Mads Sogaard stopped a season-high 42 shots and Jacob Larsson was the overtime hero, as the Belleville Senators beat the Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) 2-1 in overtime, at CAA Arena on Friday night.
Toronto carried the play through the first period, outshooting Belleville 19-12, but Sogaard kept the Senators in the game with a handful of big saves. The Belleville penalty kill was perfect through its first three trips out as well. The Marlies opened the scoring about six minutes into the second period, courtesy of a Topi Niemela slap shot on the power play, assisted by William Villeneuve and Alex Steeves.
It took until late in the third period for Belleville to tie the game on a power play marker of their own. Max Guenette’s low point shot was kicked away by Dennis Hildeby, right onto the stick of Roby Jarventie, who buried his first of the season to force overtime. Then, just 41 seconds into the extra frame, Matt Highmore and Jacob Larsson got away on a two-on-one, with the speedy forward saucing a pass across to the big defenceman who pounded home the game winner with a one-timed slapshot.
Fast Facts:
- The Senators went 1/3 on the power play and 5/6 on the penalty kill
- Forward Matthew Highmore had two assists, tying him for the early season team scoring lead with Cole Reinhardt (4 points)
- Jacob Larsson’s overtime winning goal was the third of his American Hockey League career
- Mads Sogaard made a season-high 42 saves
Belleville Sens Goaltender Mads Sogaard on the win:
“Obviously a very different game from Wednesday, so it was nice to feel the puck early and get into it. That was a real character win for us to stay with it and we’re excited to build on it.”
Belleville Sens Defenceman Jacob Larsson on the Senators performance:
“Great job by the team and Sogy did a hell of a job, he saved us a couple times. We also had a lot of PKs, which was hard, but we stuck to it and believed, and it’s really nice to win that game.”
See the game highlights here.
