Fizer scores first career goal, Bongiovanni notches first for Belleville, as B-Sens fall in overtime

It was another hard-fought divisional game for the Belleville Sens on Friday night, as they welcomed the Laval Rocket to begin a 3-in-3 set on home ice, but it was the visitors who came away with a 3-2 win in overtime.

Even with three power plays in the first period, the Senators had six shots in the frame but weren’t able to beat Jakub Dobes, making his 43rd appearance of the season in net for Laval. Mads Sogaard, playing in his 27th game of the season for Belleville, also stopped all six shots he faced.

Tarun Fizer would score the game’s first goal and the only goal of the second for the Senators. The rookie forward netted his first career American Hockey League goal at 2:24, picking off a pass in the neutral zone, carrying the puck down the right wing boards and tucking it between the legs of Dobes. Belleville put seven more shots on the Laval net in the frame, while Sogaard turned away another six at the other end.

Belleville extended the lead early in the third period, with Wyatt Bongiovanni getting his own rebound to score his ninth of the season and first as a Senator. His goal was assisted by Josh Currie, who extended his point streak to seven games. However, a span of about a minute and 15 seconds midway through the period, would end up changing the game. Lias Andersson would score on the power play at 9:15 and then David Reinbacher, playing in his first career AHL game, would tie things at 10:37 to force overtime.

Laval defender Logan Mailloux would end the game at 3:33, as his shot glanced off the glove of Sogaard and into the back of the net. The B-Sens and Rocket will tangle again on Saturday night at CAA Arena, with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.

Fast Facts:

• #5 Wyatt Bongiovanni scored his ninth goal of the season and first as a Senators.
• #8 Tarun Fizer scored the first goal of his American Hockey League career.
• #13 Egor Sokolov had four shots on net, but his point streak ended at five games.
• #18 Josh Currie had an assist to extend his point streak to a career high seven games (one goal, six assists).
• #25 Tyler Kleven had four shots on net.
• #40 Mads Sogaard stopped 16 of 19 shots he faced.
• The Senators were 0/4 on the power play and 1/2 on the ViewTech Window and Door Penalty Kill.

Highlights:

Sound Bytes:

Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell on his feelings after Friday’s loss:

“There’s a lot of things in that game. Obviously, you get three early power plays and get nothing out of it that’s tough, but I thought we recovered from that. We get a 2-0 lead and that should be enough this time of year to win a game, but some poor puck management and decision making lets them back in the game. We only gave up 19 shots in three periods plus overtime, so that’s a positive. There were moments that we liked, but certainly moments that we need to fix.”

Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell on improving the result in Saturday’s rematch:

“The puck management thing is big, because that’s obviously a huge goal we gave up. When we did certain things, like putting pucks down deep and making them go back and get them, we had some success. So, I think the overall message is better puck management, but we got bit last time we played them by not playing 60 minutes and we got bit again tonight by not playing 60 minutes. So, to play a complete 60 minutes tomorrow is probably the strongest message.”

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Up Next:

• Saturday March 23, 2024 vs Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) – 7:00 p.m. (Community Heroes Night presented by Bell)
• Sunday March 24, 2024 vs Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) – 2:00 p.m. (Sunday Fun Day)
• Friday March 29, 2024 @ Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) – 7:00 p.m.
• Saturday March 30, 2024 @ Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) – 3:00 p.m.

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 looking to buy second half tickets can secure those seats now, by purchasing season seat memberships, flex packs, group experiences or Business Elite memberships. 

The full 2023-24 Belleville Senators regular season schedule can be found by clicking here.

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