By Sean Macey
[1]Jake Cardwell made his debut for the Belleville Bulls Wednesday night. He had one assist. Photo by Sean Macey.
Switching cities can always be tough, but it adds to the stress when you’re also switching families.
That’s exactly what defenceman Jake Cardwell did this week when the Belleville Bulls acquired him from the Ottawa 67’s.
“It’s definitely tough, I’ve done it before though. I’m not really new with it, I’ve had a few billets,” he said. “I’m just trying to get in the groove and get on my game.”
Cardwell found his game quickly, assisting on Brendan Gaunce’s goal halfway through the first period.
The Bulls went on to win the Ontario Hockey League game 2-1 in the shootout in front of an announced attendance of over 1,800 people at the Yardmen Arena in Belleville.
“It was good, a little nervous at the start but I thought we did well,” he said. “Good to get the first assist on the powerplay, so really excited to get moving forward.”
Stephen Silas partnered with Cardwell in his first game.
“It was lots of fun, it was good to have a guy back there that’s been in the league for a while and he knows what it’s like to win,” Silas said. “[I’m] just happy he’s a part of Belleville now.”
It wasn’t an easy first game for Cardwell as the Bulls ran into a red-hot Garret Sparks, who made 40 saves for Guelph, none more impressive than a glove save in overtime off the stick of Daniil Zharkov.
Belleville was fortunate enough to have Malcolm Subban on their side. The two goalies went save-for-save all game.
Subban stopped two of three Guelph players in the shootout. Joseph Cramarossa scored for Belleville on the team’s first shot, putting the pressure on, before Jordan Subban scored the winner, going five-hole on Sparks. He wasn’t intimidated by Sparks’ strong play.
“I was just thinking positive, and you know, luckily, I just got a good bounce,” Subban said.
Belleville hasn’t lost in a shootout all season. Jordan has the winner in three of the team’s four shootout victories.
Gaunce’s goal in the first period came in his first game back after missing over a month with a separated shoulder.
Andrey Pedan was the only Storm player able to solve Malcolm who stopped 35 shots.
The scrappy play in the first was highlighted by Bulls’ forward Carter Sandlak, who ran Sparks over while driving to the net. Both players were given penalties. The trainer came out to check on Sparks who remained in the game.
The Bulls are Oshawa-bound to take on the East Division rival Generals Friday night. Belleville is leading Oshawa in the division by one point, but the Generals have played two more games.