Crookshank scores 14th, but Sens fall in Hershey 4-1

Goaltender Michael Simpson made 31 saves, and Angus Crookshank scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season, but the Belleville Senators dropped their second of two games on their Pennsylvania road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears on Friday night.

The loss moves the Sens’ record to 15-13-1-4, six points behind Toronto for the last playoff spot in the AHL North division.

The first period was highlighted by several quick reaction saves from Simpson, and a close call in the Belleville zone after a turnover in which former B-Sen Brennan Saulnier put a puck off both posts and out. But after back-to-back holding calls against the Sens late in the period to give Hershey a 5-on-3, a long shot from Ivan Miroshnichenko was tipped home by Alex Limoges to give the Bears a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Simpson continued to stand out in the second, stopping the first 14 shots sent his way in the frame, including a breakaway chance from Hendrix Lapierre halfway through the period. But a net-front deflection by Mike Vecchione found its way through with just under seven minutes left in the period, giving Hershey a 2-0 advantage.

With just under three minutes left in the period, Belleville broke through, when Stephen Halliday took a puck away on the forecheck and fed a perfect backdoor feed to Angus Crookshank, who tipped the puck home for his 14th goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1. With only a few seconds left in the second, though, Luke Philp converted on a net-front scramble to reclaim a two-goal lead for the home side.

Just under eight minutes into the third, Aaron Ness scored for Hershey on a wrist shot from the slot to extend the lead to 4-1. That would hold up as the final score, with Simpson ending the evening with 31 saves in the effort, in which Hershey outshot the Sens 35-15.

You can see the complete box score by clicking here.

The Sens will return home next weekend for two more matchups with Hershey on Friday and Saturday nights.

Fast Facts

• #9 Angus Crookshank’s 14th goal of the season moved him up to 17th overall in the AHL goal scoring race
• It also extended Crookshank’s point streak to three games; he has now scored points in four of his last five games as well
• The Sens were 0 for 2 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 4 for 5 on the Viewtech Window & Door Penalty Kill

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Head Coach Dave Bell on the result:

“We’ve got twelve guys out, but they are American Hockey League rostered players, and they’re playing in the American Hockey League. And we as a group have got to figure out how to play within a structure, how to play within each other’s limitations and figure out how to get wins, because you just can’t keep waiting for guys to come back or looking for excuses.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re playing five minutes tonight or 15 minutes tonight, you’re supposed to play a certain way. So if you’re a guy that normally plays five minutes and plays really effectively for five minutes, but all of a sudden you’re getting 12 minutes tonight, you can’t change the way you play. You get an opportunity to play that same way for 12 instead of five. But you don’t automatically get more ice time and change the way you play. I think that’s what we’re doing right now, and guys are not playing to their identity, which isn’t working for us.”

Up Next:

• Friday, January 24, 2025 – Belleville Senators vs. Hershey Bears – 7:00 p.m. ET (CAA Arena)
• Saturday, January 25, 2025 – Belleville Senators vs. Hershey Bears – 7:00 p.m. ET (CAA Arena)
• Wednesday, January 29, 2025 – Belleville Senators vs. Hartford Wolf Pack – 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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