Belleville Senators forward Ethan Werek celebrates with teammates after scoring his 5th goal of the year against the Charlotte Checkers, on November 4, 2017. (Photo: Jason Scourse / Belleville Senators)
The Belleville Senators needed a bounce back game after a 6-1 loss to Charlotte on Friday and they got it in the rematch against the Checkers on Saturday, but still came up short in a 2-1 loss.
Ethan Werek opened the scoring at 12:28 of the first period, with his fifth goal of the season, stretching out to tip the puck past Jeremy Smith off a pass from Ben Sexton, who was streaking up the left side.
Defensively the B-Sens played a strong game, keeping the Checkers scoreless until midway through the third period when Phil Di Giuseppe picked a corner on Andrew Hammond from a tough angle for his fourth of the season.
The decisive marker came at 15:27 of the third period, when Valentin Zykov beat Hammond low on a breakaway, after an unlucky bounce on the Bellevile forecheck got turned back the other way.
Hammond made 33 saves in the loss and tells Quinte News, despite giving up the late game winner, his team played much better in front of him, compared to Friday.
Coach Kurt Kleinendorst agreed with his goaltender that the effort was there but says the result is disappointing.
With the loss, Belleville falls to 5-6-0-1 on the season, while the Checkers improve to 8-3-0-0.
Next action for the B-Sens is Wednesday November, 8th when they welcome the Binghamton Devils, followed by another Friday/Saturday double-header with the Rochester Americans.
Puck drop for all three games is set for 7:00 p.m., with 800 CJBQ’s broadcasts beginning at 6:50 p.m.
You can find the full game summary by clicking here.
