Bulls, Focused on Playoffs

Wednesday night’s game against the Peterborough Petes is quite possibly the most important game of the season for the Belleville Bulls.

The implications from Wednesday night’s game are going to be huge for both teams. A Bulls loss means the Petes will pull to within two points of the Bulls and the Mississauga St. Michael Majors who hold the final two spots for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Eastern Conference playoffs.

A Bulls win moves them six points ahead of the Petes and that much closer to the playoffs.

The Bulls are currently tied for seventh place with the Mississauga St. Michael Majors with a total of 63 points. Meanwhile, the Petes are on the outside looking in but sit only four points behind both the Bulls and the Majors.

Bulls Assistant Coach Jake Grimes believes the added pressure in the standings will inspire a strong outing from the Bulls.

“It should pump us up. You have to respect how hard they work. They’re down a couple of key players too, but that should really get us fired up. If anything will, that should,” said Grimes.

The Petes have won four out of the five times the two teams have met so far this season, including the last game which saw the Bulls downed 4-3 in Peterborough.

“We really thought we outplayed them last game in Peterborough, but they were able to get the win. It hurt us, and helped them immensely. We want to get back at them for that reason and also to put some room between us and make sure we get in the playoffs and that’s a big step,” said Grimes.

The team has been working hard with high-paced practices to keep the team in shape and ready for the onslaught of games that is the OHL playoffs. The Bulls have also been trying to fix a power play that has struggled all year and currently ranks third last in the OHL.

According to Grimes, it’s not whether the glass is half empty, but rather half full.

“We can’t look at it as though it’s been a huge problem. I think that we have to look at it that there’s still yet opportunity to be earned and to be gained on it,” said Grimes

With only six games left in the regular season, the Bulls are looking to secure a playoff spot after a rollercoaster season, which included a solid first half, a sub-par January and injuries to top players including their number one goaltender Malcolm Subban.

It’s a season that Grimes hopes will be a stepping stone heading into the playoffs.

“We’ll know we’ve learned in this stretch drive. Has it got us to a point where it hurts our confidence to a level where we just don’t come around and we play average hockey? Or has it been a situation where we’ve learned certain things from it?

“We never want it to happen again and we want to show what we really have, and I think we’re leaning toward the second answer,” said Grimes.