Senators stunned by Syracuse, lose season series finale 5-2

The road to the Calder Cup Playoffs is getting narrower for the Belleville Senators, but it’s not a dead end.

Belleville continued its seven-game homestand on Wednesday night by suffering a 5-2 loss to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning), the team they were directly chasing for the North’s final playoff spot. The loss leaves Belleville below the playoff cutline in sixth place, with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets) now holding the fifth spot, five points ahead. The Senators have eight games remaining in the regular season.

The Crunch brought a suffocating checking game from the start of the contest, leading the Senators to a 2-0 deficit after the opening frame. Crunch Captain Gabriel Dumont was able to stuff a puck past Leevi Merilainen a little under four minutes into the matchup, and then Roman Schmidt beat Merilainen with a seeing-eye wrist shot from the point just before the 14-minute mark.

Syracuse would beat Merilainen twice more inside the first half of the second period. Dylan Duke scored at 4:53, and Conor Geekie netted his first of the night on a power play at 9:24. The fourth Syracuse goal chased Merilainen from the net in favour of Malcolm Subban. Belleville eventually broke Brandon Halverson’s bid for a sixth shutout at 15:25 after Xavier Bourgault did some excellent work keeping possession, getting the puck to Phil Daoust, who combined with Jeremy Davies to find Jan Jenik in front of the net. Jenik put the puck to the backhand and buried his 11th of the season.

The Crunch carried their 4-1 lead into the third period and Belleville did get back within two goals, when Phil Daoust took a nice saucer feed from Bourgault as he sped through the neutral zone and in on net, firing a low wrist shot past Halverson, to cut the lead to 4-2. However, Belleville would find itself in penalty trouble late in the game, and Geekie would smash his second of the game past Subban on another power play to round out the scoring. 

After going 7-1-0-0 against the Crunch last season, the Senators finished 2024-25 against Syracuse with a record of 2-5-0-1.

Belleville now prepares for a two-game visit from the Rochester Americans (AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres) on Friday and Saturday nights. The Amerks will roll into the Friendly City fresh off punching their Calder Cup Playoffs ticket with a 4-2 win at home against Springfield.

You can see the complete box score by clicking here.

Fast Facts:

• #4 Jeremy Davies collected his 32nd assist
• #13 Xavier Bourgault picked up his 12th assist
• #20 Phil Daoust scored his fifth goal and notched his 12th assist
• #24 Jan Jenik scored his 11th goal of the season and registered his 15th assist, while firing a team-high four shots on goal
• #30 Malcolm Subban stopped 9 of 10 shots in relief
• #35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 13 of 17 shots before leaving the game in the second period

Highlights:

Postgame Availabilities:

Sound Bytes:

Sens head coach Dave Bell on Philippe Daoust’s two-point night:

“Phil’s good; Phil’s been dying for opportunity and he got opportunity tonight and took it. We had probably four or five forwards tonight who didn’t have a shot on net, and guys who get opportunity, so that’s disappointing.”

Bell on the upcoming challenge with Rochester coming to town on the weekend:

“They’re a really good team; super skilled, super fast, really dynamic blue line, so we’ll have our hands full.”

Up Next:

• Friday, April 4, 2025 – Belleville Senators vs Rochester Americans – 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena) (Community Heroes Night presented by Bell)
• Saturday, April 5, 2025 – Belleville Senators vs Rochester Americans – 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena) (Faceoffs and Fossils Night)
• Wednesday, April 9, 2025 – Belleville Senators @ Rochester Americans – 7:05 p.m. (Blue Cross Arena)
• Friday, April 11, 2025 – Belleville Senators @ Springfield Thunderbirds – 7:00 p.m. (MassMutual Center)
• Saturday, April 12, 2025 – Belleville Senators @ Providence Bruins – 7:05 p.m. (Amica Mutual Pavillion)

Tickets for all 2024-25 Belleville Sens home games 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 for details on other ticketing options can click the following links for more on  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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