Bulls victory places them at top of league

Belleville Bulls centre Joseph Cramarossa is
hauled down from behind by Barrie Colts defenseman Jonathan Laser on Feb. 18th.
at the Yardmen arena, in Belleville. Cramarossa was awarded a penalty shot on the
play and snuck a backhand through the five-hole of Niederberger. The Bulls won
this game 3-0 over the Colts, in front of 3,664.
Photo By: David Zammit

By David Zammid

Belleville Bulls took to the ice on Family Day with only one thing in mind – to beat the Eastern Conference leading Barrie Colts.

After a 3-0 win, the Bulls were in top spot, one point ahead of the Colts who have played two more games than the Bulls. Bulls winning streak was extended to six games now, in front of a huge Family Day crowd of 3,664.

Game time was moved from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. as the Colts got stuck in traffic on the 401. A tractor-trailer had rolled over and closed the 401 from Cobourg and Grafton.

The game was filled with lots of speed. Around the four-minute mark, Colts forward and Belleville native Zach Hall raced up the ice with the puck and rifled a wrist-shot off the post. The bounce off the post caromed into the neutral zone area.

The Bulls countered with two power plays in the second half of the frame but were unable to capitalize on their scoring chances. The first period saw the score end at 0-0.

The second period opened the same, with both teams using their speed to advantage. The Bulls were first to strike.

Jordan Subban, with time and room, went from his own blue line to the top of the circle in the Colts zone, when he fired a wrister towards Colts goalie Mathias Niederberger. It bounced right to Bulls forward Tyler Graovac, who wasted no time potting his 31^st of the season past a sprawling Niederberger, to put the Bulls up 1-0. Malcolm Subban played great for the Bulls in net, preserving the 1-0 lead for the Bulls heading into the last period.

Subban continued his great game in the third. He also received a gift when Andreas Athanasiou’s wrist shot hit the post and bounced into the Bulls corner.

Bulls forward Joseph Cramarossa received a breakaway pass halfway through the third, but was hauled down in the slot area and was awarded a penalty shot. Cramarossa came in with a lot of speed and snuck a deke through Niederberger’s five-hole to make it 2-0 for the Bulls.

Subban was the story on this night as he held off the Colts late in the game to help his team to victory. Brendan Gaunce sealed the deal with an empty net goal with 1:31 left in the third period.

The Family Day crowd was announced at 3,664. With the big win, the Bulls move into top spot in the conference and move their winning streak to six games now.