The Belleville Senators were able to shake off a rough series against the Laval Rocket with a 5-3 win over the Toronto Marlies Saturday.
Goal scoring was an issue in the three game set against Laval during which the B-Sens were outscored 12-4. On Saturday the goals came easily.
After a scoreless first period, Belleville opened the scoring early in the second with J.C Beaudin notching one with assists by Joseph LaBate and Egor Sokolov. Not long after Jonathan Aspirot scored his fourth of the season and Belleville took a 2-0 lead into the end of the second.
The Marlies managed just four shots in the second frame to Belleville’s 15.
In the third period, Toronto came out with a strong push and Kenny Agostino scored to cut the lead in half. Less than a minute later Joseph Duszak evened the game at two goals apiece.
After that, Belleville took over. J.C Beaudin scored his second of the game to re-take the lead and later in the period Cole Reinhardt and Egor Sokolov each scored to put the game out of reach despite a late goal from Marlies forward Nic Petan.
The game marked a welcome change of pace for the B-Sens who have had trouble scoring goals and getting pucks on net as of late. Saturday they peppered Marlies goaltender Joseph Woll with 32 shots and managed 33 on the game with Egor Sokolov’s empty net goal.
The story of the game was Ottawa prospect Mads Sogaard, who recently returned from Denmark to play his first AHL game with Belleville. Sogaard, who played two seasons with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, played 16 games this year for the Danish league’s Esbjerg Energy.
The 6’7 netminder was steady in net all night for Belleville saving 24 of 27 shots on the game.
After the game, Belleville Head Coach Troy Mann had high praise for the 20-year-old Sogaard.
“I thought he was excellent. Obviously he’s 6’9 or so, and he covers a lot of net which is something you love to see as a coach. Very athletic. I thought his puck playing skills were certainly a pleasant surprise for me, I thought he was able to make some plays to our defence as well which, obviously, is very helpful.”
The Ottawa Senators drafted Sogaard in the second round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft 37th overall. He said that he had a bit of an adjustment returning to the smaller North American sized rinks but that he settled in nicely.
When asked if he felt any panic when Toronto evened the score at two early in the third, he was candid in his response.
“Not at all. It’s just hockey, I’m just out here having fun and to be able to come over here and play a game already, it’s just about enjoying it all. You let in a goal, it’s not the worst thing in the entire world. I think I’ll survive that. It’s just the mindset of the next puck and just having fun out there, so it’s good.”
With the AHL confirming that there would be no playoffs Thursday, the Belleville Senators will finish off their season with the remaining eight games. They play Toronto three times, Manitoba four times and Laval once.
Belleville takes the ice again Sunday afternoon in Toronto on the second half of a back-to-back at 3 p.m. Sogaard will get the net again.
