Sens rally, force OT in wild 6–5 Loss to Rochester

The Belleville Senators wrapped up a busy weekend slate against the Rochester Americans, ultimately falling 6-5 in overtime after a late comeback push.

A boisterous start at home for the Senators got them going; however, the Americans were the first to chalk up a tally. A high shot from Jagger Joshua to the left of James Reimer bounced down, creating a rebound for Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who buried it inside the crease to put Rochester up 1-0. The Senators’ forecheck kept the pace high, and they were able to capitalize. A pass from Olle Lycksell to Stephen Halliday in the high circle allowed Halliday to drift in and feed Wyatt Bongiovanni for a one-timer, knotting the contest at 1-1.

After a lively ten-plus minutes of hockey in the second period, Rochester was able to grab back the lead. A rush into the zone by Isak Rosen and a pass to Konsta Helenius turned into a shot off the right pad, with the rebound landing on the stick of Ryan Johnson for his third of the season and a 2-1 advantage. The Americans continued to push for offence and added to the scoresheet. Brendan Warren battled in the offensive corner, brought the puck in close, and snuck one inside the blocker of Reimer to extend the lead to 3-1.

The third and final frame saw the Americans keep the puck luck rolling. Nikita Novikov sent a pass to Redmond Savage, who banked a shot off the back of Reimer to make it a 4-1 game. Belleville answered later in the period on the power play. Hard work deep in the Rochester zone by Dennis Gilbert and Wyatt Bongiovanni set up a Lassi Thomson one-timer, cutting the deficit to 4-2. The Senators were not done there, as just over two minutes later, they struck again. Thomson doubled up with his eighth of the year, with Bongiovanni and Halliday collecting the assists, making it a one-goal game at 4-3.

The margin did not last long, as Rochester pushed back minutes later. A shot from Jack Rathbone, tipped on net by Olivier Nadeau, slipped out to Carson Meyer, who restored the two-goal lead at 5-3.

The wild third period was not over yet, as the Senators clawed back with two late goals. Hard pressure by Philippe Daoust and Scott Harrington opened up space for Kaliyev, who netted his twenty-fourth tally to make it 5-4. That same line, with the goalie pulled, caused more havoc in front of the net on another Kaliyev shot, with Daoust cleaning up the rebound to send the game to overtime tied at 5-5.

Just thirteen seconds into the extra frame, a streaking Jack Rathbone on the far side of the ice ended it, scoring top right to give Rochester a 6-5 victory.

The Senators will see Rochester not too far down the road, as the Americans will be back in CAA Arena next week on January 16th for a 7:00 p.m. start.