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Bulls hit the road

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Together, the Belleville Bulls and Niagara Ice Dogs have lost eight games in a row.

So, something's got to give when the two OHL combatants hook up Thursday at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines as the Bulls begin a 3-in-3 road trip. Game time is 7 p.m.

Bulls are trying to shake a five-game losing streak while the Ice Dogs have dropped three straight. Bulls are coming off an embarrassing 9-3 home-ice loss to Barrie Saturday at Yardmen Arena; Dogs suffered a 2-1 loss Saturday at Plymouth.

After Niagara, Bulls move on to Mississauga to tangle with the Steelheads Friday at 7:30 p.m., then cross the U.S. border to battle the Erie Otters Saturday at 7 p.m.

The three foes Bulls face have all made recent trades, while Belleville also made a minor deal on the weekend, sending the rights to farmhand defenceman Justin Bean to Mississauga for a 2015 seventh-round draft pick. Bean, who saw action in 44 games for the Bulls last season, is playing for the Jr. A affiliate Wellington Dukes this year and has 4-6-10 scoring totals in 13 OJHL games.

Bean dressed as an affiliate player for Mississauga in a 5-1 win over Peterborough Sunday and it's a good bet he'll be in the Steelhead lineup Thursday.

On Friday, Mississauga added forward Jimmy Lodge from Saginaw, sending two players and three picks to the Spirit. Lodge had two goals and three points in his first three games with the Fish.

On Monday, the Otters — who are dealing with the absence of potential 2015 NHL No. 1 draft pick Connor McDavid (broken hand) — picked up veteran forward Nick Baptiste from the Sudbury Wolves, sending two players up north along with four draft picks.

On Nov. 14, Niagara acquired forward Joshua Ho-Sang from Windsor for a player and three picks.

All three Bulls road games can be heard live on CJBQ 800 AM radio.

• GAME NIGHT

Bulls at Niagara, 7 p.m.

Where they stand: Bulls, 12-10-2 (26), second East; Ice Dogs, 6-16-0 (12), fourth Central.

Top gun: Remi Elie leads Bulls with 29 points, but hasn't scored a goal in seven games. He has 11. Niagara's Ho-Sang has a team-high 18 points, two of them (both assists) earned since joining the Dogs.

Big D: Bulls' Jordan Subban leads all OHL rearguards with 12 goals and 25 points. Niagara's Vince Dunn has 3-9-12 totals.

Puck stops here: Bulls' Charlie Graham is first in the OHL with 1,126 minutes and second with 746 saves. Niagara's Brandon Hope, acquired Nov. 5 from Owen Sound, has a 1.00 GAA and .975 in three appearances for the Ice Dogs.

Need to know: This is Belleville's second visit to the $50-million Meridian Centre. Bulls helped the Ice Dogs officially open the building in a 7-4 Niagara win in front of a soldout crowd of 5,300 on Oct. 16.

ON DECK: Friday at Mississauga, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at Erie, 7 p.m.

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