Story and photo courtesy of Belleville Senators.
The Belleville Senators pushed its point streak to seven games with a 5-2 win against the Laval Rocket Friday night at Place Bell.
The Senators had goals from Filip Chlapik (2) Drake Batherson, Nick Paul and Jordan Murray while Marcus Hogberg made 20 saves. Laval’s Charlie Lindgren turned aside 21 shots while Xavier Ouelette and Alex Belzile scored.
Batherson gave Belleville the lead just 3:57 into the game as he drove the net hard from the left wing and beat Lindgren through the wickets for his 12th goal of the year. The lead lasted only 1:50 though as with Cody Goloubef and Andrew Sturtz in the penalty box, Ouelette wired a one-timer past Hogberg to make it 1-1.
Belleville re-took the lead on the power play at 10:34 as Batherson fed Chlapik in the slot from behind the net as the Czech forward set a new career high in goals with his 12th of the campaign.
In a fairly quiet middle stanza, it was Chlapik who had the only goal of the period as he took advantage of an errant Brett Lernout pass to fire the puck past Lindgren for his second career multi-goal game at 10:36.
Paul buried his fourth of the year as he converted Logan Brown’s centering pass at 5:34 of the third to make it 4-1 Belleville before Murray extended the lead at 13:11 on an odd-man rush as he snapped a wrister high over the glove of Lindgren during 4-on-4 action.
Belzile scored on the power play 40 seconds later to cut the Belleville lead to 5-2.
Newly acquired forward JC Beaudin made his Belleville debut. Sturtz left the game with an upper body injury in the third period and did not return.
The two teams meet again Saturday in Belleville. Game time tonight is 7:00 and CJBQ’s broadcast begins with Jack Miller at 6:50.
Below is Jack Miller’s conversation with Filip Chlapik.
