The Belleville Senators continued their five-game homestand Friday night as they took on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, falling in a hard-fought battle, 2-1 in a shootout.
The first period was scoreless, but not without chances. Belleville outshot the Penguins 7-6, generating four high-danger opportunities and controlling the play well.
The middle frame saw both sides light the lamp, with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton striking first. A power-play opportunity had the Penguins set up deep in the offensive zone, where Gabe Klassen and Sebastian Aho combined to set up Aidan McDonough for his seventeenth goal, making it a 1-0 game. The Senators answered just past the fifteen-minute mark. Nabbing his first point as a Senator, Riley Kidney sent the puck ahead to Tyler Boucher, who executed a give-and-go with Jamieson Rees. Boucher finished for his ninth goal, tying the game at 1-1.
The third period saw a similar fate to the first, as the frame went scoreless, though the Senators stood out defensively. Belleville outshot the Penguins for the third straight period, 6-3, sending both sides into overtime.
The extra five minutes solved nothing, so a shootout was needed to decide the game.
In the shootout, both McDonough and Olle Lycksell scored on their first attempts. Klassen then scored in the second round, beating Leevi Merilainen five-hole, while Arthur Kaliyev was unable to convert. Avery Hayes, after two chances in overtime, got his revenge by securing the extra point for the Penguins in a 2-1 win.
This game marked the final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Senators finished with a 1-0-0-1 record against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and now hold a 7-6-0-1 all-time record against the Penguins.
The Senators will have to have a short memory as the Springfield Thunderbirds come into town (AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues) to finish off this back-to-back at CAA Arena, with puck drop coming at 7:00 p.m.
See the game highlights here.
See the post-game interview with Interim Head Coach Andrew Campbell here.
Fast Facts:
- #15 Olle Lycksell put four shots on net
- #16 Tyler Boucher scored his ninth of the season
- #19 Jamieson Rees recorded an assist
- #21 Riley Kidney notched his first point as a Senator with an assist
- #35 Leevi Merilainen saved 18 of 19
- #43 Arthur Kaliyev had five shots on goal
