The Belleville Senators travelled to Rochester for what was their biggest game of the season to date, battling hard for a 5–2 win.
The Senators wasted no time taking control of the game. Less than two minutes in, Garrett Pilon broke free on a two-on-one with Jamison Rees, scoring his eighth goal to make it 1–0. Belleville extended the lead at the 3:31 mark when a puck carried in by Philippe Daoust was picked up by Olle Lycksell, who walked in below the red line and fed Xavier Bourgault in front to push the score to 2–0. The Senators kept pushing, with the defencemen getting involved. Sustained pressure in the Rochester zone saw Tomas Hamara weave his way through traffic and notch his fourth goal, with Arthur Kaliyev and Graeme Clarke picking up assists to make it 3–0. Rochester would not stay scoreless in the first, capitalizing on the man advantage. Anton Wahlberg broke through for the home crowd, finishing a one-timer off a pass from Konsta Helenius to cut the deficit to 3–1.
The middle period brought some pushback from Rochester. Just over three minutes in, a keep-in along the boards by Brendan Warren led to Isaac Belliveau getting a shot through, which was tipped in by Olivier Nadeau, making it a one-goal game at 3–2 heading into the third.
Belleville restored their two-goal cushion early in the final frame. After missing on a breakaway chance, Bourgault’s shot bounced out to Kaliyev, who buried his thirty-seventh of the season to make it 4–2. Late in the game, Belleville added an empty-net marker courtesy of Bourgault to seal the 5–2 win.
Tonight marked the eighth and final meeting of the season between Belleville and Rochester. The win improves Belleville’s season series record to 4–2–2–0 against the Americans, despite being outscored 28–26 overall. Lifetime, the Senators now sit at 31–19–7–1 in the rivalry.
The Senators continue their road trip Saturday April 4 as they travel to Utica to take on the Comets (AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils) in another key matchup. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center.
Fast Facts:
- #5 Hoyt Stanley made his AHL/Belleville Senators debut
- #10 Philippe Daoust added two assists
- #13 Xavier Bourgault lit the lamp twice and now sits at twenty goals
- #15 Olle Lycksell notched his fourteenth assist of the year
- #19 Jamieson Rees had one assist
- #22 Garrett Pilon scored his eighth of the season
- #25 Ryan O’Rourke recorded his first point as a Senator with an assist
- #29 Tomas Hamara now has two goals in his last three games, with a tally tonight
- #31 Jackson Parsons saved 31 of 33 for the win in his first AHL game since January 10th
- #43 Arthur Kaliyev had three points, including his thirty-seventh goal of the year
- #92 Graeme Clarke added one assist
- The Senators killed three of four penalties (75.0%)
