 to put his old team on ice. The 4-1 win gave the Bulls their sixth consecutive win, marking their second six game winning streak of the season.

With their two best penalty killers out of the lineup in Curtis and Judson, the Bulls needed others to step up and fill the void. Whether it was Simmonds, Gaunce or Corson, Belleville got the job done and successfully killed off all three Windsor powerplays on the night.

"I'm just trying to be more physical," said Simmonds following the win. The eighteen year-old Uxbridge native has stepped up into a noticeable grinding role for the Bulls on their third line. Together, he and Dylan Corson are making life tough on their opponents. "It was another great weekend for us as a team," added Simmonds. "Despite losing Judder last night, I think everyone contributed in their own way in the three wins we picked up this past week."

Zharkov was all smiles after another two goal effort. "My two linemates are both unreal," said Danny in broken english in the dressing room after the game. "Brassard has great puckhandling and sees the ice very well and Gaunce is maybe the best player in the league along the boards. He creates chances and makes space for me to shoot."

Bulls Assistant Coach Jason Supryka praised Zharkov for his progression afterward. "Daniil is growing more comfortable every game and we're seeing his great puck skills evolve the more we've seen of him. I think he has a great work ethic and our entire team has worked hard over the past few weeks."

The Bulls took a sweep of the three stars as Zharkov, Brassard and Gaunce took the honours in order. Defencemen Stephen Silas and Simon Gronvaldt were also each +4 on the night.

Malcolm Subban and company get a well deserved four days off before heading to the WFCU Centre to square off with the Spitfires in round two of their home and home. The Bulls will visit the Plymouth Whalers on Friday night and the Saginaw Spirit on Saturday. You can catch all the action live on AM800 CJBQ with Bulls voice Jack Miller.

(Photo Credit: Aaron Bell/OHL Images)