The Belleville Senators got the kids shouting early and never looked back on Wednesday morning.
Led by Jackson Parsons first AHL shutout, the B-Sens blanked the Toronto Marlies 4-0 in front of 4,109 screaming school students in the team’s first-ever School Day Game.
A sold-out CAA Arena provided the perfect atmosphere for a rivalry of this tenure, and the Senators were the first to get on the board.
A streaking Oskar Pettersson blasted a shot into the top-left corner past Artur Akhtyamov, putting the Senators up 1-0.
Not long after, the Senators’ scoring continued, this time on the power play. Sustained pressure in the Marlies’ zone from Philippe Daoust and Arthur Kaliyev helped set up a Carter Yakemchuk one-timer to make it 2-0.
The Sens, outshooting Toronto 15-6 in the frame, carried that strong momentum into the second, but couldn’t beat Akhtyamov and held onto the two-goal advantage.
The third period not only saw the Senators continue to apply pressure but also extend their lead.
A long stretch pass from Scott Harrington found Arthur Kaliyev, who buried his ninth of the season and extending his goal streak to six games, setting a franchise record for the most consecutive games with a goal.
An empty-netter from Jan Jenik with under two minutes remaining made it 4-0 and capped off a dominant win.
Parsons made 25 saves for his third win in as many starts, with Belleville peppering the Toronto cage with 39 shots. It’s also Belleville’s fourth win in a row and fifth in its last six games.
The Sens return to the road for four games, starting with the first of two in Laval, Quebec versus the Rocket at 7 p.m. Friday.
Visit the Sens YouTube to hear post-game reaction from Head Coach Dave Bell and Parsons and check out highlights from Wednesday’s contest.
