Sophs Step up in 5-2 Win over Steelheads

November 27, 2013 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Belleville Bulls News Release


BELLEVILLE, ON - A day after trading the cornerstone of their franchise for the past four seasons, the Belleville Bulls came out and played inspired hockey. Sophomore forwards Michael Cramarossa and Chad Heffernan each played contributing roles in the Bulls' sixth win of the season. Braydon Banitsiotis made 33 saves for his first career OHL victory in a 5-2 win over the Mississauga Steelheads.

The Bulls looked motivated in their first period of hockey in the post-Brendan Gaunce era. Bulls forwards, particularly the young ones, battled hard along the boards and came up with pucks which led to quality chances around the Mississauga net.

The newly assembled grind line of Michael Cramarossa, Andrew Ming and Jake Bricknell grinded out a big opening goal 12:08 into action, with Cramarossa stuffing home his second great wraparound attempt of the shift. Working with his linemates, Cramarossa found the time and space to jam a quick wrap through the legs of Spencer Martin for his third of the campaign. Rookie blueliner

With a 3-7-1-0 record this season when scoring first, the Bulls knew they couldn't take their foot off the gas pedal with a one goal lead early in the game. Cameron Brace nearly extended the lead a few minutes later, gathering the puck in the neutral zone with speed to race in and be turned aside by the quick glove of Martin.

Continued pressure of the forecheck took it's toll on the Mississauga defence though, drawing a turnover with just over four minutes to go as the Bulls came back with numbers, eventually leading to Aaron Berisha's fourth of the season. Chad Heffernan fired a hard shot low on the pads of Martin, drawing a rebound for Berisha who had an open net and didn't miss to draw the Belleville crowd to it's feet.

Braydon Banitsiotis was stellar through twenty minutes, making 13 saves including a denial of Brandon Belding on the doorstep late in the period.

The hard work carried over into the second period as Cramarossa collected his second of the night for his first career OHL multi-goal game. Cramarossa was able to strip Bobby MacIntyre of the puck just inside Belleville territory, leading the charge back the other way with teammate Jake Bricknell. Cramarossa gained the blueline and dished to Bricknell who made a nice move and gave it right back for the finish at 4:02 as the Bulls led 3-0.

The Mississauga powerplay kept the Fish swimming in this one, with Trevor Carrick stepping into a boomer from the point at 10:26 of the second one a well-placed pass from Greg DiTomaso. Carrick's league-leading 13th goal of the season by a defenceman injected a little life into the Mississauga cause.

The Bulls did a effective job of squashing any Steelhead resurgence a couple shifts later. Chad Heffernan dogged the puck down low on the forecheck, outmuscling Sean Day back to the net as he snuck one past Martin on the short side at 12:14 for his third of the season. The goal chased Martin from the Mississauga crease after he surrendered 4 goals on 23 shots.

The goaltending change seemed to provide a small spark for the Steelheads as the Belleville offense suddenly dried up and the Steelheads carried the shooting column the rest of the period.

Bobby MacIntyre had an eventful shift closing in on the final few minutes of the second. MacIntyre was leveled by Brody Morris in the neutral zone, only to get back into the play and beat Banitsiotis to bring Mississauga within two just moments later. MacIntyre worked with Jesse Barwell and Jacob Jammes to find himself space in the slot to beat a sprawling Belleville netminder with 5:57 left on the second period clock.

Morris and MacIntyre would settle their differences to close out the period, tussling inside Belleville territory in a healthy exchange of right hands.

Braydon Banitsiotis was good when called upon in the third, making a pair of low saves off a Brandon Belding. A well played defensive twenty minutes of hockey saw the Bulls close out a 5-2 victory as Garrett Hooey added his 16th of the season into the empty net.

On a great display of teamwork, Cameron Brace passed off to Hooey with a wide open net as the Bulls' leading scorer on the season tacked on another to cap off a great team effort on Wednesday night.

Michael Cramarossa was the first star of the game with his first OHL multi-goal effort. He responded in a big way after being out of the lineup on Saturday night in Owen Sound. "It was nice for me to come back and play the way I did," he said. "You never like to be left out of the lineup and being a second year guy now, I knew I had to be better. It was great working with Ming and Bricknell. I thought we did some good things along the boards and worked really hard tonight."

Bulls Head Coach George Burnett was also impressed with the play of the club's youngsters. "I thought our kids were the difference out there tonight. They all put in a good effort and it's great to see them contributing. Braydon made some nice saves for us out there and got the job done in his first OHL win."

The Bulls wrap up their season series with the Steelheads, going 1-3-0-0 against the fish on the campaign and improving their record to 6-16-2-2. The Steelheads have now lost six of their last seven games.

The Bulls scratched Adam Laishram, Mark Raycroft and newcomer Stephen Harper on Wednesday night while Mississauga was without Austin Gerhart and Everett Clark.

Harper will make his Bulls debut on Thursday night in Peterborough when the Bulls battle the Petes for the first time this season. The Bulls visit the Peterborough Memorial Centre where the 10-13-0-3 Petes have won their last two games on home ice.

Game time on Thursday is 7:05pm. Bulls play-by-play voice Jack Miller has pre-game coverage beginning at 6:50pm on AM 800 CJBQ. Follow along with all the action on the Bulls' Twitter feed (@OHLBulls)!



Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2013


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