Sens drop dramatic 2-1 decision in Laval

A power play goal from Joshua Roy just over five minutes into the third period broke a 1-1 deadlock in Laval on Friday night, giving the host Rocket a narrow 2-1 regulation win over the visiting Belleville Senators.

Belleville fell to 12-7-0-4 on the campaign, but remain just one point back of the Syracuse Crunch for 5th place in the AHL’s North division with five games in hand.

Goalie Mads Sogaard stood tall in the first period, stopping the first eleven shots of the game that the Rocket fired his way, in just his second start since returning from injury earlier in the month.

Late in the first, Donovan Sebrango sparked his bench, responding to a Laval hit by dropping the gloves with Luke Tuch and landing the majority of blows in the brief tilt.

Sparks flew early in the second as well when Zack McEwen fended off a challenge from Lucas Condotta in the game’s second fight. Both teams continued to rack up penalties afterwards; shortly after Laval killed off a 4-on-3 Belleville power play, Josh Jacobs caught Stephen Halliday with his stick and earned a double minor penalty for high sticking. In the back half of that penalty, Laval’s Alex Barre-Boulet was charged with holding and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, giving Belleville a lengthy two-man advantage. But Laval killed them all off, making the teams a combined 9-for-9 killing penalties barely halfway through the game, with the shots in the period 10-0 for the Senators.

After that kill, Belleville’s Hayden Hodgson was called for roughing and unsportsmanlike minors to send Laval to a four minute power play; Laval got its first three shots of the period, but Sogaard turned them all away to keep the game scoreless.

Laval then broke the deadlock with just under four minutes left in the middle frame, when an Adam Engstrom shot ricocheted off of both Joshua Roy and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, then up and over Sogaard and into the Belleville net.

But the Senators responded in the final minute when Jan Jenik intercepted a pass in the offensive zone, dropped the puck off for Max Guenette, and the Belleville defender wired home a wrist shot from long range for his 100th point in the AHL and a tie game.

Laval retook the lead in the third period on their sixth power play of the game – and fourteenth of the game overall – when Joshua Roy rifled in a wrist shot from the right circle with traffic in front of the Belleville net.

Belleville pressed hard for another tying goal, outshooting Laval 12-5 in the third for a 32-21 shot advantage in the game, but the Rocket held on for the narrow regulation win.

You can see the complete box score by clicking here.

Fast Facts

• #21 Max Guenette became the first Belleville Senators defenceman in franchise history to score 100 points
• #24 Jan Jenik scored an assist in his first game back in the lineup since October 26th
• Belleville was 6-for-7 on the Viewtech Window and Door Penalty Kill, but 0-for-9 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play

Highlights

Sound Bytes:

Head Coach Dave Bell on the special teams-heavy night:

“Not a lot of flow to the game. I thought [Sogaard] was good; I thought our penalty kill was good. But just a messy, sloppy game that I thought – if we could have reeled it in and played with a bit of flow and structure we might’ve had a chance – but that wasn’t meant to be tonight.”

Bell on following it up against Springfield tomorrow night:

“They’ve been sitting there waiting since yesterday afternoon, so they’ll be fresh. I think we need to weather the storm for the first ten minutes, but just play five on five. After a big special teams night like this, we’ve got to play five on five and use our whole bench, because it is a 3 o’clock in the morning arrival, and then we get right at it.”

Media Availabilities:

Up Next:

• Saturday, December 21, 2024 – Belleville Senators vs Springfield Thunderbirds – 7:00 p.m. ET (CAA Arena)
• Thursday, December 26, 2024 – Belleville Senators @ Toronto Marlies – 7:00 p.m. ET (Scotiabank Arena)
• Saturday, December 28, 2025 – Belleville Senators vs Toronto Marlies – 7:00 p.m. ET (CAA Arena)

Ticket Info:

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.

—

Visit the Belleville Sens website: www.bellevillesens.com
Engage with the Belleville Sens on Twitter: @BellevilleSens
Like the Belleville Sens on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BellevilleSens
Follow the Belleville Sens on Instagram: @BellevilleSens
Listen to the Belleville Sens on Mixlr: www.bellevillesens.mixlr.com