Senators Survive Late Surge to Top Americans

The Belleville Senators hit the road for the first game of their three game road trip versus the Rochester Americans, winning 6-4.

Frame one started with the Senators killing off an early penalty and quickly answering back. In his first game back since the season opener, Jamieson Rees scored on a breakaway, putting one past Devon Levi to make it 1-0. Belleville’s offence continued to produce, this time on the power play. Philippe Daoust and Stephen Halliday assisted Arthur Kaliyev, who scored his third straight goal to extend the Senators’ lead to 2-0.

Period two saw the Senators kill off three penalties while also adding to their lead on the power play. Daoust tipped in his third goal of the season off a shot from Carter Yakemchuk, extending Belleville’s lead to 3-0.

The final twenty minutes started in the Senators’ favour as they added to their lead less than a minute in. Wyatt Bongiovanni beat Levi in close off a quick feed from Halliday and Jorian Donovan, giving Belleville a 4-0 advantage. The shutout bid ended midway through the third when Rochester got one back. Pressure from Trevor Kuntar and Zach Metsa set up a Carson Meyer shot that snuck through traffic in front, beating Hunter Shepard to make it 4–1. Not long after, the Americans’ momentum continued as they added another. A rush chance created by Ryan Johnson and Matteo Costantini found Anton Wahlberg, who slipped one by to cut the deficit to 4–2. Just over a minute later, Rochester’s puck luck continued, making it a one-goal game. A scramble in front of the Senators’ net off a Kuntar shot fell to Riley Fiddler-Schultz’s stick, making it 4–3. Even with the push, Belleville regrouped after a timeout and regained their two-goal cushion. A takeaway and feed from Daoust set up Kaliyev for his second goal of the game, extending the lead to 5–3. The Americans didn’t back down, though, as later in the period that two-goal margin was cut yet again. A Jake Leschyshyn backhand, set up by Viktor Neuchev and Johnson, kept the scoring affair alive for an exciting finish.

In the final minutes, the Senators held off a late Americans push, and Jan Jenik buried an empty-netter to seal a 6–4 victory.