Comeback falls just short in Sens season finale

Stephen Halliday led the way with four points, but a third period comeback by the Belleville Senators to force overtime culminated in a 5-4 overtime loss at the hands of the visiting Laval Rocket on Saturday night at CAA Arena.

The overtime loss caps off the team’s record at 34-27-6-5.

Laval tallied twice in the first period on a backdoor one-timer by Owen Beck at 6:48 and a net front tip by Florian Xhekaj at 18:44, outshooting the Sens 16-9 in the frame.

The visitors extended the lead to 3-0 in the second just 4:20 in on a power play goal by Luke Tuch. But the Sens began to claw back, first with power play goals by Garrett Pilon at 9:22 on a mid-air rebound, and by Cole Reinhardt at 11:46 on a tip of a Halliday shot to cut the deficit to two. But a point shot blast by Noel Hoefenmayer with 30 seconds left in the middle frame gave Laval the 4-2 lead.

In the third, it was back to back goals by Halliday in the span of just 37 seconds that forced the extra frame. The first came on a long shot from the half wall with just 1:28 left, and the second off a perfect Pilon setup at 19:09 to draw the game even at 4-4, capping off a dominant period for the Sens in which they outshot the Rocket 9-2.

However, Xhekaj ended the game with 1:52 left in overtime when he fired a shot in off the rush to give Laval the 5-4 win.

You can see tonight’s complete box score by clicking here.

Fast Facts:

• Laval outshot the Senators 32-31 in the game
• The Sens went 3 for 5 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 2 for 3 on the Viewtech Window & Door Penalty Kill
• #4 Jeremy Davies scored three assists, giving him 37 on the season
• #20 Philippe Daoust scored his 16th assist of the season
• #22 Garrett Pilon scored his 11th goal and 37th assist of the season, giving him a new AHL career high with 48 points
• #23 Cole Reinhardt scored his 14th goal and 18th assist of the season
• #30 Malcolm Subban stopped 27 of 32 shots
• #34 Stephen Halliday scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season, and his 31st and 32nd assists of the season

Highlights:

Postgame Availabilities:

Sound Bytes:

Captain Garrett Pilon on the comeback:

“For us, we wanted to make sure we were trying for our fans, and trying for each other. There were guys checking into the lineup that haven’t been playing, and those guys don’t get that opportunity often, so we wanted to make sure we showed up for them as well.”

Pilon on the season overall:

“It’s been a huge learning experience for myself. A first time position being in a captaincy scenario; it definitely had its ups and downs, I definitely grew as a player and a person, and I think that’s all you can ask for from a season. Coming into the summer, coming into next year, I definitely grew a lot, that’s for sure.”

Fans looking for details 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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