Belleville Sens blanked at Place Bell

The shorthanded Belleville Senators put in a solid effort in Laval on Wednesday, but couldn’t find the net, as they fell 3-0 to the Rocket.

Cayden Primeau made 32 saves to earn his second career shutout, with his first also coming against Belleville, back on March 11, 2020. That was Belleville’s last game before the pandemic put a halt to the 2019-20 season, when the Senators were among the best teams in the American Hockey League.

But Wednesday night’s edition of the Belleville Sens was much different from that. The Senators were missing close to a dozen regular players due to injury and COVID-19-related call ups to Ottawa.

After a slow first period, that saw them get outshot 12-4, the Senators managed to turn around the momentum, but couldn’t capitalize. Mads Sogaard was sensational in the Belleville net, stopping 25 of 27 shots overall. The only blemish against him in the first period came 15:26 in, when Alexandre Fortin scored from the far circle.

The Senators would start the second period by killing off three straight penalties and Sogaard would make another seven saves, before eventually being beat at 12:29 of the frame. Ryan Poehling put a hard slap shot past the diving Senators netminder, following a rebound from a Cole Caufield attempt, to increase the lead to 2-0

One of Belleville’s best chances of the period came courtesy of Kole Sherwood, who stripped the puck in the defensive zone and streaked up the right wing side for a good shot on goal, but was denied by Primeau. Cedric Pare also had a good chance from the far side circle, inside the final 5:00 of the period, but was turned away as well.

Belleville would mount a push through the the final period, outshooting Laval 15-5, with Matt Wedman, Alexis D’Aoust (on a professional try out from ECHL Atlanta) and Andrew Agozzino all getting chances. But none of them were able to beat Primeau and Gabriel Bourque potted an empty-netter inside the final minute.

Senators Head Coach Troy Mann praised his team’s compete level post game.

“I thought we competed hard. They made an early push and we were on our heels, but I thought we responded well,” Mann told 800 CJBQ in Laval. “Our offence has had difficulties right now, but we had our moments and the puck just didn’t go in the net. As a coaching staff we can’t fault the effort that was there. I thought Sogaard was fantastic, he gave us a chance, we just couldn’t get that one goal that would get us back in the hockey game.”

You can click here to see the full box score from Wednesday night.

The Senators and Rocket will play another nine times this season and three more times in the next few weeks, with match ups at CAA Arena on November 20 and November 27. The Belleville Sens also make another visit to Place Bell on November 26.

Before that, the Belleville Sens return home to host the Bridgeport Islanders (New York Islanders) on Saturday November 13 for Military Appreciation Night. The Senators welcome the Utica Comets (New Jersey Devils) on the afternoon of Sunday November 14 for the first Kids Day game of the season. Tickets are available at the following links:

• Saturday November 13 vs Bridgeport Islanders
• Sunday November 14 vs Utica Comets

Single-game tickets for other games this season can be purchased via Ticketmaster by stopping by the CAA Arena Box Office. Season Ticket Memberships and Flex Packs are also available, with more information available at bellevillesens.com.

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