BELLEVILLE, Ont. – Matt MacLeod scored two goals to pace the Brampton Battalion to a 4-2 Ontario Hockey League victory Sunday over the Belleville Bulls.

Ian Watters and Mitchell Porowski also scored for the Battalion, which improved its won-lost-extended record to 22-10-5 for 49 points atop the Central Division.

Goaltender Keegan Wilson, recovered after several days suffering from flu, made 22 saves before a New Year’s Day crowd of 2,442 as the Battalion won for the second time in two days. The Troops downed the visiting Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 4-1 Saturday.

Simon Gronvaldt and Austen Brassard scored for Belleville, 21-14-1 for 43 points, second in the East Division. Goaltender John Chartrand faced 37 shots for the Bulls, who played their first home game since Dec. 17.

“We just stuck to our game plan,” said Battalion coach Stan Butler. “We got pucks in deep, tried to take pucks strong to their net and tried not to get carried away with the bigger ice surface, because positional play in a rink like that is very important.

“We get good goaltending almost every night out. Keegan came in tonight and played another good game, and for the most part both our goalies, when they’re called on, play extremely well.”

Added Butler: “For MacLeod to get two goals today was big, and for Mitch to score that’s big too. We know the Watterses, the Carricks, the Lanes and the Goodrows will score goals, but for us to be successful we need those other guys to score as well.”

Said MacLeod: “It was huge for confidence, especially since I’ve been struggling a bit this year. To get that off my back was huge to build my confidence. Just playing my game, getting pucks to the net and driving hard to the net was what really helped me out.”

MacLeod broke a 2-2 tie at 1:23 of the third period, deflecting a left-point shot by Dylan Blujus past Chartrand. It was the third goal of the season for MacLeod.

Porowski slid the puck home from the left side at 12:16 after Philip Lane drove hard down the right wing and centred the disc to Patrik Machac. Porowski converted his eighth goal.

MacLeod, cruising across the goalmouth, opened the scoring at 10:55 of the first period when he backhanded home the rebound of a shot by Marcus McIvor, who had two assists.

Gronvaldt replied at 18:30 during a two-man advantage. Brenden Miller received a hooking penalty before referee Steve Picco handed Brett Mackie an unwarranted tripping call on a play against Stephen Silas behind the Belleville net.

Defenceman Gronvaldt stepped in from the left point to wire a screened shot behind Wilson just 23 seconds into the five-on-three situation.

The Battalion outshot Belleville 11-8 in the period, building a 7-1 edge before the Bulls recorded their second shot only seconds before the 10-minute mark.

Watters made a strong move off the right wing, cutting to the front of the net past a defender and roofing his seventh goal behind Chartrand at 17:12 of the second period. Assists went to Barclay Goodrow and Sam Carrick, who extended a career-high points streak to eight games.

Brassard tied it 2-2 at 19:21, snapping home a loose puck to Wilson’s right. Defender Zach Bell fell while trying to knock the puck out of the goalmouth, leaving Brassard to collect his 18th goal.

The Battalion killed a two-man disadvantage lasting two minutes after Connor Jarvis and McIvor were sent off for tripping and a check to the head respectively at 8:05. The Troops got the puck almost to centre ice just once during the penalty kill before Lane skated it out late in the disadvantage and drew an interference call on a drive to the net.

The Battalion scratched Spencer Abraham, Brandon Robinson and Andreas Tsogkas. Belleville, which dressed 19, one below the limit, scratched Malcolm Subban, Jordan Subban, Mack Lemmon, Guillaume Naud and Carter Sandlak.

The Battalion visits Mississauga at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

BATTALION NOTEBOOK: The Battalion went 0-for-3 on the power play. Belleville was 1-for-5 … The Troops are 11-5-3 on the road. Belleville is 13-5-0 at home … Belleville was without coach George Burnett, who is serving as an assistant with the Canadian team at the World Junior Championship in Alberta. Bulls assistants Jake Grimes and Jason Supryka handled the bench … Opening line combinations included Carrick centring left winger Watters and right winger Goodrow, Machac pivoting left winger Porowski and right winger Lane and Jamie Lewis centring left winger Mackie and right winger MacLeod. Jarvis centred left winger Alex O’Neil and Adam Lloyd on right wing … Overager Mackie, who played 179 games over three-plus seasons with the Bulls before an Oct. 4 trade, played what, barring a playoff meeting between the teams, was his last game at the Yardmen Arena … Mitch Amante, who played the previous two games, has returned to the junior B Leamington Flyers of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. A ninth-round pick in the OHL Priority Selection last May from the Windsor Jr. Spitfires, right winger Amante recorded no points with the Troops … Robinson and defenceman Subban are with Team Ontario at the World Under-17 Challenge at Windsor … Goaltender Malcolm Subban is sidelined with a groin injury. He ranks first in the OHL with a 1.93 goals-against average. The Troops’ Matej Machovsky is second at 2.13 … Carrick has registered seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in his streak. He is 17th in Battalion career scoring with 64 goals and 71 assists for 135 points in 223 games, one point behind assistant coach Ryan Oulahen. Carrick is tied with Tyler Harrison for 10th place in all-time goals for the club.