Bulls Ready for Home Action

September 12, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Belleville Bulls News Release


BELLEVILLE, ON - It's been just over 180 days but Belleville Bulls hockey is finally back at the Yardmen Arena on Saturday September 13th! Your Bulls are making final preparations this week as they look for revenge over the Peterborough Petes who squeaked out a 4-3 victory in a shootout on September 1st. "We have had a good week of practice and we are focused on lots of different areas of our game. I think now we are looking to see some things start to come together with respect to some of our systems and special teams." said Head Coach George Burrnett before taking the ice for practice Thursday afternoon.

The Bulls are coming off a tough loss at the hands of the Erie Otters in front of a sold out crowd at the Scugog Arena in Port Perry. Rookie forward Matt Luff continued to prove why he was a great acquisition for the Bulls as he potted his first two goals of the preseason, one coming on the man advantage. Jordan Subban also added one on the power play but it wasn't enough as Nick Betz's hat-trick lead the Erie Otters to a 6-3 victory.

The Petes however are coming off their thrid straight pre-season win, this time against their other east conference rivals, the Oshawa General. Although Peterborough was missing a few fundamental roster players to NHL Training Camps, they got off to a quick start and controlled most of the game to skate away with a 5-2 victory. A tie game early in the first period was broken when Pete's veteran forward Michael Clarke put his squad up 2-1, which opened the flood gates for Peterborough. Brandon Devlin would add a short handed goal in the third to send the Generals packing. Pete's net minder Scott Smith saved 31 shots in the win. A rematch between Peterborough and Oshawa will go down in Pickering on Sunday.

After suffering a knee injury in training camp scrimmages, forward David Tomasek will return to the line up Saturday night. Tomasek had 27 points in 56 games played last season. With a week full of practices, the young, new faces like Brandon Saigeon, Cole Candella, Jack Hanley and Matt Luff continue to prepare for their first game in front of the Belleville Bulls faithful. With Captain Jake Marchment, Dallas Stars draftee Remi Elie and defencemen Stephen Harper and Jordan Subban all away at NHL camps, other veterans like Aaron Berisha, Alex Yuill and Chad Heffernan will have to lead by example while the Bulls continue to search for their first victory of the preseason. With Saturday quickly approaching, Head Coach George Burrnett said the energy level in the dressing room is really starting to ramp up. "When you get a chance to play in front of family and friends and play in front of your own fans it's always exciting especially for the kids who have never had a chance to play in a real game in this building. It's always fun to return, we have been on the road now for a couple and it's been a long time since we have played at home."

Charlie Graham will get the start in goal as puck drop is set for 7:05 PM.

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Fans can pick up and purchase tickets at the Belleville Bulls Box Office, open 10 AM until 5 PM, Monday through Friday. The Box Office is also open at 10 AM on game days. The wait is over, OHL hockey is back at the Yardmen Arena!



Ontario Hockey League Stories from September 12, 2014


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