The Belleville Senators shook off a slow first period en route to a 3-0 win over the Rockford IceHogs on the road Monday afternoon and have now picked up 11 of a possible 12 points, over the first six games of their eight game road trip.
Josh Norris, Alex Formenton and Joseph Labate found the score sheet for Belleville, with Filip Gustavsson stopping all 23 shots he faced, to record his first American Hockey League shutout and the B-Sens’ second shutout of the road trip.
It was Belleville’s second win over the IceHogs in as many meetings this season.
The matinee affair was being played on Martin Luther King Day in the US and the early start may have caught the Senators off guard, after arriving early in the morning, as they were out shot 11-3 in a scoreless first period.
Belleville struck early in the second when Norris buried his rookie leading 22nd goal of the season, finishing off a play from Logan Brown and Drake Batherson at 3:36.
That was the only scoring of the second, with the B-Sens rebounding to out shoot Rockford 13-6 in the frame.
The B-Sens tallied twice in the early stages of the third period as well, just about 3:00 apart.
Formenton took a long stretch feed from Norris and picked a corner on Kevin Lankinen at 2:49, for his 21st of the season and LaBate finished a pass from Parker Kelly behind the net at 5:48, to make it 3-0.
Gustavsson tells Quinte News he was relieved to get his first shutout.
He added that he was definitely thinking about the achievement as the game went on.
The win gives Belleville a 16-3-2-0 record on the road and Norris says it’s tough to put a finger on why the team has been so successful away from home.
The victory also ties Belleville on points with the Utica Comets for first place in the American Hockey League North Division, with the Senators technically ahead on winning percentage by holding a game in hand.
The B-Sens and Comets will play a home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday this week.
Before that, Belleville gets right back at it Tuesday night, playing the penultimate game of the road trip in Milwaukee against the Admirals, who have the best record in the AHL.
Broadcast time on 800 AM CJBQ is 7:50 p.m., for Eastern Overhead Doors and Deerhaven Farm and Garden.
