Game Recap Share this Chartier and MacEwen lead Belleville Sens to Valentine’s Day win over Syracuse February 14, 2024 A couple of returnees from Ottawa made big impacts, as both Rourke Chartier and Zack MacEwen had multi-point nights, helping the Belleville Sens knock off the Syracuse Crunch 6-5 at CAA Arena on Wednesday night. The Senators scored the only goal of the first, inside the initial five minutes of the game, when Nikolas Matinpalo beat Matt Tomkins following a nice pass from Angus Crookshank below the goal line. Chartier was credited with the second assist, as the Sens took a 1-0 lead to the break. The Crunch came out flying in the second, scoring three unanswered goals in just about seven minutes. Jack Finley, Lucas Edmonds and Cole Koepke would all score before Belleville could get one back. That came from Chartier, his first American Hockey League goal of the season, as he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, then skated in and beat Tomkins with a perfectly placed wrist shot into the top corner. It was 3-2 Syracuse after 40 minutes. Chartier would continue the scoring within the first 30 seconds of the third period, deflecting home a shot from Lassi Thomson, before Syracuse’s Waltteri Merela would make it a one-goal game again just over two minutes later. MacEwen would go to work though, scoring two nifty goals close to six minutes apart, before Zack Ostapchuk added an insurance marker off a nifty behind-the-back pass by Jiri Smjekal. That insurance goal would turn out to be the game-winner after the Crunch’s Sean Day beat Mads Sogaard with less than a second left in the game to make it 6-5 Belleville. Fast Facts: #3 Dillon Heatherington had an assist and has registered points in back-t0-back games (two assists) #9 Angus Crookshank had an assist and has picked up four points (one goal, three assists) over his last two games #10 Zack Ostapchuk scored the 10th goal of his rookie AHL campaign #14 Rourke Chartier had two goals and an assist and was named the game’s first star #17 Zack MacEwen had two goals and was named the game’s second star #21 Max Guenette had an assist in his second game back from an injury layoff #22 Garrett Pilon had an assist and has four points (two goals, two assists) over his last two games #32 Oskar Pettersson had an assist and now has points in back-to-back games (one goal, one assist) #33 Lassi Thomson had an assist and has points in back-to-back games (two assists) #39 Jiri Smejkal had an assist and is now on a three-game point streak (three goals, two assists) #40 Mads Sogaard stopped 24/28 shots he faced to earn the win #52 Nikolas Matinpalo scored his second goal of the season The Senators were 0/2 on the power play and 1/1 on the ViewTech Window and Door penalty kill Highlights: Sound Bytes: Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell on the victory: “At this point in the season and with where they are in the standings, it’s a win and that’s all that matters. It probably wasn’t our best performance, but some big time goals from big time players, and you get a win, so we’re not going to beat it up.” Belleville Sens forward Rourke Chartier on settling back into Belleville after his NHL stint to start the season: “It’s my third year in the organization, so I’m good buddies with a lot of these guys. I think I’m definitely getting more confident every year, getting to know the league. I want to get back up to the NHL, because I was there for quite a while, so that’s my goal. But, while I’m here I’m going to put my best foot forward for these guys and do what I can. It’s a bit of a different role between the two teams, but I’m just going to try and contribute whether it’s there or here.” Media Availabilities: Up Next: Friday February 16, 2024 vs Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) – 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday February 17, 2024 @ Utica Comets (New Jersey Devils) – 7:00 p.m. ET Monday February 19, 2024 vs Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) – 2:00 p.m. ET (Belly’s Birthday Bash) Ticket info: Tickets for all Belleville Sens home games for the remainder of the 2023-24 season are now on sale online, via Ticketmaster or the Belleville Sens Ticket Hub, by visiting the Belleville Sens Box Office at the Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre, or by emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com. Box Office hours are available by clicking here. Fans can also click the following links for more information on season seat memberships, flex packs, group experiences or Business Elite memberships, or send an email to tickets@bellevillesens.com. — Visit the Belleville Sens website: www.bellevillesens.com Engage with the Belleville Sens on X: @BellevilleSens Like the Belleville Sens on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BellevilleSens Follow the Belleville Sens on Instagram: @BellevilleSens
