Belleville Sens earn another Boxing Day Classic win in Toronto

The Belleville Senators picked up a win over their provincial rivals from Toronto for the second game in a row, and earned another win in the Boxing Day Classic, beating the Marlies 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday afternoon. The victory improves Belleville’s record to 5-1-0-0 on Boxing Day and 3-0-0-1 against the Marlies this season.

Like they did a few days back, Toronto opened the scoring, with Kieffer Bellows beating Kevin Mandolese inside the first four minutes of the game. But, also like a few days ago, Belleville would answer before the end of the period. Matthew Highmore, Roby Jarventie and Garrett Pilon got in on the rush later in the frame and had a chance turned away, though Highmore eventually found the rebound and slid the puck between the legs of Luke Cavallin to tie it before the end of the period.

Belleville took an early second period lead by way of an opportunistic finish by Zack Ostapchuk. The rookie forward was able to tuck in a rebound off the end wall, following a shoot-in by Jacob Larsson, to make it 2-1 just 1:22 into the period. That lead held up to the end of the frame, with Kevin Mandolese making 10 saves in the period to keep the advantage intact.

Toronto would answer back in the third, with Joseph Blandisi early in the period, but the Sens edged back in front. Ostapchuk tucked in his second of the afternoon, assisted by Josh Currie and Lass Thomson, before Roby Jarventie added an empty netter to finish things off.

Fast Facts:

• #10 Zack Ostapchuk scored his second goal in as many games and leads all Belleville rookies with nine points.
• #13 Egor Sokolov had one assist and has points in back-to-back games. He’s just two points away from 150 in his AHL career.
• #15 Matthew Highmore had one goal and has points in back-to-back games.
• #22 Garrett Pilon had an assist and is now on a three-game point streak. He has also tied Angus Crookshank for the Sens team scoring lead (21 points).
• #31 Kevin Mandolese made 29 saves on 31 shots
• #34 Roby Jarventie had a goal and an assist, extending his point streak to four games. The Senators are 6-0-0-0 this season when Jarventie scores.
• The Senators were 1/2 on the power play and 3/3 on the View Tech Window and Door Penalty Kill.

Highlights:

Sound Bytes:

Belleville Sens Goaltender Kevin Mandolese on the keys to the win:

“I think especially after the break, we were just keeping it simple. Just putting pucks in deep and forechecking, that’s one of our strengths and whenever we do that, we create more offensive. That offensive time limits how much we’re defending in our zone, so just keeping it simple.”

Media Availabilities:

Up Next:

• Thursday December 28, 2023 vs Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) – 7:00 p.m. (Indigenous Communities Night)
• Saturday December 30, 2023 @ Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) – 4:00 p.m.
• Saturday December 6, 2023 @ Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets) – 3:00 p.m. CST
• Sunday December 7, 2023 @ Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets) – 3:00 p.m. CST

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.

The full 2023-2024 Belleville Senators regular season schedule can be found by clicking here.

—

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
Listen to the Belleville Sens on Mixlr: www.bellevillesens.mixlr.com