Bulls win first game of new year

Rachel Psutka

BELLEVILLE, ON (01/28/2012) — The Belleville Bulls celebrate a 5-4 OT shootout victory in front of the Sarnia Sting’s bench on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. This is the first win for the Bulls in seven games. Photo by Dan Pearce.

It took nearly a month, but the Belleville Bulls have finally won their first game of the new year.

They left it until the last second, but the Belleville Bulls managed to avoid a winless January after defeating the Sarnia Sting 5-4 in a shootout Saturday at Yardmen Arena.

Despite being pummeled by shots during the first period by the higher-ranked Sting, 16-year-old goaltender Charlie Graham managed to keep the puck at bay, leading to a couple of goose eggs on the board by the start of the second period.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Sarnia’s Ludvig Rensfeldt got the scoring going on an odd-man rush.

The Bulls finally managed to retaliate midway through the second period. A shot from Garrett Hooey rolled past the Sting’s goaltender, J.P. Anderson, who overbalanced and toppled at the wrong moment.

The Bulls’ joy was short-lived, though, as the Sting snuck in another two goals in the next two minutes, courtesy of Rensfeldt and Domenic Alberga getting one past a faltering Graham.

The Bulls pulled together and got one more past the Sting before the second period ended, thanks to the quick passing of Austen Brassard and the rebound-grabbing Jordan Mayer.

A defensive diving play by the Bulls’ Jason Shaw at 22 seconds into the third led to Brendan Gaunce grabbing the puck and making a run to the Sting net, scoring only 10 seconds later to tie the game at 3-3.

The third period continued with the Bulls peppering the Sting with shot after shot. The shot clock read 20-7 in favour of the Bulls at the end of the third, with four goals apiece.

Graham’s goaltending efforts continued to impress, especially on a breakaway shot from Nail Yakupov. Fans roared as Graham raised his glove triumphantly.

After a fruitless four-on-four overtime period, the Bulls faced a tense shootout with the Sting.

Sarnia’s first shooter, Craig Hottot, beat Graham with a hard shot and Belleville’s Jordan Mayer mishandled the puck, leaving the Sting ahead by a goal.

A combination of Graham’s quick maneuvers and the accuracy of Gaunce and Joseph Cramarossa had fans in the Yardmen raising the roof with their cheers as the Bulls won their first game of 2012 with a final score of 5-4.

Another perk of the night for the fans: the game also featured a puck drop by Belleville native and new NHLer Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks and Bulls alumnus P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens, who were both off for the all-star break.

The re-energized Bulls get a bit of break and are next in action in Kitchener on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. They return to the Yardmen on Feb. 11 at 7:05 p.m. to face the Guelph Storm.

After the recent win, the Bulls are now ninth in the eastern conference, just ahead of the Kingston Frontenacs.