The Belleville Senators bounced back from a mid-week loss, by putting in a physical performance and grinding out a 2-1 win over the visiting Stockton Heat (Calgary Flames) on Friday night.
The B-Sens have now won three of their last four games and are picking up some momentum, with a month-long road trip looming.
Vitaly Abramov scored the game-winner late in the third, with Logan Shaw also scoring and Erik Brannstrom chipping in two assists, while Marcus Hogberg made 30 saves in the win, in his first conditioning game down from Ottawa.
Luke Philp had the only goal for Stockton, with Garrett Sparks making 32 saves in the loss.
The first period was evenly played, with Belleville’s first real good chance coming about 7:00 in.
Matt Peca set up Parker Kelly in front, but Sparks turned him away.
Vitaly Abramov, back in the lineup after being returned from Ottawa’s taxi squad, had another good opportunity just past the 12:00 mark but couldn’t beat Sparks either.
Things started to get a bit chippy early as well, when Belleville’s Jack Kopacka roughed it up with CJ Lerby, with the pair being handed coincidental minor penalties on the play, at 13:39.
Joseph LaBate and Glenn Gawdin got into it a bit as well, but cooler heads prevailed.
Belleville outshot Stockton 12-9 in the first, with neither team finding the net.
Belleville Senators forward Matt Peca collides with Stockton Heat defenceman Alexander Yelesin, during a game at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, on March 26, 2021. (Photo: Freestyle Photography / Belleville Senators)
The B-Sens physical play continued inside the first 5:00 of the second period as LaBate took a run at Sparks, trying to get the veteran netminder off his game.
He was penalized for goaltender interference, but the Senators were able to kill it off, thanks to a couple more stops by Hogberg.
The physicality seemed to put a jolt into the B-Sens offence, with Belleville getting a handful of quality opportunities to open the scoring before the halfway mark of the frame, but they still couldn’t convert.
That trend continued through the rest of the second period, with Belleville continuing to hold the shot advantage 11-10 in the frame.
But Stockton broke the deadlock just over 1:30 into the third period, when Philp pounced on a rebound and put a backhand slapper past a sprawling Hogberg, who was trying to recover after making the initial save off of Justin Kirkland.
Belleville would draw even midway through the frame on a power play goal from captain Logan Shaw.
He chipped in a rebound after a long shot from Vitaly Abramov, for his fourth goal of the season.
The B-Sens got a couple more opportunities on a late period power play and then would put the go-ahead goal in at 17:20, at the tail end of a power play.
Brannstrom snuck a pass through the middle to a streaking Abramov, who tucked a backhander between the legs of Sparks to make it 2-1.
The final shots on goal favoured the B-Sens 34-31.
Belleville Senators defenceman Erik Brannstrom protects the puck from Stockton Heat defender CJ Lerby, during a game at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, on March 21, 2021. (Photo: Freestyle Photography / Belleville Senators)
Speaking to media post game, Shaw touched on the importance of getting back in the win column, after coming up short while undermanned in Toronto earlier in the week.
“We were ready to go today, we had a good morning skate to get back on the ice. You feel the consequences of those bus trips on days like today, but I thought we played well, we played smart and played a good game start-to-finish. That was a good hockey game from both teams, I thought and obviously it’s nice for special teams to be big tonight. I think that was the main part of it.”
He added that his team’s continued physical play is what will lead to more success.
“I know Belleville had a great team last year with a lot of fire power, but our team this year is more likely to win a game 2-1, or 3-2 and we’re learning how to win those games, and play in those games. I think for us to be successful it’s got to keep being like that. It’s not about fighting, but it’s about fighting for space, fighting for the puck and trying to earn that ice. I thought we did a good job at that tonight.”
Shaw also credited the work of the power play in scoring a couple of crucial goals.
Senators Head Coach Troy Mann was proud of how his team handled the momentum swings on a night when both teams seemed evenly matched.
“It was back-and-forth, I thought there were a number of momentum changes where both teams were able to get some offensive zone chances. The PK’s were good on both sides in terms of shutting the power plays down. I thought our PK was excellent again tonight. Hoggy made some big saves as well, he certainly looked sharp, which was great to see for the organization.”
Mann also stressed the need for his players to get to the net and disrupt opposing goaltenders.
“One of the things we’ve tried to talk about as a team is to get to the blue paint. Everybody talks about it, whether you’re in the AHL or the NHL, you need to get guys to the blue paint and disrupt. We talked about that this morning, doing that with Sparks, because he’s known to give up rebounds and pucks tend to hit him, and lay in front. I thought we did a pretty good job of that overall.”
The B-Sens and Heat will play again Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
Mann says Kevin Mandolese will return to the net for the B-Sens and that he’d be making at least three more roster changes, but he didn’t specify post game what those changes would be.
Following that, the Senators head off on an eight game road trip that will see them stop in Toronto, Manitoba and Calgary, where they’ll play the Heat again.
You can click here to see the full box score from Friday night.
