
Belleville Bulls in action at home
versus Oshawa Generals.
The
Belleville Bulls are a
junior ice
hockey team, founded in 1981 based in Belleville, Ontario,
Canada. The teams plays in the Eastern Division of the Eastern
Conference of the
Ontario Hockey
League.
History
The Belleville Bulls started in 1979 as a Junior Tier II team in
the OHA. In their second season in 1980–81, the Bulls won the Tier
II title, defeating the
Guelph
Platers in the league finals. The Bulls then competed in the
national championship for the
Manitoba
Centennial Trophy hosted in Halifax, Nova Scotia losing in the
finals to the
Prince Albert
Raiders.
On
February 2,
1981
the OHL granted an expansion franchise to the city of Belleville
and the ownership group of Dr. Robert L. Vaughan & Bob Dolan.
Dr. Robert L. Vaughan remained an owner/co-owner of the team for
over 20 years until he sold the team in 2004 to Gord Simmonds. Dr.
Vaughan was awarded the Bill Long award in 1993 for distinguished
service to the OHL.
In 1983 Belleville hosted the OHL All-Star Game, known then as the
OHL Chrysler Cup.
The Bulls reached the OHL finals in 1986 versus familiar foe from
their Tier II days, the
Guelph
Platers. The Platers won the series in 6 games. In 1995 and
1996 the Bulls lost in the semi-finals to the
Guelph Storm.
The 1999 season would be one for the memories when the Belleville
Bulls would win it all. The Bulls defeated the London Knights 9–2
in game seven of the OHL championship series at the Yardmen Arena
to win their first
J. Ross Robertson Cup.
The Bulls competed in the
1999
Memorial Cup, hosted in Ottawa versus the
Calgary Hitmen,
Acadie-Bathurst Titan &
Ottawa 67's. Belleville finished 3rd, losing to
Ottawa 4–2 in the semifinal.
In the 2005–06 season the Belleville Bulls celebrated their 25th
anniversary in the OHL. The team also hosted the annual OHL
All-Star game for the second time, on
February 1,
2006. The Bulls
set a season-best record of 102 points earned during the 2007–08
regular season.
In 2007–08 the Bulls made a trip to the Memorial Cup by virtue of
Kitchener winning the Western Conference, and being the host,
Belleville would get in as the OHL representative. The Bulls would
lose the semi-final game 9-0 against the hosting team, the
Kitchener Rangers, who would eventually lose to the Spokane Chiefs
in the championship game.
Championships

Belleville Bulls
1999 OHL Champions
Leyden Trophy East
Division Regular Season Champions
- 2000–2001
- 2001–2002
- 2006–2007
- 2007–2008
- 2008–2009
Bobby Orr Trophy
Eastern Conference Champions
J.
Ross Robertson
Cup Championships: 1999
Memorial Cup
Appearances: 2
Coaches
Larry Mavety coached the Belleville
Bulls for 14 seasons. He is second only to
Brian Kilrea for amount of time coached with an
OHL team.
Lou Crawford was groomed by Mavety to
replace him behind the Bulls' bench.
Lou
Crawford is the brother of NHL Coach
Marc Crawford. Their father,
Floyd Crawford, was team captain of the 1959
World Champion
Belleville
McFarlands.
Former coaches
Lou Crawford and
Shawn MacKenzie both had brief NHL
careers.
George Burnett
briefly coached with the
Edmonton
Oilers.
James Boyd is the only former
Bulls player to later coach the Belleville team.
- List of Coaches
(Multiple years in parentheses)
Players
Award winners
Retired numbers
NHL alumni
Roster
As of October 5, 2008
Goalies
Defencemen
Forwards
- 7—Michael Curtis (Missussauga,
Ontario)
- 10—Stephen Johnston (Guelph,
Ontario
) ~ DET 2008
- 11—Luke Pither (Burketon, Ontario
)
- 13—Scott Howe (Atlanta, Georgia
)
- 14—Luke Judson (Emo, Ontario
)
- 16—Cody Alcock (Whitby, Ontario
)
- 19—Brett Mackie (Whitby, Ontario
)
- 20—Spencer Anderson (Caledon
East, Ontario
)
- 22—Andy Bathgate (Brampton,
Ontario
)
- 23—Bryan Cameron (Brampton,
Ontario
) ~ LA 2007
- 25 --
Eric Tangradi (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
) ~ ANA 2007
- 27—Matthew Tipoff (Toronto,
Ontario
)
- 18—Nick Palmieri (Clinton, New
York)
Team records
Team records for a
single season |
Statistic |
Total |
Season |
Most points |
102 |
2007–08 |
Most wins |
48 |
2007–08 |
Most goals for |
390 |
1984–85 |
Least goals for |
172 |
2003–04 |
Least goals against |
175 |
2007–08 |
Most goals against |
347 |
1986–87 |
Season-by-season results
Regular season
Legend:
OL = Overtime loss,
SL =
Shootout Loss
Season |
Games |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
OTL |
SL |
Points |
Pct % |
Goals
For |
Goals
Against |
Standing |
1979–80 |
44 |
24 |
18 |
2 |
– |
– |
50 |
0.568 |
235 |
191 |
5th OPJHL |
1980–81 |
44 |
35 |
7 |
2 |
– |
– |
72 |
0.818 |
273 |
138 |
1st OPJHL |
1981–82 |
68 |
24 |
42 |
2 |
– |
– |
50 |
0.368 |
280 |
326 |
7th Leyden |
1982–83 |
70 |
34 |
36 |
0 |
– |
– |
68 |
0.486 |
342 |
332 |
6th Leyden |
1983–84 |
70 |
33 |
37 |
0 |
– |
– |
66 |
0.471 |
319 |
304 |
5th Leyden |
1984–85 |
66 |
42 |
24 |
0 |
– |
– |
84 |
0.636 |
390 |
278 |
2nd Leyden |
1985–86 |
66 |
37 |
27 |
2 |
– |
– |
76 |
0.576 |
305 |
268 |
2nd Leyden |
1986–87 |
66 |
26 |
39 |
1 |
– |
– |
53 |
0.402 |
292 |
347 |
5th Leyden |
1987–88 |
66 |
32 |
30 |
4 |
– |
– |
68 |
0.515 |
297 |
275 |
4th Leyden |
1988–89 |
66 |
27 |
35 |
4 |
– |
– |
58 |
0.439 |
292 |
322 |
6th Leyden |
1989–90 |
66 |
36 |
26 |
4 |
– |
– |
76 |
0.576 |
301 |
247 |
5th Leyden |
1990–91 |
66 |
38 |
21 |
7 |
– |
– |
83 |
0.629 |
324 |
280 |
3rd Leyden |
1991–92 |
66 |
27 |
27 |
12 |
– |
– |
66 |
0.500 |
314 |
293 |
6th Leyden |
1992–93 |
66 |
21 |
34 |
11 |
– |
– |
53 |
0.402 |
280 |
315 |
6th Leyden |
1993–94 |
66 |
32 |
28 |
6 |
– |
– |
70 |
0.530 |
303 |
264 |
4th Leyden |
1994–95 |
66 |
32 |
31 |
3 |
– |
– |
67 |
0.508 |
295 |
287 |
4th Eastern |
1995–96 |
66 |
35 |
26 |
5 |
– |
– |
75 |
0.568 |
300 |
250 |
3rd Eastern |
1996–97 |
66 |
22 |
37 |
7 |
– |
– |
51 |
0.386 |
235 |
278 |
5th Eastern |
1997–98 |
66 |
41 |
22 |
3 |
– |
– |
85 |
0.644 |
315 |
239 |
2nd Eastern |
1998–99 |
68 |
39 |
22 |
7 |
– |
– |
85 |
0.625 |
334 |
246 |
2nd East |
1999–00 |
68 |
44 |
22 |
2 |
0 |
– |
90 |
0.662 |
319 |
227 |
2nd East |
2000–01 |
68 |
37 |
23 |
5 |
3 |
– |
82 |
0.581 |
275 |
224 |
1st East |
2001–02 |
68 |
39 |
23 |
4 |
2 |
– |
84 |
0.603 |
279 |
218 |
1st East |
2002–03 |
68 |
33 |
27 |
6 |
2 |
– |
74 |
0.529 |
195 |
200 |
3rd East |
2003–04 |
68 |
15 |
44 |
8 |
1 |
– |
39 |
0.279 |
172 |
279 |
5th East |
2004–05 |
68 |
29 |
29 |
6 |
4 |
– |
68 |
0.471 |
176 |
208 |
3rd East |
2005–06 |
68 |
32 |
28 |
– |
5 |
3 |
72 |
0.529 |
202 |
225 |
3rd East |
2006–07 |
68 |
39 |
24 |
– |
0 |
5 |
83 |
0.610 |
260 |
227 |
1st East |
2007–08 |
68 |
48 |
14 |
– |
4 |
2 |
102 |
0.750 |
280 |
175 |
1st East |
2008–09 |
68 |
47 |
17 |
– |
2 |
2 |
98 |
0.721 |
258 |
176 |
1st East |
Playoffs
- 1980–1981 Won OPJHL Playoffs.
Defeated Onaping Falls Huskies
for OHA Championship 3 games to 0.
Won Dudley Hewitt Cup.
Finished 2nd in Centennial Cup Round
Robin.
Lost National final 6-2 to Prince
Albert Raiders.
- 1981–1982 Out of playoffs.
- 1982–1983 Lost to Oshawa Generals 7 points to
1 in first round.
- 1983–1984 Lost to Oshawa Generals 6 points to
0 in first round.
- 1984–1985 Defeated Oshawa Generals 8 points to
2 in first round.
Defeated Cornwall Royals 6 points to 2 in quarter-finals.
Lost to Peterborough Petes 9 points to 1 in semi-finals.
- 1985–1986 Defeated Cornwall Royals 9 points to
3 in first round.
Tied for first in round robin with Peterborough Petes versus
Kingston Canadians.
Defeated Peterborough Petes 9 points to 7 in semi-finals.
Lost to Guelph Platers 8 poins to 4 in finals.
- 1986–1987 Lost to Kingston Canadians 4 games
to 2 in first round.
- 1987–1988 Lost to Cornwall Royals 4 games to 2
in first round.
- 1988–1989 Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games
to 1 in first round.
- 1989–1990 Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games
to 3 in first round.
Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
- 1990–1991 Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in
first round.
- 1991–1992 Lost to North Bay Centennials 4
games to 1 in first round.
- 1992–1993 Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 3
in first round.
- 1993–1994 Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games
to 2 in division quarter-finals.
Lost to North Bay Centennials 4 games to 2 in division
semi-finals.
- 1994–1995 Defeated North Bay Centennials 4
games to 2 in division quarter-finals.
Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in semi-finals.
- 1995–1996 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to
1 in division quarter-finals.
Defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 1 in semi-finals.
- 1996–1997 Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in
division quarter-finals.
- 1997–1998 Defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games
to 0 in division quarter-finals.
Lost to Plymouth Whalers 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
- 1998–1999 Defeated Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 0
in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
Defeated London Knights 4 games to 3 in finals. OHL
CHAMPIONS.
Finished 3rd in Memorial Cup round-robin.
Lost to Ottawa 67's in semi-finals.
- 1999–2000 Defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games
to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
- 2000–2001 Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games
to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
- 2001–2002 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to
1 in conference quarter-finals.
Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
- 2002–2003 Lost to St. Michael's Majors 4 games
to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
- 2003–2004 Out of playoffs.
- 2004–2005 Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games
to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
- 2005–2006 Lost to Brampton Battalion 4 games
to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
- 2006–2007 Defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 1 in
conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 0 in conference
semi-finals.
Lost to Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 2 in conference finals.
- 2007–2008 Defeated Peterborough Petes 4 games
to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
Lost to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 3 in Finals.
Finished 2nd in Memorial Cup round-robin.
Lost to Kitchener Rangers in semi-finals.
- 2008–09 Defeated Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 2
in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Niagara Ice Dogs 4 games to 1 in conference
semi-finals.
Lost to Brampton Battalion 4 games to 2 in conference finals.
Uniforms and logos
- 1999 to present:
- Uniform Colours: Black, Red, Gold, White
- Logo Design: An angry bull with a hockey
stick
- 1982 to 1998:
- Uniform Colours: Black, Red, Gold, White
- Logo Design: A standing red and orange
bull
Bulls Uniforms
Arena
The team
has played all homes games at the Belleville
Yardmen Arena
(capacity 3,257) for the existence of the
franchise. The Yardmen Arena is part of the Quinte Sports
Centre which is composed of the Yardmen Arena and the Wally Dever
arena which is home to the Belleville McFarlands, an OHA Senior
team, and is also used by minor hockey teams.
- Capacity = 3,257
- Ice Size = 199.5' x 99.5'
See also
External links