Belleville beats Syracuse to keep pace in North Division playoff race

The Belleville Senators kept pace in the North Division playoff race, by knocking off the division-leading Syracuse Crunch 5-2 at CAA Arena. It was Belleville’s third win in a row. With Laval winning on Saturday afternoon, the Senators remain in sixth place in the division, tied on points with the Rocket and with two games in hand.

Belleville picked up the game’s first goal again, just past the 14-minute mark. Garrett Pilon took a pass from Zack Ostapchuk and flipped the puck high in the air. It landed right in front of the Syracuse net, just in time for Pilon to catch up to it, and pound his 17th goal of the year past Hugo Alnefelt. That would be the only scoring in the frame, with Belleville outshooting Syracuse 8-6.

Syracuse got a goal back by way of a wrist shot in the slot from Gage Goncalves, that glanced off both posts and past Mads Sogaard. But the Senators answered back with a pair of power play markers, 34 seconds apart, later in the frame. The first, was another from Garrett Pilon as he hopped on a loose puck in front of the Syracuse net to convert his second of the night and 18th of the season. The next, was a tip-in by Ostapchuk, off a hard point shot from Lassi Thomson. Jack Finley would bang in a power play rebound inside the final two minutes of the period to cut Belleville’s lead to 3-2 before the end of the frame.

Thomson wasted little time getting Belleville’s two-goal lead back. The slick-skating finish defender went coast-to-coast, split the Syracuse defence and wired a top corner wrist shot past the glove of Alnefelt, to make it 4-2. Oskar Pettersson would find the empty net from just inside his own blueline, with a little over two minutes to play, to round out the scoring. Belleville outshot Syracuse 27-19 on the night.

The Senators are in action again next Wednesday when they visit the Toronto Marlies at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Fast Facts:

• #4 Jacob Larsson collected his 22nd assist of the season.
• #10 Zack Ostapchuk picked up a goal (16th) and an assist (11th), along with three shots on goal. He has points in back-to-back games (two goals, two assists) and was named the game’s first star.
• #13 Egor Sokolov had four shots on net.
• #17 Stephen Halliday collected his second assist of the season and has points in back-to-back games (two assists).
• #18 Josh Currie picked up his 16th assist of the season and had four shots on net.
• #21 Max Guenette was credited with his 26th assist of the season.
• #22 Garrett Pilon scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season and had three shots on goal. He has points in back-to-back games (two goals, one assist) and was named the game’ s third star.
• #23 Cole Reinhardt picked up his 14th assist and is now on a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists).
• #32 Oskar Pettersson scored his third goal of the season.
• #33 Lassi Thomson had a goal (6th), an assist (14th), and three shots on goal. He was named the game’s second star.
• #40 Mads Sogaard stopped 17 of 19 shots he faced to earn his 15th win of the season.
• #52 Nikolas Matinpalo recorded his 10th assist of hte season and is now on a three-game point streak (three assists).
• The Senators were 2/4 on the power play and 2/3 on the ViewTech Window and Door Penalty Kill.

Highlights:

Sound Bytes:

Belleville Sens Forward Zack Ostapchuk on Saturday’s win:

“I thought tonight we played really good. We knew what we had to do, we had to play them hard and knew they were going to come at us all night and I think we handled it very well. I thought we were pretty good along the boards, which is important against these guys and I thought we managed the puck for the most part.”

Belleville Sens Forward Zack Ostapchuk on being part of a tight playoff push in his rookie AHL season:

“It’s fun. Every game is like a playoff game, these last 15 games of the season, so it’s fun times. We need to string together some wins, but it’s fun to play that kind of hockey when it’s just desperation every night.”

Belleville Sens Forward Garrett Pilon on the win:

“I think our team played really great, from the back-end up to the forwards, it was a really well-rounded 60 minutes for our group. I also think guys are getting comfortable with each other. We had some new guys came in and are starting to fit in pretty well and are starting to do some good things and get some good chance.”

Belleville Sens Forward Garrett Pilon on what beating the top team in the division means to the group:

“I think it’s huge. Obviously, we’ve known we’re a good hockey club since the start of the year and I think it’s just about finding our stride. Taking down the top team in the division is a huge confidence boost for us, but we’re looking forward. There’s obviously some big divisional matches coming up that we have to prepare for and there’s where our heads are at right now.”

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Up Next:

• Wednesday April 10, 2024 @ Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) – 7:00 p.m.
• Friday April 12, 2024 @ Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) – 7:05 p.m.
• Saturday April 13, 2024 @ Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) – 5:05 p.m.
• Wednesday April 17, 2024 vs Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 7:00 p.m. (Winning Wednesday)
• Friday April 19, 2024 vs Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) – 7:00 p.m. (Fan Appreciation Game presented by BOQRMB)

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