B-Sens comeback stalls in home shootout loss to Providence

After being down 2-0 to start the game, the Belleville Senators made a valiant comeback to tie the game at 2-2, only to fall in a shootout 3-2 to the Providence Bruins.

The game got off to a rugged start when Providence’s Tyler Pitlick laid a bruising check from behind on Belleville’s Angus Crookshank at the 6:17 mark of the opening period, resulting in a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Crookshank eventually got up on his own accord and continued for the remainder of the game, but the Sens couldn’t capitalize on the five-minute man advantage.

The Bruins would open the scoring at the 11:55 mark when Joey Abate would snap a shot past Sens keeper Leevi Merilainen to make it 1-0.

Providence would double their lead just a few minutes later with Riley Tufte scoring his first of the season for the Bruins to make it 2-0 at the 14:36 mark.

The period would come to a close with a heavyweight tilt between the Sens Jorian Donovan taking on the Bruins Jeffrey Viel with both being assessed five minute majors.

Belleville would bounce back early in the second period when Jeremy Davies netted his third goal of the campaign beating Bruins goalkeeper Michael DiPietro who had been stellar up to that point to make it 2-1.

Then Cole Reinhardt (fresh off a stint in Ottawa) would also score his third goal of the season when he blew past the Bruins defence and put one through DiPietro’s five-hole to even the score at 2-2. Merilainen would get the assist on the goal for his first point of the season.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the third period or overtime so a shootout was needed, with Belleville heading to the “skills contest” for the third straight game.

Providence forward Brett Harrison would be the lone goal scorer during the shootout to give the Bruins a 3-2 win.

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

Fast facts:

• #4 Jeremy Davies scored his third goal of the season.
• #23 Cole Reinhardt also scored his third goal of the season.
• #15 Matthew Highmore earned his first point of 2024-25 with an assist.
• #20 Phillipe Daoust notched his second assist of the season.
• #52 Nikolas Matinpalo tallied his fourth point of 2024-25 with an assist.
• Belleville outshot Providence 37-25.
• Belleville was 2 for 7 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 3 for 4 on the ViewTech Window and Door Penalty Kills

Sound Bytes

Belleville Sens forward Garrett Pilon on the result:

“I think there were definitely some positives, but we’re putting ourselves in tough positions these past couple of games, with our starts, and that’s something that we’re going to have to hone in on and be ready to play right when the puck drops.”

Belleville Sens forward Garrett Pilon on Jeremy Davies chipping in offensively:

“He’s a mobile defenceman that does a good job joining the rush, he picks his spots and I think it’s shown where he’s scored his goals. He’s getting up there, finding the soft pockets and finishing on his chances. He’s coming as advertised, as the player I’ve played against the past few years, he’s doing his thing out there and it’s obviously been a nice help to get the goal scoring from the blue line.”

Belleville Sens Captain Garrett Pilon on the amount of one goal games the B-Sens have been involved in:

“I think you get growth being in tight games and high pressure moments. At the same time, I think a lot of us know that we haven’t played our best hockey this year. There’s been glimpses of it and that’s when we’ve done well, and I think if we play a full 60 minutes, our team is pretty unbeatable. So, I think we just need to hone in on that.”

Highlights:

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Up Next:

• Saturday November 2, 2024 – Belleville @ Syracuse (7:00 p.m. ET – Upstate Medical University Arena)
• Friday November 8, 2024 – Belleville vs Laval (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena) (Military Appreciation Night)
• Saturday November 9, 2024 – Belleville vs Laval (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena) (Loyalist College Student & Alumni Night)

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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