|
A busy Belleville Senators squad kicked off a stretch of 13 games in 23 days on Friday night against the division-leading Rochester Americans, but despite a 29-26 shot advantage, the visiting Sens fell 4-0 to the host squad, behind the third shutout of the season for goaltender Devon Levi. Rochester notched the opening goal just over halfway through the first period, when Konsta Helenius wired a wrist shot from the right circle past returning Belleville goalie Leevi Merilainen to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Then, at the 17:23 mark, a pass by Victor Neuchev missed his target in front of the net, but slid to an open Kale Clague at the backdoor, who one-timed the puck into a yawning cage for a 2-0 Rochester lead. Belleville racked up chances in the second to no avail. Angus Crookshank’s early opportunity from the right circle off the rush knocked the stick out of Levi’s hands, but it was enough to make the first save of the period. Soon afterwards, Jan Jenik found Jamieson Rees on a perfect cross-slot pass, but Rees’s one-timer was barely stopped by the shoulder of the Americans’ goaltender. The period was capped off by a Stephen Halliday chance from the net front at the buzzer, another shot on which Levi got just enough with his pad to keep it out. The Senators pressed in the third as well with a game-high 11 shots, but Levi solidified the shutout behind empty net goals from Graham Slaggert and Anton Wahlberg to give Rochester the 4-0 win. Belleville will travel to Utica to take on the Comets Saturday night. You can see the complete box score by clicking here. See the game highlights here. |
|
Fast Facts:
|
