Gabriel Pizza Gameday Build-Up: Senators start three-in-three weekend with first visit to Utica

Friday, November 7, 2025, @ Utica Comets (AHL affiliate: New Jersey Devils)

The set-up:

Having strung together wins in four of their last five games, the Belleville Senators are beginning to find their groove but are in for a busy weekend. The Senators begin the season’s first three-in-three stretch tonight, as they visit the Utica Comets for the first time this season at Adirondack Bank Center. Belleville caps a stretch of games against divisional rivals from New York State, after splitting decisions with their other New York neighbours last week. The Sens fell at home to Rochester in the middle of the week, then scored a season-high seven goals in a victory in Syracuse last Saturday. The Comets had been living up to their moniker to start the campaign, but were streaking in the wrong direction. Utica hadn’t won a game over its first seven contests, but stopped that slide with a 3-1 home victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last week, handing the Penguins just their second loss of 2025-26.

Previous History:

Belleville and Utica will meet 10 times in 2025-26, after facing off 8 times last season, with the Senators posting a 4-2-2-0 record. Despite having the upper hand in the 46-game lifetime series at 23-18-5-0, the Adirondack Bank Center has always been a challenging place to visit. Belleville has a 9-10-3-0 record on the road in Utica and only picked up one win here last season. Belleville’s Stephen Halliday and Garrett Pilon had the biggest offensive impact against the Comets last season with eight points (three goals, five assists) each, while Wyatt Bongiovanni also scored four times and added an assist in seven games against Utica in 2024-25.

Roster Notes:

The Senators goaltending shuttle was busy again this week. Leevi Merilainen was recalled to Ottawa after backstopping Belleville to their win in Syracuse last Saturday, and Hunter Shepard was returned. Mads Sogaard was hurt two weeks ago in Toronto and has been traveling to Ottawa to see the Senators medical team, while rookie Jackson Parsons continues to spend time training with the AHL club after being recalled from the Senators’ ECHL affiliate in Texas, the Allen Americans. In other injury news, forwards Jen Jenik and Jamieson Rees had both been skating last week and updates on their availability for the weekend are expected before puck drop tonight. Stay tuned to the Senators’ social media channels (@BellevilleSens) for full lineup information about half an hour before game time.

Who to Watch:

Both Stephen Halliday (one goal, four assists) and Xavier Bourgault (one goal, three assists) extended their point streaks to three games last Saturday in Syracuse. Halliday picked up a pair of assists, while Bourgault tallied again. Phil Daoust had a goal and an assist to give him points in back-to-back games (and five of his last six games played), while four Senators (Tyler Boucher, Garrett Pilon, Carter Yakemchuk, and Halliday) had multi-point games.  

The Comets player to watch for Belleville Sens fans won’t likely change much this season, as they’ll get their first look tonight at Angus Crookshank in an opposition uniform. Belleville’s all-time leading goal scorer signed a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils during summer free agency and seems to have settled in with his new club, leading the Comets with three goals in seven games played.

Follow the Action:

Puck drop tonight is set for 7:00 p.m. ET from the Adirondack Bank Center, in Utica, New York. Broadcast coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. ET with David Foot and Tyler King, and can be seen on AHLTV on FloHockey or heard free on the Belleville Sens Entertainment Network.

Ticket Info:

Tickets for all Belleville Sens home games in the first half of the 2025-26 season are now on sale via Ticketmaster or at the Belleville Sens Box Office located inside the Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre. Details on season seat memberships, flex packs, premium seating, the Business Edge Program, and more can be found by visiting the Belleville Sens Website. 

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