Belleville Senators Fall Short in Thrilling 6-5 Loss to Amerks

The Belleville Senators narrowly lost to the Rochester Americans in a high-scoring thriller on March 17, 2024, finishing the weekend with three points out of a possible six. The final score was 6-5, marking a challenging end to a busy series of games for the Senators.

The match began with the Americans taking an early lead against Belleville’s new goaltender, James Reimer, who was making his debut for the Senators. Riley Fiddler-Schultz capitalized on a loose puck in the crease after a strong drive from Jagger Joshua, putting Rochester ahead 1-0. The Senators responded at 8:33 in the first period when Wyatt Bongiovanni scored his tenth goal of the season, firing a powerful one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Stephen Halliday, with Olle Lycksell also assisting.

Defensively, Belleville managed to contain Rochester’s potent offence, limiting them to just seven shots in the first period. As the game progressed into the second period, the physicality intensified. The Americans regained the lead when Ryan Johnson pounced on a rebound off Reimer’s pad, making the score 2-1. Shortly after, Brendan Warren extended the lead to 3-1, beating Reimer with a shot from the right wing.

Entering the final period with a two-goal deficit, Belleville fought back. Just 2:47 in, Redmond Savage found the back of the net, banking a shot off the back of Reimer’s leg from behind the goal line. The Senators answered with a powerful drive during a power play, where Lassi Thomson blasted a shot from the point that struck the crossbar and went in, cutting the lead to 3-2. Thomson’s goal, assisted by Bongiovanni and Dennis Gilbert, marked his ninth of the season, tying him for the most goals by a defenceman in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Rochester, however, refused to sit back. Carson Meyer pushed the lead to 4-2 after knocking in a loose puck. Belleville continued to battle, bringing the score to 4-3 with Arthur Kaliyev‘s 24th goal of the season, assisted by Scott Harrington and Phil Daoust. Just minutes before the end, Daoust equalized, sending the crowd into a frenzy as he scored from behind the net with less than two minutes remaining, assisted by Kaliyev and Harrington.

Despite the late surge, Rochester secured the win with a rapid response. Jack Rathbone fired a powerful shot from the blue line that hit the bar and went in, clinching the extra point for the Americans. The final shot count favored Belleville 30-28, with Reimer saving 22 shots in his debut.

The Senators will face the Rochester Americans again at CAA Arena next Friday at 19:00. Before that, they will hit the road to take on the Laval Rocket on March 20, 2024, at 19:00.