Crookshank scores 14th, but Sens fall in Hershey 4-1

Goaltender Michael Simpson made 31 saves, and Angus Crookshank scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season, but the Belleville Senators dropped their second of two games on their Pennsylvania road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears on Friday night.

On Friday, January 17, 2025, the Hershey Bears vs the Belleville Senators. The Bears beat the Senators by a score of 4-1.

The loss moves the Sens’ record to 15-13-1-4, six points behind Toronto for the last playoff spot in the AHL North division.

The first period was highlighted by several quick reaction saves from Simpson, and a close call in the Belleville zone after a turnover in which former B-Sen Brennan Saulnier put a puck off both posts and out. But after back-to-back holding calls against the Sens late in the period to give Hershey a 5-on-3, a long shot from Ivan Miroshnichenko was tipped home by Alex Limoges to give the Bears a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Simpson continued to stand out in the second, stopping the first 14 shots sent his way in the frame, including a breakaway chance from Hendrix Lapierre halfway through the period. But a net-front deflection by Mike Vecchione found its way through with just under seven minutes left in the period, giving Hershey a 2-0 advantage.

With just under three minutes left in the period, Belleville broke through, when Stephen Halliday took a puck away on the forecheck and fed a perfect backdoor feed to Angus Crookshank, who tipped the puck home for his 14th goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1. With only a few seconds left in the second, though, Luke Philp converted on a net-front scramble to reclaim a two-goal lead for the home side.

Just under eight minutes into the third, Aaron Ness scored for Hershey on a wrist shot from the slot to extend the lead to 4-1. That would hold up as the final score, with Simpson ending the evening with 31 saves in the effort, in which Hershey outshot the Sens 35-15.

You can see the complete box score by clicking here.

The Sens will return home next weekend for two more matchups with Hershey on Friday and Saturday nights.

Fast Facts

#9 Angus Crookshank’s 14th goal of the season moved him up to 17th overall in the AHL goal scoring race
It also extended Crookshank’s point streak to three games; he has now scored points in four of his last five games as well
The Sens were 0 for 2 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 4 for 5 on the Viewtech Window & Door Penalty Kill

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