The St. Mikes Majors dominated their opponents on November 6, much like they have dominated the entire league so far this season — with physical play and persistent offensive pressure. After winning eight of their last ten games, the 5-2 victory pushes the Majors record to 13-4-1 on the season and puts them only two points behind the first-place Barrie Colts in the Eastern Conference.
The Majors had a slow start to the game but woke up in the second period, scoring three goals in a span of seven minutes, which put the game out of reach for the struggling Belleville Bulls. Up to that point, with the game tied at1-1, the Bulls had kept pace with the favourite Majors. The Bulls made key defensive plays and it appeared for a minute that they could pull off a big upset to the approval of their many passionate fans in attendance at the Hersey Centre.
Bellevilles goaltender Philipp Grubauer had a rather disappointing outing, letting in four goals on just 20 shots, and was pulled for the entire third period in favor of Tyson Teichmann, who was winless so far this season in six games and had a dismal save percentage of 0.831. Two particular goals were definitely Grubauers fault and resulted in momentum builders for the Majors.
In the first period, a weak wrist shot by Majors centreman Jordan Mayor deflected off several Bellivelle players before slowly trickling through Grubauers five-hole. But the weak second period goal proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Bulls. UTM student and Majors defenseman Cameron Gaunce took a slapshot at an almost impossible angle, sending the puck through Grubauers unprotected five-hole. The Bulls appeared lifeless and lacked much intensity after that goal, and only started to apply legitimate pressure late in the third period after a power play goal scored by right-winger Luke Judson.
On the other hand, Majors backup goaltender J.P. Anderson had a respectable outing and maintained his relevance behind the recipient of the OHL goaltender of the month for October, Chris Carrozzi, making 21 saves on 23 shots for the game.
Although sub-par goaltending and a lack of offensive pressure were potential causes of Bellevilles loss this evening, it was their penalty woes that got them in trouble and turned out to be their Achilles heel.
The Belleville Bulls were penalized 11 times throughout the game, resulting in four power play goals for the Majors. They scored only one goal during five on five action. Although the Majors may have been considered lucky on this night, it was their aggressive fore checking and solid play in their own zone that contributed to many of the Bulls lackluster penalties and left them shorthanded for much of the game.
The first star of the game was Kingston, Ontario native Jordan Mayer. Notching a goal and an assist on the evening, Mayers ability to engage and work hard around the net established his presence on the ice and gave Bulls players fits throughout the entire game.
The second and third stars of the game went to Majors players Joseph Cramarossa and Kelly Geoffrey respectively.
The Majors were back in action yesterday when they hosted the Kingston Frontenacs at 2:00 p.m., winning 6-3. For information on Majors individual and season tickets for the 2009-10 season, visit the Majors website or call the Majors ticket line at 905-502-7788.
