Bulls Fall 2-1 in OT
Published on April 2, 2015 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Belleville Bulls News Release
BELLEVILLE, ON - The Belleville Bulls are going away - but they're not going quietly.
The underdog Bulls battled the heavily-favoured Barrie Colts dead-even for more than 60 minutes before dropping a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime decision in Game 3 of their OHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series Wednesday night at Yardmen Arena. Bulls now trail 3-0 in the best-of-seven set.
"It was a hard-fought contest," said Bulls GM-coach George Burnett. "I was proud of our effort. We generated enough chances and there was lots of emotion. Now, we've got to put this behind us and refocus on Game 4."
Just seconds after a close-in chance by Bulls captain Brett Welychka was denied by Colts netminder Mackenzie Blackwood, Barrie's Joseph Blandisi - the OHL's regular-season goal-scoring champion with 52 - ended the affair with a backhander from the far side at 1:34 of O.T.
Overall, Bulls outshot Barrie 45-29 plus won the special teams battle, going 1-for-10 on the power play while Colts went 0-for-5. Blackwood's clutch O.T. save was the difference.
Jordan Subban, with his second of the playoffs, scored Belleville's lone goal with Michael Cramarossa and Welychka drawing assists.
Former Bull Garrett Hooey, with his third of the series, netted Barrie's goal in normal time from Stephen Nosad and Justin Scott. The O.T. winner by Blandisi was assisted by Jonathan Laser and Kevin Labanc.
Bulls grabbed the early momentum, outshooting Barrie 9-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game, but were unable to connect on two power plays.
An opportunistic Hooey opened the scoring at 16:39 of the first frame when he jumped on a rebound to go low on Bulls netminder Charlie Graham for a 1-0 Barrie lead.
A first-period dust-up featured homegrown Bulls defenceman Brody Morris, 6-1, 195, taking on Barrie's Chadd Bauman, 6-3, 228, and more than holding his own against his larger Colts foe. Moments earlier, Bauman had drilled Belleville puckcarrier Cole Candella in the neutral zone.
Shots: Bulls 13, Barrie 8.
Bulls opened the second stanza by killing off a 5-on-3 Barrie power play, then evened the count on their own man advantage situation at 12:28. Subban found an open spot in the slot and wired a rising wrister past Blackwood.
A second-period bout had Bulls forward Jake Bricknell earning the takedown against Barrie's Adrian Carbonara.
Shots: Bulls 19, Barrie 12.
The third period was scoreless, with Bulls outshooting Barrie 11-7, for a three-period total of 43-27.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2015
- Relentess Battalion Finishes Fronts in Four - North Bay Battalion
- Appleby with Shutout in Game Four - Oshawa Generals
- Franzen Leads Rangers to Game 4 Win - Kitchener Rangers
- Spirit End Series With 5-2 Loss to Greyhounds - Saginaw Spirit
- Message to the Community and Fans from the Belleville Bulls Hockey Club - Belleville Bulls
- Bastian Named Hardest Working Player - Brampton Steelheads
- Game 6 Time Changed - Owen Sound Attack
- Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 6 Tickets on Sale this Morning - Niagara IceDogs
- Bulls Fall 2-1 in OT - Belleville Bulls
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
