game day Share this Game Day Build-Up: Senators at Comets – April 6, 2022 April 6, 2022 Presented by Carpenters Union Local 397 The Set-Up: A difficult six-day road trip for the Belleville Senators doesn’t get any easier tonight. Following an overtime loss and regulation loss to the Atlantic Division-leading Springfield Thunderbirds, to finish a three-in-three stretch on the weekend, the Sens take the top team in the North Division tonight as they visit the Utica Comets (AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils). After their Friday night win in Hartford, Belleville hung-in with the T-Birds on Saturday but couldn’t hold the lead late and then on Sunday, couldn’t complete the comeback after going down 3-0. While the task will be tough, against a Comets team that has scored the third-most goals in the American Hockey League this season (218), the Senators be shooting for a strong result and at least a point, as they try to squeeze back into a playoff spot. Coming into Wednesday’s game, the Senators sit .004 percentage points behind the Rochester Americans for the fifth and final spot, and just .007 percentage points back of Toronto in fourth. Previous History: The Sens and Comets have met three times this season, with Belleville still looking for its first win, putting up a record of 0-2-1-0 thus far. One regulation and one overtime loss have each come at CAA Arena this season, with Belleville being shutout 2-0 in their only visit to the Adirondack Bank Center during the current campaign. Lifetime against the Comets, Belleville is 10-10-1-0 and 4-5-0-0 in Utica. Roster Notes: Troy Mann will run 11 forwards and seven defencemen against the Eastern Conference’s best team tonight, trying to slow down an offence that’s scored 218 goals so far. Max Guenette will draw back into the lineup tonight, with Belleville missing Parker Kelly, who was recalled to Ottawa this week. Other scratches for Belleville include Jack Dougherty, Rourke Chartier, Chris Wilkie, Cedric Pare, Kevin Mandolese and Ottawa 4th round pick in 2019 Viktor Lodin, who has arrived in Belleville from Sweden and could dress on the weekend. Paul McAvoy and Josh McEchney, who are in Belleville on amateur try outs from Colgate University, won’t play tonight either. Who to Watch: Senators forward Zach Senyshyn is playing in his 250th career American Hockey League game tonight, with the Ottawa native also still looking for his first goal, since being traded to the Senators from the Boston Bruins a few weeks back. Meanwhile, Sens forwards Jake Lucchini (three goals, four assists) and Egor Sokolov (two goals, three assists) are on four-game point streaks, while Roby Jarventie is on a three-game streak (one goal, two assists). Comets forward AJ Greer has been named as the American Hockey League’s Player of the Week for the period ending April 3. The native of Joliette, QC, put up 10 points (four goals, six assists) in four games last week and has hit career highs in goals (22), assists (28) and points (5), already this season, though he was just called up to New Jersey on Wednesday morning. The Comets lineup also features defender Tyler Wotherspoon, who is among the +/- leaders in the American Hockey League (+25 through 45 games) and goaltender Akira Schmid, who is 11th in the league in goals against average (2.48) and will start for the Comets tonight. Follow the action: Tonight’s game starts at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be heard on the Belleville Sens Official Broadcast Partner 800 AM CJBQ, with David Foot (Broadcast time is 6:50 p.m.). The game can also be streamed live on AHL TV. Don’t forget to download the Belleville Senators app before game time and follow the Sens social media (@BellevilleSens) for updates. — Visit the Belleville Sens website: www.bellevillesens.com Engage with the Belleville Sens on Twitter: @BellevilleSens Like the Belleville Sens on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BellevilleSens Follow the Belleville Sens on Instagram: @BellevilleSens
