Former Belleville Bulls Cory Tanaka, Cody Thornton, Marc Rancourt and Ryan Rorabeck helped the St. Mary’s Huskies to a 3-2 overtime win over the University of Albert Golden Bears in the championship game at the 2010 University Cup at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay on Sunday.

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Belleville Bulls’ defenceman Shawn Lalonde played his final home game at Yardmen Arena on Wednesday. QuinteHockey.ca caught up with him after the game.

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Adam Payerl must be saving his best for last.

The 19-year-old forward scored four times to pace the Belleville Bulls to a 5-3 win over the Oshawa Generals in their final home game of the season on Wednesday.

Payerl, who had never had a multiple goal game in the OHL and had scored just one goal in the past eight games, scored two goals in the first period then added singles in the second and third. Three of his markers were on the powerplay.

Alain Berger counted for the Generals midway through the second period to break up Payerl’s four goal effort. Michael Curtis added a powerplay goal late in the third period to seal the win for the Bulls.

Defencemen Stephen Silas and Shawn Lalonde – who played in his final game at Yardmen Arena after four seasons with the Bulls – had three assists in the win. Richard Panik had a pair of helpers while captain Luke Judson and sophomore defenceman Bjorn Krupp – who may have played his best game as a Bull – chipped in with singles.

Rookie netminder Tyson Teichmann made 30 saves in the win.

Belleville native Kevin Bailie got the start for the Generals but was pulled after giving up two goals on 11 shots in the first period. Michael Zador came in and gave up three goals on 23 shots.

Christian Thomas and Tony DeHart also counted for the Generals.

Notes: Judson left the game in the second period after taking a knee-on-knee collision in the neutral zone…there have been just three goalies selected in the first round of the OHL Priority Selection in the past decade and all three played in the game tonight…veteran Kyle DeCoste missed his third straight game with concussion-like symptoms. Andy Bathgate was also scratched and will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

Game Sheet

Photo: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca

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For the second time this week, the Belleville Bulls were able to keep the Canadian Hockey League’s top rated team in a close game. Unfortunately, the Bulls didn’t earn points in either game, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Barrie Colts on home ice in a rare Sunday afternoon game after a 4-3 loss in Barrie on Thursday.

Former Colt Adam Payerl opened the scoring for the Bulls on Sunday with a powerplay marker in the first period and Luke Judson restored the one-goal lead with a penalty shot later in the opening frame. Unfortunately, that was all the offence the Bulls could muster.

Former Bulls Luke Pither and Bryan Cameron, who are both having career seasons as overagers in Barrie, connected for the game-winning goal midway through the second period. Usually this season it’s been Pither feeding Cameron, who has a league-high 50 goals, but this time Cameron found an open Pither at the side of the net. Pither potted his 35th of the season to give the Colts a 3-2 edge.

Canadian World Junior Alex Pietrangelo rounded out the scoring for the Colts with a powerplay goal in the third period.

Anthony Peters made 27 saves in the loss while Mavric Parks turned aside 29 shots for the Colts, who are the OHL’s top team with 54 wins and 110 points this season.

The Bulls fell to 18-39-2-6 and are winless in their past seven games. They return to action on Wednesday when they host the Oshawa Generals in their final home game of the 2009-10 season (7:05 p.m. on TV Cogeco and AM 800 CJBQ).

Prior to the game, the Bulls and the OHL honoured Stirling resident Al Detlor, who work his last game as a linesman after 25 years in the OHL. The Bulls also recognized John Wilson (The Cymbal Man) with the Medigas Hounslow Season Ticket Award.

Game Sheet

Game Story and Video Highlights on BellevilleBulls.com

Bulls lose to Colts (from the Belleville Intelligencer)

Photo: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca

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For only the third time in the 29 seasons, the Belleville Bulls will miss the playoffs. Belleville was mathematically eliminated after losing to Sudbury 4-3. Luke Judson had a goal and an assist for the Bulls in a losing effort while Richard Panik and Brett Mackie also scored for Belleville.

The first period saw the Wolves stirke first with some good puck movement to set up Steve Reese with a power-play marker. Belleville was able to tie on a power-plat of its’ own it in the final minute of the frame as Panik fired a bullet shot from the off-wing to earn his 19th goal of the season.

Once again the Bulls hit a rough patch in the second period. First, Reese was able to pick up his second of the game at the 10 minute mark. Five minutes later, John Mcfarland went end to end beating Bulls goalie Anthony Peters to give the home side a 3-1 lead. Belleville responded courtesy of Mackie’s fourth goal of the season, as the hard working winger banged in a rebound to bring his team back to within one.

Sudbury, who are still in the hunt for one of the final playoff spots, wasted no time in the third period. Just 38 seconds in, Josh Mcfadden fired a shot from the point past Peters. It was Sudbury’s second power-play goal of the evening, giving them a 4-2 lead. With under seven minutes remaining Judson was able to cut the deficit as he deflected a Shawn Lalonde point shot past Wolves’ goalie Andrew Loverock. The power-play marker was Judson’s 28th of the season. Belleville pulled the goalie for the extra attacker but couldn’t get any sustained pressure as Sudbury held on for the 4-3 win. Belleville outshot the Wolves 21-16.

Belleville is home to Barrie Sunday afternoon at 2pm.

Box score

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Players of the Ontario Hockey League have an expiry date; there are only five seasons between being old enough to get drafted and being too old to play in the league. This creates a high turnover rate since the better player’s only play four seasons before turning pro and only a handful of sixteen-year-olds play their first season; the average player is gone after only three seasons. For this reason, teams must focus on re-building properly during the draft and player development with good coaches in order to experience success.

Most junior hockey teams that win consistently do so by re-building around a core group of players every three to four years apart. This is the OHL “Circle of Life” teams that win one year, lose the next while they re-build, and then those players develop and win again. By gathering a core group of talent with players around the same age, you have more players in their prime playing together.

Fans in Belleville were lucky enough to witness this pattern develop on a team that won three of four division titles, plus had a playoff winning percentage of .661, played in eleven playoff series, three Conference Finals appearances, one OHL final appearance and a Memorial Cup appearance. These successful teams were built around the core of similar aged players that the Bulls acquired born in 1988 and 1989.

The 1988’s were acquired at the 2004 OHL draft when the Bulls selected Matt Beleskey, Shawn Matthias and Nick Pageau. General Manager George Burnett than made a mid-season trade with the Plymouth Whalers to add Cory Tanaka to the young core. The 1989’s were all obtained the following season in what might be the greatest Bulls draft class of all-time with Bryan Cameron, Mike Murphy, P.K. Subban and Eric Tangradi. The Bulls gathered eight players that all had long junior careers with the same team and reached their potential at the same time.

Any junior team with eight players in their prime is going to be competitive and if a team makes the right moves for role players, they could easily go from a competitive team to a championship team. The expiry date has now passed on all eight of those players careers in Belleville but once again, they are gathering talent.

The core of the current Bulls are made up of eight players with 1992 and 1993 birthdays and many of them can draw comparisons to the previous core of Bulls that were so successful.

The first group of the new core are the players born in 1992. Even though the Bulls have eight players in this category at this point, only Stephen Silas, Alex Aleardi, Julian Luciani and Braeden Corbeth have emerged as core players (playing regularly in all situations).

Stephen Silas has already developed into a polished “Power Play Quarterback” with over 60 percent of his points on the Power Play this season. Silas’s all-round game, focus and efficiency with the puck will make him the key to the Bulls transition game, an important role filled by P.K. Subban, Nigel Williams and Shawn Lalonde on past teams.

Alex Aleardi has proven to be a regular contributor offensively, including the fact that Aleardi has more points as a Bull (30 Points in 36 Games) than the veteran he was traded for Matt Tipoff has as a Ranger (28 Points in 40 Games).

Julian Luciani looks very similar to former Bull Nick Pageau, both players are very steady every night, can be physical in tougher games and never look out of place in any situation. In addition, Luciani has looked more and more confident with the puck; in September, he would play the puck every two to three seconds and now, he’s showing enough composure to see some Power Play time.

The final 1992, Braeden Corbeth could be the big breakout player in the Bulls’ near future. Corebeth could be the “Cory Tanaka” of the new core. With Corebeth’s speed he could become an elite penalty killer and he is motivated every shift making him ideal for star defensive forward. Corebeth, much like Tanaka, is offensively talented enough to not look out of place on the team’s top lines and seems to have instant chemistry with whoever he plays alongside.

The second group of the new core is made up of the players born in 1993 that are all developing well ahead of schedule due to the Bulls commitment to the youth movement this season. They have all seen a significant amount of playing time and have learned how to balance the pressures of both hockey and school (as of my last conversation with Bulls Educational Consultant, Peggy Burris, she was pleased to announce that there isn’t a single Bull failing any class or course at either High School or Post-Secondary Education).

The Bulls selected four players in the 2009 OHL draft that made the team immediately in Tyson Teichmann, Michael Curtis, Steven Strong and Alex Basso. The Bulls were also able to add Austen Brassard to the group in another mid-season trade to complement an already talented group of 1993’s.

Tyson Teichmann, much like Mike Murphy, is an undersized flexible goaltender with exceptional post to post speed. The “X-Factor” between Murphy and Teichmann is how mentally tough Murphy was throughout his career. Murphy played very confidently on the top of the crease, challenging shooters and covering up every puck he could reach; which is why he had to often dive across the net to make the dramatic saves. Teichmann is just as good of an athlete as Mike Murphy; all he needs to do is add that type of confidence and mental toughness to his game.

Austen Brassard, in his rookie season, looks like he is going to be a great power forward comparable to a Shawn Matthias or Eric Tangradi. Like both former Bulls, Brassard loves to handle the puck in high traffic areas, uses his big body to shield the puck from defenders along the boards, can play physical and has a very powerful shot. Later in their careers, both Matthias and Tangradi became elite players by improving their body position around the crease and finding ways to find shooting space in the offensive zone; look for that to be the next step in Brassard’s development.

Michael Curtis can already be labelled as an “intelligent” hockey player. Most of his goals have been a result of him being in great position at the right time; you can put him on the ice in any situation and you know he is not going to hurt the team. Smart, hard-working players like Curtis have a high upside because they are always willing work with the coaching staff to get better; in his first season Curtis has already improved his face-offs and penalty killing. Michael Curtis also has the “Matt Beleskey” factor which is that tendency to make a big play when the team needs momentum. Curtis is the type of player that will block an important shot, win a key face-off, stand-up for his teammates, play his best with the game on the line and is a natural leader by example much like Beleskey.

Alex Basso, on some nights, looks eerily similar to P.K. Subban during his rookie season. Both players love to carry the puck up ice, have the agility to make defenders look helpless at times and have a powerful yet sometimes wild shot. Subban’s advantage over Basso was how aggressively he played in the defensive end. Subban engaged every player in his radius always forcing the play and went after every loose puck like it was his to lose. Basso needs to add that aggressive dedication to his game to reach Subban’s level, but already looks like he will become a strong offensive defenseman.

The final piece of the of the 1993’s is Steven Strong who is a steady and reliable defenseman who is calm handling the puck in his own zone without creating turnovers much like former Bulls Geoff Killing and Marc Cantin (who were also big parts of the Bulls Playoff teams). Much like both Killing and Cantin, they needed to play smaller roles at the beginning of their careers with little ice time in their rookie campaigns. Both Killing and Cantin jumped from being the Bulls fifth or sixth defenseman to playing nearly thirty-five minutes a night and becoming team leaders when they totally dedicated themselves to team success and defensive play. Steven Strong is capable of making that same step and although he isn’t as big as Killing or Cantin, he could be more of a physical force already showing the ability to make big hits at this level.

Whether the Bulls make the playoffs or not, I will still look at this as a successful season. The previous Belleville Bulls core of players were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in both 2005 and 2006 and it was because they failed together that they developed a hatred for losing and became a more competitive team. This new core group of Bulls have had to deal with the frustration of losing, recovering from injuries and the nightly battle of avoiding being a healthy scratch (a growing pain for all young players). Most teams get closer when battling adversity and it’s how they turn the corner together that defines them as a team.

The previous Bulls core and the new core both have many similarities. In 2006, the Bulls helped complement their core by adding a talented First Round pick in Shawn Lalonde. Now four years later, the Bulls have a core of eight talented players and a top pick in the upcoming OHL draft. Bulls’ fans might not be getting excited about the playoffs, but they should be getting excited about the draft.

To all the Bulls fans, I say enjoy your long summer because things are about to come full circle and you will probably be busy for the next couple of March’s and April’s.

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The Belleville Bulls jumped out to an early lead and then rallied to tie the game late but ultimately had to settle for a single point in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Kingston Frontenacs in a Saturday matinee at Yardmen Arena.

Alex Aleardi opened the scoring for the home team midway through the first period and then Austen Brassard counted a little more than three minutes later. But the Frontenacs rallied with four goals in the second period, including a pair of markers in the last 1:03 of the middle frame to wrestle away the lead.

Aleardi added his second of the game early in the third period before Derek Froats restored the Frontenacs’ two-goal cushion midway through the third period.

Kyle DeCoste cut into the lead with less than seven minutes left in the third period and then Aleardi completed his hat trick and tied the game with 2:39 left in regulation.

The Bulls started the overtime period killing off a penalty to captain Luke Judson, who had a great opportunity to score when he was hit with a breakaway pass coming out of the penalty box. Ethan Werek, who just returned to the Frontenacs’ roster from an injury, ended the game with his 27th goal of the season 3:01 into the extra frame.

Brassard had three assists in the game while Andy Bathgate chipped in with a pair of helpers.

Tyson Teichmann got the start for the Bulls but was replaced after two periods after he allowed four goals on 30 shots. Anthony Peters stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced in the third period and overtime. The Frontenacs outshot Belleville 53-39 in the game.

Belleville dropped to 18-36-2-6 and are seven points behind the Niagara IceDogs and Sudbury Wolves, for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with six games to go in the regular season.

Game Sheet

Photo: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca

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In Kingston, the Frontenacs dealt the Belleville Bulls playoff hopes a severe blow, defeating their arch rivals 5-2.

The first period began with Belleville missing out on some early offensive opportunities. Kyle DeCoste drew a penalty when he was clipped with a high-stick early in the frame. Bulls failed to capitalize on the man advantage and it would be DeCoste who had the best chance of the opening minutes, firing wide on an open cage.

As the period wore on, Belleville’s play became erratic with numerous turnovers in all three zones. Kingston was able to gain momentum and Michael Fine opened the scoring as he deflected a Cameron Odam point shot past Bulls’ goalie Anthony Peters to give the homeside a 1-0 lead. The Fronts doubled their lead as Ethan Werek parked himself in front of Peters and deflected a Mike Farrell shot through the goaltender.

The Bulls were able to get a goal back, even if it took a little while. Alex Aleardi appeared to have deflected an Alex Basso point shot for a power-play goal but referee Brad Park immediately waved the goal off. Play continued for another minute until the next whistle which saw the play reviewed and overturned, awarding Aleardi his 12th of the season to cut the Kingston lead to 2-1.

The second period once again proved difficult for the Bulls. Mitch Lebar was able to get back his team’s two goal lead as he popped in a Brian Lashoff rebound which could have easily been smothered by Peters. The goal saw Peters pulled as Tyson Teichmann came on in relief.

The physical play was ratcheted up as Corey Durocher rocked Alex Basso behind the Bulls’ net, Stephen Silas stepped in and dropped the gloves with Durocher in a rare fight for the offensively-minded blueliner. Kingston extended their lead as Farrell fed Derek Froats with a pretty cross-crease pass who flicked a backhand past Teichmann to make the score 4-1.

The third period began with Peters back in goal for the Bulls. Belleville was able to get one back as Andy Bathgate deposited a gorgeous backhand pass from Austen Brassard for a power-play goal. Peters had a strong period to keep his team in it until he was pulled for the extra attacker. With the net empty, Belleville failed to generate any pressure as Lebar scored his second of the game with over a minute remaining.  With the final score of 5-2, the Bulls lost their ninth game in their last 11.

Stats

Video to come…

Notes

Belleville was 2/6 on the Power-Play while Kingston was 0/6…Peters made 25 saves, Teichmann stopped 5 shots while Beskorowany turned aside 28 shots for the win…Andy Bathgate now has five points in five games since returning from injury…Paul Bezzo dropped the gloves with Derek Froats who had just thrown a late hit on Jan Kaminsky…Rematch Saturday afternoon at a special start time of 2:05PM

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The Belleville Bulls got on the board early, but couldn’t hold on to the lead as they fell 4-2 to the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors at Yardmen Arena on Wednesday.

Luke Judson scored his team-leading 26th goal of the season on a powerplay just 2:26 into the first period to stake the home side to an early lead. Rookie defenders Steve Strong and Alex Basso picked up assists on the goal.

But the Majors rebounded with first period goals by T.J. Battani and Riley Brace to take a lead that they didn’t relinquish. Devante Smith-Pelly and Rob Flick also scored in the win.

Andy Bathgate added a powerplay goal in the second period for the Bulls with assists by Shawn Lalonde and Stephen Silas.

Rookie netminder Tyson Teichmann went the distance in the Belleville goal, allowing four goals on 31 shots. The Bulls directed 25 shots on Majors’ goalie Chris Carrozzi.

The Bulls were two-for-six on the powerplay and held the Majors scoreless on three extra-man situations.

The Bulls suffered their second straight loss and slipped to18-35-1-6. They trail the Niagara IceDogs by six points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with eight games left on the schedule. The Bulls are in Kingston on Friday (7:30 p.m. on TV Cogeco and AM 800 CJBQ) before hosting the Frontenacs in a rare Saturday matinee (2:00 p.m.).

The Bulls honoured the Hasty P’s Regiment before the game.

Game Sheet

Game Recap and Video Highlights from BellevilleBulls.com

Photo: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca

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By his own estimation, it’s been more than a decade since Kevin Lalande has played outdoor hockey.

Lalande, the former Belleville Bulls’ all-star netminder, was the first star after making 36 saves in a 2-1 win over the Binghamton Senators in the American Hockey League’s Mirabito Outdoor Classic on Saturday.

Despite the two points that were on the line for the Crunch, Lalande said that he felt like a kid again playing on the outdoor rink.

“Absolutely,” Lalande said. “It was probably at least 10 years ago – the back yard at my parent’s house with my brother and sister. It’s been a really long time.”

It was the AHL’s first attempt at an outdoor game and they set a new league attendance record with 21,508 fans in attendance.

“We knew that this was going to be a fun day and something that everyone would remember for the rest of their lives,” Lalande said. “It was great. It just goes to show the support that we have and that the community is behind us.”

Belleville natives Drew Bannister and Derek Smith also played in the game for the Senators.

Bannister, the Senators’ captain and a graduate of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, said that playing in the outdoor game was a unique experience.

“It was an exciting experience,” Bannister said. “Once you get out there you realize it’s basically the same game. The ice gets a little bit chipped up and a little bit snowy but that’s to be expected. When the wind’s in your face – that’s a little bit different but you just get used to it.”

Photos: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca

Links

The AHL: Record crowd on historic day in Syracuse

Syracuse.com: Syracuse Crunch outdoor game: Crunch takes W on record-breaking day,

What they’re saying about the Syracuse Crunch’s outdoor game

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