Belleville bounces back again, trampling Moose 6-3

Another comeback thriller gave the Belleville Senators their third straight win in the midst of a lengthy road trip, as a 3-0 deficit failed to deter the team en route to a 6-3 victory over the host Manitoba Moose on Friday night.

With the win, the Sens improve to 10-4-0-4 on the season, one point back of Rochester for fourth in the AHL North division with four games in hand.

The Senators registered four of the first five shots of the game in a tilted start, but Manitoba’s first shot opened the scoring when Chaz Lucius fired a wrister off the post and in, just over five and a half minutes into the game. The home side then doubled its lead at the 12:33 mark on a long seeing-eye point shot tipped in by Parker Ford.

Belleville began the second period with three quick scoring chances in the opening two minutes, but saw its deficit increase to three on a mid-range shot from Jaret Anderson-Dolan that found its way by Leevi Merilainen through traffic at 4:01.

The Belleville breakthrough came 9:37 into the second after a key keep-in by defenceman Filip Roos. He feathered the puck to Jeremy Davies, whose long point shot was stopped by goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen. The rebound, however, rolled in range for Xavier Bourgault, who flung a turnaround shot past the Moose goaltender to get Belleville on the board with his fourth of the year.

A personal breakthrough followed three minutes later for forward Tyler Boucher, who won a net front battle and jammed home his first goal of the season on a scramble produced by a Donovan Sebrango shot, cutting the Manitoba lead to 3-2.

Another Davies point shot brought the Sens back even with just under two minutes left in the second. The veteran defenceman blasted one from the blue line that Angus Crookshank tipped home with the toe of his stick to notch a 3-3 score.

It capped off a dominant second period in which the Sens outshot Manitoba 17-9.

Belleville needed only a little over five minutes of the third to claim its first lead. After a turnover at the Manitoba blue line, a masterful cross-slot pass by Maxence Guenette found Keean Washkurak, who one-timed the backdoor feed into the Moose net for a 4-3 advantage.

A pair of empty netters from Garrett Pilon and Stephen Halliday in the final minutes would seal a dominant 6-3 linescore. The Senators are now a spectacular 7-1-0-2 on the road, as they prepare for the rematch tomorrow at 7 PM EST in Manitoba.

You can click here to see the full box score.

Fast Facts

• Leevi Merilainen stopped 19 of 22 shots for Belleville to move his record to 6-1-2
• Keean Washkurak was named first star of the game after tallying the game-winning goal and an assist
• Wyatt Bongiovanni scored two assists and extended his point streak to three games, with two goals and two assists in that span
• Jeremy Davies scored two assists and is now tied for fifth in the AHL in scoring by a defenceman with 14 points in 18 games

Highlights

Sound Bytes

Head Coach Dave Bell on the comeback win:

“I was pretty proud of the group on the bench after we had a horrible first and horrible first five minutes of the second. They collected themselves; I was quiet, I didn’t say anything, I wanted to see who would pull our lot together, and we had some individuals on the bench who were really good. They went out and acted on it, and clawed themselves back into the game.”

Tyler Boucher on the team’s tenacity:

“It was kind of a sloppy start; I don’t think it was our best game, but I thought we did a good job of battling, staying in it, and not giving up. Bourgy started it, and then we just kept rolling after that.”

Boucher on his net-front goal:

“I think I need to be in front of the net. Sometimes you get rewarded. It just popped over my shoulder; it was a good shot by Dono [Sebrango], and I was able to find it somehow.”

Keean Washkurak on the team’s ability to stay positive when down:

“There’s a lot of good guys in our room, a lot of older guys that have gone through it; overall we just have to get our starts a bit better, but we’re a really confident group.”

Media Availabilities

Up Next:

• Saturday December 7, 2024 – Belleville Senators @ Manitoba Moose – 7:00 p.m. ET (Canada Life Centre)
• Wednesday December 11, 2024 – Belleville Senators vs. Syracuse Crunch – 7:00 p.m. ET (CAA Arena)

Ticket Info:

Tickets for all 2024-25 Belleville Sens home games 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 for details on other ticketing options can click the following links for more on  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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