Sens fall 4-0 in Rochester rematch

Rochester goalie Devon Levi stopped all 27 shots the Belleville Senators sent his way on Saturday night, as the visiting Americans rebounded from a 5-0 loss to the Sens on Friday night with a 4-0 win of their own at CAA Arena, highlighted by a hat trick from forward Konsta Helenius.

With the loss, the Sens find themselves six points back of the final playoff spot in the AHL North division, with six games left in the season.

Belleville found itself on the penalty kill just fifteen seconds into the game with an early hooking call, and Rochester took only 23 seconds to convert, when Riley Fiddler-Schultz tipped home a long slapshot from Kale Clague to make it 1-0. Belleville responded with two breakaway opportunities, but the first from Jamieson Rees ended with the Senator forward being knocked down on his way to the net front, and the second from Cole Reinhardt led to a desperation toe save from Levi.

Rochester then went to its second power play of the game and doubled the lead at 11:25 when Helenius fired a shot in from the right side with plenty of traffic screening Belleville goalie Leevi Merilainen.

Helenius then made it 3-0 with just 1:16 left in the second period, when Fiddler-Schultz made a spin move and slid the puck across for the Americans’ forward to sweep home from the right side. Belleville pulled their goalie with just under three minutes left, but Helenius would then complete the hat trick by chopping in the empty netter from the right wall of the Sens’ zone with 25 seconds left.

You can see tonight’s complete box score by clicking here.

Fast Facts:

• The Senators were 0 for 3 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 2 for 4 on the Viewtech Window & Door Penalty Kill
• #35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 29 of 32 Rochester shots
• #13 Xavier Bourgault and #48 Filip Roos led the team with three shots on goal each
• Rochester outshot the Senators 33-27 in the game

Highlights:

Postgame Availabilities:

Sound Bytes:

Garrett Pilon on the tough start:

“Obviously when you go down right away in the first minute off of a penalty, it’s a tough spot, but I think our group was still sticking with it. I think we had tons of chances in the first, but a bit of the difference was special teams, so it’s disappointing that we didn’t get the win, but this time of year we can’t sit on it too long.”

Pilon on the team’s improvement in discipline, only allowing seven power plays over the weekend:

“That’s been a struggle for us throughout the season, has been taking lots of penalties. It puts you in holes, guys don’t play, some guys play too much, and it’s a tough thing to deal with, but I think we’ve done a better job. We can still obviously improve on that aspect, but going into Wednesday against these guys, they have a good power play, so we have to try our best to stay out of the box. Some of that can be out of our control sometimes, but at the same time, we have to focus on ourselves.”

Up Next:

• 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.

—

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