Ostapchuk snipes Sens’ winner in record 12-round shootout in Toronto

Zack Ostapchuk finished off the longest shootout in Belleville Senators history with a top-shelf rocket in the twelfth round, giving his team a dramatic 4-3 road win over the host Toronto Marlies on Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.

The shootout broke the team’s prior record of 7 rounds set in 2017, and was just shy of the AHL record of 16 rounds set in 2004.

Belleville opened the scoring at the 12:07 mark of the first period when Angus Crookshank cleaned up a rebound and flicked a back hander past Marlies goalkeeper Dennis Hildeby to make it 1-0. The goal was Crookshank’s team leading eighth of the season.

The Sens doubled their lead while on the power play at the 5:40 mark of the second period when Cole Reinhardt poked a shot from the right hash mark that was redirected by Wyatt Bongiovanni in front of Hildeby to make its 2-0 Belleville.

Bongiovanni would score his second of the afternoon at the 18:26 mark when he scooped up a loose puck and then spun around and snapped a shot through the five-hole of Hildeby to make the score 3-0 Belleville.

The Marlies would draw one back 4:41 into the third period when Fraser Minten would tuck a rebound past Malcolm Subban in the Senators goal to make it 3-1.

Toronto would make things very interesting 13 minutes into the final period with Nikita Grebenkin making in 3-2 after he picked up the puck inside the blue line and then quickly snapped a shot past a screened Subban.

Zach Solow completed the comeback at the 16:40 mark, tipping a Dennis Villeneuve slap shot from the point past Subban to even the score at 3-3.

The score would remain 3-3 at the end of regulation and for the third consecutive meeting Belleville and Toronto would head to overtime.

Nothing was solved in overtime and so for the sixth time in 12 games, Belleville was headed to a shootout.

The Sens would be able to exhale at the end of the shootout that lasted 12 rounds when Zack Ostapchuk would score and give Belleville a 4-3 win.

You can click here to see the full box score.

Fast facts:

• Wyatt Bongiovanni would score his first and second goals of the 2024-24 season.
• Zack Ostapchuk had two assists.
• Angus Crookshank scored a goal to move to eight goals on the year which leads the team.
• Cole Reinhardt had one assist to move to 12 points on the season.
• Xavier Bourgault had one assist which is his fifth point of the year.
• Malcolm Subban made 26 of 29 saves
• Subban also saved 11 of 12 attempts against him in the shootout.

Sound Bytes:

Zack Ostapchuk on his shootout winner in the twelfth round:

“You see a couple of guys go and see where he [Hildeby] is good, so when I came down, I thought we just needed to rip one.”

Ostapchuk on the outlook for the team:

“We got a really good team here, and I think we’re pretty good defensively; obviously there’s stuff we’ve got to work on, but I think for the most part if we can some of those lapses out of our game, we’re going to be really good defensively.”

Wyatt Bongiovanni on his two-goal performance in just his second game of the season:

“It’s been fun, just to be back on the ice with the guys, getting back into routines, finding my feet out there, it’s been a fun process.”

Bongiovanni on the game:

“I thought we were sloppy to start, an interesting dynamic with the early game, but I think the game found its way; some goals early on, some complacency late, but at the end of the day, a win’s a win.”

Highlights:

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Up Next:

• Friday, November 22, 2024 – Belleville @ Laval (7:00 p.m. ET – Place Bell)
• Saturday, November 23, 2024 – Belleville vs Laval (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena) (Hockey Fights Cancer Night)
• Wednesday, November 27, 2024 – Belleville @ Syracuse (7:00 p.m. ET – Upstate Medical University Arena

Ticket Info:

Tickets for all games through the first half of the 2024-25 Belleville Sens season are now on sale via Ticketmaster, by emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com, or at the Belleville Sens Box Office at CAA Arena during select hours.

Fans looking to get a head start on locking up tickets for any game on the schedule can do so now by becoming a season seat member, purchasing a flex pack membership, or putting down a deposit for a group experience. More information on those ticket options, plus details on premium seating and Business Elite packages is available by visiting the Belleville Sens website or emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com.

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