Bulls Drop Series Opener 4-2 to Brampton
The Belleville Bulls surrendered three unanswered second period goals and were not able to recover in a 4-2 loss to the Brampton Battalion Wednesday night at the Yardmen Arena. The Bulls now trail the best of seven Eastern Conference Championship series 1-0 with game two in Brampton on Friday night. P.K. Subban scored both Bulls goals in the loss.
The Battalion got off to a quick start, pressuring the Bulls defence and forcing Mike Murphy to make several strong saves early to keep the game scoreless. It was Belleville that was able to open the scoring six and a half minutes into the first period when Subban skated into the Brampton zone and snapped a shot past Battalion goaltender Thomas McCollum from the face-off circle. The unassisted goal was Subban’s second goal of the postseason. Brampton quickly tied the game on the power play just over two minutes later when Cody Hodgson blasted a hard shot past Murphy from the high slot. The Battalion pressed for the go ahead goal throughout the remainder of the period but Murphy was excellent to keep the game tied. McCollum was also solid when called upon, as the game remained tied 1-1 after twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal in the first period favoured the Battalion 18-9.
Brampton took the lead less than two minutes into the second period when a turnover at the Battalion blueline led to a breakaway for Matt Kang. Kang made a nice move before sliding the puck past Murphy to give Brampton the 2-1 advantage. The Battalion then went ahead 3-1 five minutes into the middle frame when Matt Duchene skated out of the corner and lifted a terrific shot over the shoulder of Murphy for what turned out to be the eventual game winning goal. Kang added his second goal of the game with six and a half minutes remaining in the second period when another Bulls turnover led to a breakaway that the Brampton forward was able to capitalize on once again. Belleville pressed late in the second period to cut into the lead but McCollum was excellent to preserve the 4-1 advantage for his side. Shots on goal in the second period were 11-9 Brampton.
The Bulls pressed to get themselves back into the game during the third period and were able to cut the lead to 4-2 seven minutes into the stanza when Subban’s point shot made its way through traffic and between the pads of McCollum. Stephen Johnston and Luke Judson assisted on Subban’s second goal of the game and third of the playoffs. Belleville continued to press and cut into lead further but McCollum was very strong to preserve the victory for the Battalion. Murphy was also solid when called upon to keep Brampton from extending their lead. Shots on goal in the third period were 12-8 Belleville but overall favoured the Battalion 37-30.
Murphy made 33 saves in a losing effort for the Bulls while McCollum turned aside 28 shots in the victory for Brampton. Belleville failed to score on four power play chances while the Battalion converted once in five opportunities with the man advantage. The three stars of the game were Kang, Subban, and Duchene. The series will now shift to Brampton for game two on Friday night before the Bulls host game three on Sunday at the Yardmen Arena. Game time is 7:15pm and tickets for the game are available at the Bulls Box Office. Season ticket holders are reminded that they have until Friday to purchase their seats for game three before they go on sale to the general public on Saturday.
Photo: Aaron Bell
Belleville Bulls - Brampton Battalion April 15/09 Highlights
