Richard Panik set up the first two goals of the game and then added an insurance marker himself late in the third period to key the Belleville Bulls to a 3-1 win over the Peterborough Petes in Peterborough on Thursday.
Anyd Bathgate opened the scoring for the Bulls with his 12th goal of the season 8:12 into the first period and veteran Kyle DeCoste scored the eventual game-winner with five seconds to go in the third period. After Mike Lomas pulled the Petes to within one in the first minute of the third period, Panik ended the rally with his 12th of the season and third since joining the Bulls at the beginning of the month.
Bathgate and defencemen Shawn Lalonde and Julian Luciani picked up assists in the win – the Bulls’ second in the past three games. Anthony Peters stopped all but one of the 36 shots he faced in the Belleville goal.
Peterborough outshot Belleville 36-29 including 13-6 in the third period and both teams were scoreless on four powerplay chances.
The Bulls (16-27-1-6) are tied with the Niagara IceDogs for last place in the Eastern Conference and trail the Brampton Battalion by five points for the final playoff spot with 18 games to go in the regular season.
The Bulls are back on home ice on Saturday when they host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Belleville native Nick Cousins, who played for the Quinte AAA Red Devils with Bulls’ netminder Tyson Teichmann last season, will make his first OHL appearance at Yardmen Arena.
Photo: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca
