There was plenty of Belleville flavour in the Ottawa Senators’ 8-1 Rookie Showcase win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Aside from the game being played at CAA Arena, six of the Sens’ goals were scored by players who have suited up for the B-Sens in the past couple of seasons.
Filip Gustavsson also made 22 saves in the victory.
Winnipeg’s only goal came 8:35 into the first period, when James Phelan finished off a pass across the slot from Ryan Chyzowski, but it was all Ottawa after that.
The onslaught started with Parker Kelly sweeping a puck past Adam Carlson, from his stomach, after being tripped up.
Ottawa would pile it on from there with a six goal second period which included Alex Formenton speeding in to score on a breakaway, Erik Brannstrom banging in a slap shot on the power play, Vitaly Abramov knocking in a rebound around the net and J.C. Beaudin tipping one in right in front of the net.
Top prospects Josh Norris and Jonathan Davidsson also combined for a goal in front, to make it 6-1, before Logan Brown scored his first of the night by tucking in a backhand.
Brown would also score on a third period breakaway to round things out.
Logan Brown was named captain of the Ottawa Senators rookie team, for the annual Rookie Showcase, being held in Belleville. (Photo: Jason Scourse / Belleville Senators)
The second-year pro, who was named the team’s captain for the week, says he’s looking to build on his past rookie tournament experience to try and crack Ottawa’s NHL roster this season.
He also spoke about the privilege of being named captain, even as part of a preseason tournament.
Belleville Head Coach Troy Mann will be behind the bench to guide Ottawa’s rookie squad and also touched on Brown’s leadership capabilities during his post game media conference.
He also noted the difference made by the core of returning players who spent time in Belleville last season.
The Senators will play the rookies from the Montreal Canadiens organization on Saturday night, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m., at CAA Arena.
Tickets are available at the Belleville Sens Box Office, or by visiting the Belleville Senators website.
Pucks stacked at the Belleville Senators bench, ahead of game one of the 2019 Rookie Showcase at CAA Arena, on September 6, 2019. (Photo: Jason Scourse / Belleville Senators)
