(Photo: Belleville Senators/Micheline V.)
It was a tough start to the Belleville Senators’ four-game road trip on Wednesday night.
The Senators fell 4-3 to the Rochester Americans after a back-and-forth affair that saw a total of four power play goals and a late game winner at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.
Jake Lucchini, Mark Kastelic and Roby Jarventie all scored for Belleville, while Mads Sogaard stopped 20 of 24 shots in his return from injury. Zac Leslie had a pair of assists, with Lucchini also adding one to his team-leading point total. Cole Reinhardt and Egor Sokolov also chipped in with assists.
Jack Quinn, Mark Jankowski, Sean Malone, and Michael Mersch found the net for Rochester and Aaron Dell earned the win making 26 saves on 29 shots. Quinn also had a multi-point night for the Amerks.
Senators Head Coach Troy Mann feels his team deserved a better result.
“Like most home teams they made a push in the first 10 minutes but I thought when we got our forecheck established, specifically the Kastelic line, I thought we played a real good hockey game,” says Mann. “Then at 3-2 we take an undisciplined penalty in the offensive zone and for some reason those types of penalties always end up hurting you, they tied it up. The fourth one was tough with a broken stick, so now we just have to reset. I think there have been three times now where we’ve played well enough to win, but unfortunately didn’t come away with the two points.”
Mann acknowledged the team’s recent third period struggles, but says that’s just something his young group will have to figure out as the season moves on.
Belleville’s four-game road trip continues with games on Friday November 5 and Saturday November 6, in Cleveland against the Monsters. Puck drop for both matchups is set for 7:oo p.m and you can hear the game live on 800 AM CJBQ in the Quinte Region, or on AHL TV.
(Photo: Belleville Senators/Micheline V.)
