Weekly Recap: Senators sitting sixth after busy three-in-three weekend

The 2024-25 regular season is down to a dozen games for the Belleville Senators, and they’re still pushing for a third-ever berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs. This past week, they competed in three hard-fought matchups against the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) and Cleveland Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets) and came away with a win and a pair of defeats.

Here’s a recap of Belleville’s three-in-three weekend, with more critical games set to come at CAA Arena this week, with their seven-game homestand continuing to finish the month.

Friday, March 21, 2025: Belleville Senators – 3 vs Toronto Marlies – 2

The Belleville Senators continued their strong run of play on home ice on Friday night, outlasting the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) 3-2 at CAA Arena in round eight of their ten-round Battle of Ontario season series.

Leevi Merilainen stopped a season-high 37 shots, with Jan Jenik, Angus Crookshank and Wyatte Wylie all scoring in consecutive games, to help Belleville keep pace with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and Cleveland Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets), who were also victorious on Friday.

GAME RECAP | BOX SCORE

Saturday, March 22, 2025: Belleville Senators – 2 @ Toronto Marlies – 4

The Toronto Marlies held serve in the second game of a back-to-back with the Belleville Senators, taking down the visitors 4-2 in Toronto, a night after Belleville had taken a 3-2 decision at home. The loss moves the Sens’ record to 29-22-4-4 on the season and snaps the team’s three-game win streak. However, a loss the same day by the Cleveland Monsters kept the Sens two points back of the final AHL North playoff spot, with a game in hand.

GAME RECAP | BOX SCORE

Sunday, March 23, 2025: Belleville Senators – 1 vs Cleveland Monsters – 2

Another matchup between the Belleville Senators and Cleveland Monsters has come and gone, and yet again, it ended with a final score of 2-1, though this time, the Senators were on the wrong end of the result. Tyler Boucher scored Belleville’s only goal of the game, on the power play, while Leevi Merilainen stopped 24 of 26 shots in the loss. The loss puts Belleville four points back of Cleveland and two back of Syracuse for the final two playoff spots in the North Division.

GAME RECAP | BOX SCORE

Highlight of the Week:

The Senators didn’t get the result they were after in their Saturday game at Toronto, but they did get an incredible save from Malcolm Subban as they tried to fight back against the Marlies. Subban’s scintillating, post-to-post, glove stop is our Highlight of the Week this week.

Transactions:

Mar.24/25: #34 Stephen Halliday (C) – REMOVE – Recalled from loan to Ottawa (NHL)

Click here for a full list of Belleville Sens transactions

Statistical Leaders

Points: 43 (15 G + 28 A)
#34 Stephen Halliday (C) 
Goals: 22
#9 Angus Crookshank (LW)
Assists: 31
 #4 Jeremy Davies (D)
Power Play Goals: 11
#9 Angus Crookshank (LW)
Plus/Minus: +16
#21 Maxence Guenette (D)
Penalty Minutes: 121
#42 Hayden Hodgson (RW) 
Goals Against Average: 2.30
#35 Leevi Merilainen (G)
Save Percentage: .912
#35 Leevi Merilainen (G)
Wins: 14
#35 Leevi Merilainen (G)
Shutouts: 3
 #35 Leevi Merilainen (G) 

Playoff Picture:

Belleville stays sitting in sixth place to start the week, two points back of the Syracuse Crunch in fifth, and four points behind Cleveland in fourth. Belleville does not hold the first tiebreaker (regulation wins) against Syracuse, but does currently have that advantage over Cleveland, who they’ll face again on Wednesday night at CAA Arena. The Senators ‘magic number’ to qualify sits at 27 with 24 points to gain, but Belleville will continue to be able to directly impact their chances with their play the rest of the way. Nine of their remaining 12 games will be played against North Division opponents (Cleveland x 1, Toronto x 1, Syracuse x 1, Rochester x 3, Laval x 3) with six of those games on home-ice. Information on the playoff qualification races across the league by checking out the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoff Primer, which is updated daily. 

This Week:

The Senators will play three more games this week as they continue a seven-game homestand at CAA Arena. Among the highlights this week, the season finale of the season series with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets), the final regular season “Battle of Ontario” with the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs), and the only visit of the season from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers).

• Wednesday, March 26, 2025: Belleville Senators vs Cleveland Monsters – 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena)
• Friday, March 28, 2025: Belleville Senators vs Lehigh Valley Phantoms – 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena) (Pride Night)
• Saturday, March 29, 2025: Belleville Senators vs Toronto Marlies – 7:00 p.m. (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.

All games can be heard on the Belleville Sens Entertainment Network or seen on AHL TV on FloHockey.

The full Belleville Sens 2024-25 regular season schedule is available by clicking here. 

—

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
Watch the Belleville Sens on AHLTV on FloHockey: www.watchtheahl.com