Game Day Build-Up: Belleville Sens begin week in New York with visit to Rochester

Belleville Sens Game Day Build-Up
Feb.21/24 vs Rochester Americans (NHL Affiliate: Buffalo Sabres)               

The Set-Up:

After a busy long weekend that included a couple of home games and a trip to Utica, the Belleville Senators (23-20-2-3) are back in New York State again where they’ll play three games against divisional opponents this week, starting tonight against the Rochester Americans (24-17-5-1). The Senators continue to bounce between the fourth and fifth spots in the North Division standings but could help to solidify their seeding a bit with a trio of strong performances this week. Belleville sits just three points back of the third-place Amerks, coming into tonight’s game and could leapfrog them with a sweep of their pair of games at Blue Cross Arena tonight and Friday. But Rochester will prove to be yet another challenge, as they’ve picked up points in six of their last seven games, including an overtime win in Toronto on Family Day.

Previous History:

Somewhat surprisingly, this is just the third meeting of the season between the Sens and Amerks and Belleville’s first trip to Rochester in 2023/24. Belleville has earned three of a possible four points against Rochester this season, picking up a win and a shootout loss at home, back in early December. Lifetime against the Americans, the Senators are 20-10-5-1, with a mark of 11-5-1-0 at Blue Cross Arena.

Roster Notes:

There were no transactions for the Senators since Monday’s game against Hershey, with Coach Dave Bell and his staff just continuing to make game-by-game decisions on which veteran players will have to sit out due to the AHL’s development rule. Full lineup details, including tonight’s alignment, will be available ahead of puck drop.

Who to Watch:

Belleville forward Zack Ostapchuk has scored in back-to-back games and has also tallied in three of his last four times out, as he finds some consistency in his rookie AHL campaign. He’s found the net 12 times this season, with four game-winning goals and the Senators are 8-2-0-0 when the 20-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta native scores. Meanwhile, Angus Crookshank (five games), Matt Highmore (four games) and Max Guenette (three games) all extended their respective point streaks in Monday’s loss to Hershey.

Rochester defender Jeremy Davies is on a three-game point streak coming into tonight’s game, including goals in back-to-back contests. He had a goal and five shots on goal in Toronto on Monday afternoon. Lukas Rousek has points in back-to-back games, along with a pair of assists in two games against Belleville this season. Jiri Kulich scored twice against the Sens back at CAA Arena in December.

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. Tickets can also be purchased 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.

Follow the action:

Tonight’s game starts at 7:05 p.m. (ET) and can be seen on AHL TV and heard on the Belleville Sens Entertainment Network. Pregame coverage from Blue Cross Arena, in Rochester, New York, begins at 6:50 p.m. (ET) with David Foot.

The full 2023-24 Belleville Senators regular season schedule can be found by clicking here.

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