B-Sens open Battle of Ontario with shootout loss in Toronto

The Belleville Senators put together another strong effort, but once again had a bit of bad luck in a shootout, as they fell 4-3 to the Marlies in Toronto on Friday night.

After the two teams spent most of the period getting a feel for each other’s new rosters and play styles, the Senators would edge in front in the final minute of the first. Captain Garrett Pilon wedged his way into the offensive zone along the left boards and was able to get the puck to Angus Crookshank, who looped his way back up toward the blue line and snapped a long shot past Artur Akhtyamov in the Toronto goal. Belleville took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission, while Toronto held a 6-4 shot advantage.

Keean Washkurak extended the lead to 2-0 at 3:14, knocking in a rebound in the blue paint for his first goal as a Senator. But, after a Stephen Halliday high-sticking penalty, Nikita Grebenkin tipped in Toronto’s first goal of the game past Leevi Merilainen. Toronto would tie the game about three minutes later when former Belleville captain Logan Shaw got in on a shorthanded breakaway and potted his first of the season. But Belleville pushed back in front at 11:49, when Oskar Pettersson got loose on a breakaway of his own and beat Akhtyamov to make it 3-2 Senators. Second period shots were 8-7 Belleville.

Toronto tied the game again just 27 seconds into the third period, a shot from the left circle was blocked and the rebound fell right to Nick Abruzzese, who potted his fifth goal in six games so far this season. Nobody else would find the net, leading both teams to have to play bonus hockey for the second time this season. Shots on goal after the third favoured Toronto 23-17 in regulation time.

The Marlies would carry the play through overtime, thanks to a power play that Belleville successfully killed off, but neither team could find the back of the net, sending both to a shootout for the second time this season.

And, for the second time this season, the Senators were foiled by a pair of posts in the shootout. Stephen Halliday and Matt Highmore both caught iron, while Xavier Bourgault just wasn’t able to beat Akhtyamov. Shaw was the only Marlies player to get one past Merilainen and that made the difference.

The Marlies and Senators will renew hostilities on Saturday night at CAA Arena.

You can click here to see Sunday’s full box score.

Fast Facts:

• #4 Jeremy Davies had an assist and stretched his point streak to three games (two goals, one assist)
• #9 Angus Crookshank scored his second goal of the season
• #10 Zack Ostapchuk had an assist and stretched his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists)
• #22 Garrett Pilon picked up an assist and stretched his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists)
• #27 Keean Washkurak scored his first goal as a Senator, along with an assist, and was named the game’s second star
• #32 Oskar Pettersson notched his first tally of the season
• #52 Nikolas Matinpalo had an assist
• #35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 26/29 shots in regulation and 2/3 in the shootout\
• The B-Sens were 0/3 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 4/5 on the ViewTech Window and Door Penalty Kill

Sound Bytes:

Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell on the result:

“I thought we had some stretches where we played pretty darn good. We had the posts in overtime, but I thought our penalty kill did an outstanding job on that phantom call, so that was good to rally and fight against that. We worked on some things that I saw guys trying to do, and some guys did do, so that’s a positive. We have to clean up a couple of things that bit us here tonight, but overall I liked some stretches of the game.”

Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell on the play of Keean Washkurak:

“He just works. He works his butt off, works every shift, and sacrifices his body. That line is getting a little bit of an identity, but they don’t get outworked. It’s a simple recipe for him that’s working and i hope it gets contagious.”

Belleville Sens Forward Keean Washkurak on the loss:

“I thought we played a good 40 minutes. We had a few breakdowns, but for the most part I thought we played pretty well. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t bury in the shootout. But, we didn’t really let them get into their offensive game. I thought we had control down low, we were on their defence, forcing them to turn over pucks and our transition game worked really well.”

Highlights:

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Up Next:

• Saturday October 26, 2024 – Belleville vs Toronto (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena)
• Wednesday October 30 2024 – Belleville vs Providence (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena) (Halloween Game)
• Saturday November 2, 2024 – Belleville @ Syracuse (7:00 p.m. ET – Upstate Medical University Arena)

Ticket Info:

Tickets for all games through the first half of the 2024-25 Belleville Sens season 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 to get a head start on locking up tickets for any game on the schedule can do so now by 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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