Senators fall 5–2 to Laval in tough battle

The Belleville Senators welcomed the Laval Rocket as they started a back-to-back set this Friday, falling 5-2.

The first period featured chances at both ends in this divisional matchup, but it was the Rocket who broke through first. Defensemen William Trudeau and Adam Engstrom helped set up Florian Xhekaj, who redirected in his third of the year to put Laval ahead 1-0. The Rocket added to their lead later in the frame when Xhekaj forced a turnover, allowing Sammy Blais to feed Joshua Roy for a one-timer that beat Mads Søgaard and extended the advantage to 2-0.

It took some time to see a goal in the second frame, but the Senators finally got on the board courtesy of their leading scorer. A quick rush into the Rocket zone began with Lassi Thomson leading the way, feeding Keean Washkurak, who then found a streaking Arthur Kaliyev for his fifteenth of the season, cutting the contest to 2-1. Belleville kept the momentum going on the power play and tied the game. Philippe Daoust buried a close-range shot in front after a quick play down low by Xavier Bourgault and Olle Lycksell, knotting the game at 2-2.

The final twenty minutes started similarly to the second, as the next goal came just before the midway point in favour of Laval. A battle below the circles saw Trudeau force the puck over to Laurent Dauphin, who connected with Alex Belzile for his first of the night, giving the Rocket a 3-2 lead. The Senators applied heavy pressure late in the game, but Laval added two more goals into the empty cage. A wraparound along the boards from Tobie Bisson found Xhekaj for his second of the game, extending the margin to 4-2. Sean Farrell then notched the final empty-net goal, closing out the contest for a 5-2 final.