Game Recap Share this Defence creates offence as Senators fall 5-2 in Laval January 19, 2024 The Belleville Senators kicked off their home-and-home series with the Laval Rocket in a heavy-hitting and physical affair at Place Bell Friday night, that ended in a 5-2 loss. Laval would score the only goal of the first, by way of Lucas Condotta, beating Leevi Merilainen on a two-on-one rush. Sens defenceman Tyler Kleven tied the game with his second of the season early in the second stanza, splitting the defence and chipping the puck under the arm of Jakub Dobes. Laval countered with two quick goals from Philippe Maillet and Jan Mysak, before Jacob Larsson would bury his fifth of the year. The big defenceman got in offensively, after a sweet give-and-go in the neutral zone with Angus Crookshank and tucked it between the legs of the Laval netminder to make it 3-2 after two periods. Things turned chippy after that, with the divisional rivals combining for 37 penalty minutes in the period. The physicality continued into the third period as well, with fights between Belleville Captain Dillon Heatherington and Lucas Condotta, along with Brennan Saulnier tangling with Arber Xhekaj. Laval would score twice more, Mysak’s second of the game at 4:17 and then an empty net goal by Brandon Gignac in the final minutes. The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at CAA Arena, with puck drop set for 7:-00 p.m. Fast Facts: #4 Jacob Larsson had a goal and extended his point streak to three games #9 Angus Crookshank registered his 12th assist of the season #10 Zack Ostapchuk had an assist and now points in back-to-back games #13 Egor Sokolov and #15 Matthew Highmore each had four shots on goal #23 Cole Reinhardt had an assist #25 Tyler Kleven extended his point streak to three games, by scoring his second goal of the season. He also had three shots on goal and a +3 rating #35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 30/34 shots The Senators and Rocket combined for 85 minutes in penalties Belleville was 1/5 on the power play and 4/5 on the ViewTech Window and Door Penalty Kill Highlights: Sound Bytes: Senators Head Coach Dave Bell on Friday’s game: “As a team, we didn’t play good enough. I admire that we stuck up for each other and didn’t back down, but at the end of the day, we’re here to win a hockey game and we didn’t do that.” Media Availabilities: Up Next: Saturday January 20, 2024 vs Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens) – 7:00 p.m. ET (Bell Let’s Talk Night) Wednesday January 24, 2024 @ Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators) – 8:00 p.m. ET Friday January 26, 2024 @ Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings) – 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday January 27, 2024 @ Grand Rapid Griffins (Detroit Red Wings) – 7:00 p.m. ET 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
