Pilon scores OT winner as B-Sens knock off Marlies to advance to North Division Semi-Finals

For the first time in franchise history, the Belleville Senators have advanced past the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The B-Sens moved on with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win against the arch-rival Toronto Marlies, in front of a boisterous crowd over more than 4,000 fans at CAA Arena.

Boko Imama got the fans on their feet just 2:21 into the first period, taking a pass from Jacob Larsson and snapping a wrist shot past Dennis Hildeby. The Senators carried the play through the first period and outshot Toronto 8-3, with Mads Sogaard unbeaten through 20 minutes.

Toronto would draw even exactly a minute into the second period, by way of a Marshall Rifai point shot. But Belleville answered back through Josh Currie, who stuffed his second of the playoffs over the goal line. While not called a goal on the ice, the decision was reversed after a bit of a review by the officials. A minute after that, Rourke Chartier one-timed home a pretty saucer pass from Angus Crookshank to give Belleville a two-goal lead. The Marlies would shrink the lead back to one before the end of the period, after former Belleville captain Logan Shaw skated into the Belleville zone and fired a shot past Soggard. 

The only goal of the third came from Toronto’s Matteo Pietroniro, as he blasted a point shot by Sogaard to tie the game, assisted by Shaw. But Belleville would get the last laugh, with Garrett Pilon scoring the overtime winner just 2:17 into the extra frame, assisted by Stephen Halliday and Imama. 

The Senators move on to the AHL North Division Semi-Final and will take on division’s regular season winners, the Cleveland Monsters. 

Fast Facts:

• #4 Jacob Larsson had an assist and has points in back-to-back games (three assists).
• #5 Wyatt Bongiovanni picked up an assist and has points in back-to-back games (three assists).
• #9 Angus Crookshank picked up his first point of the playoffs with an assist.
• #12 Boko Imama scored his first goal of the postseason and added an assist.
• #13 Egor Sokolov collected his first point of the playoffs with an assist. He also had three shots on net.
• #17 Stephen Halliday collected his first career playoff points, with a pair of assists.
• #18 Josh Currie scored his second goal of the playoffs and had a game-high four shots on goal.
• #22 Garrett Pilon scored the overtime winner for his third goal of the playoffs.
• #25 Tyler Kleven picked up his first assist of the playoffs.
• #40 Mads Sogaard stopped 18 of 21 shots to earn his second win of the playoffs.
• The Senators did not take a penalty and were 0/2 on the power play.
• Belleville outshot Toronto 24-21

Highlights:

Sound Bytes:

Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell on winning the series:

“It feels excellent. I’m super happy for the boys. That’s a grind, it’s kind of been our MO all year that we don’t quit and nothing’s been easy. You go back to the first game of the season in Hershey against the defending champions, we win that game, but it wasn’t easy. We won back-to-back in Rochester, that wasn’t easy and we did it. We went into Syracuse and won back-to-back with a banged up lineup, that wasn’t easy and we did it. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and it wasn’t. It took 65 minutes, but we did it.”

Belleville Sens Head Coach Dave Bell if his team understands the importance of winning the series:

“When you see the passion of Egor Sokolov after getting us into the playoffs, and even after that game game, they understand it. You look at the guys like Reinhardt, Sokolov, and Thomson, who have been through the grind. They understand it.”

Belleville Sens forward Garrett Pilon on the message heading into overtime:

“I think we had some guys talk up, just to make sure that we got back to playing the way we were. Obviously, when you get a lead like that and there’s 10 minutes or so left, you’re almost just hanging on and I think that’s what we reverted back to. But, I think it’s a good lesson for us to keep playing, and keep moving forward.”

Belleville Sens forward Garrett Pilon on scoring the winner:

“It’s huge. I think any elimination game that you end up in overtime and can pull through is a big thing. It could have been any one of us, because I think all four lines played great tonight, so for me just not having your season end is a huge thing.”

Belleville Sens forward Boko Imama on the victory:

“It’s a big win for the team. We want to have a lot of success in the playoffs and with this win tonight, we’re definitely on the right path.”

Belleville Sens forward Boko Imama on scoring the early goal:

“It was great, especially with the crowd we had, there was a lot of energy and it was just easy to get into it early. Especially coming here back home, I wanted to set the tone and usually my way is physically, but when I get get my name on the scoresheet, it’s very nice.”

Media Availabilities:

Up Next:

• North Division Semi-Finals Game 1: Wednesday, May 1, 2024 – Cleveland @ Belleville (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena)
• North Division Semi-Finals Game 2: Friday, May 3, 2024 – Cleveland @ Belleville (7:00 p.m. ET – CAA Arena)
• North Division Semi-Finals Game 3: Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – Belleville @ Cleveland (7:00 p.m. ET – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
• North Division Semi-Finals Game 4*: Friday, May 10, 2024 – Belleville @ Cleveland (7:00 p.m. ET – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
• North Division Semi-Finals Game 5*: Sunday, May 12, 12024 – Belleville @ Cleveland (3:00 p.m. ET – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
  *IF NECESSARY

**Note that dates for games three, four and five in Cleveland are subject to change, as part of NBA Playoff scheduling at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which is also home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dates for those games will be finalized upon announcement of the NBA’s second-round playoff schedule.**

Ticket Info:

Tickets to Belleville Sens home games in the AHL North Division Semi-Finals will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 29 and can be purchased via Ticketmaster, or at the Belleville Sens Box Office at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.

Belleville Sens Box Office Hours are as follows:

• Monday, April 29, 2024 – 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 30, 2024 – 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 1, 2024 – 12:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 2, 2024 – 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, May 3, 2024 – 12:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Belleville Sens Season Seat Members and Flex Pack holders can access playoff tickets now through their Belleville Sens Account Manager, while fans with further questions about playoff ticketing, or those looking for information on premium seating or group tickets, can also email tickets@bellevillesens.com.

Details on group tickets, 2024-25 season seat memberships or 2024-25 Business Elite memberships, are available via the Belleville Sens website, or by emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com.

You can get a full look at the Calder Cup Playoff picture via the American Hockey League website.

About the Belleville Senators

The Belleville Senators are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey Leagues’ Ottawa Senators and have been operating in the AHL since the 2017-18 season. The Senators play their home games out of the CAA Arena at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre and have graduated more than 60 players to the NHL since moving from Binghamton, New York.

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