Toronto Marlies vs Belleville Senators December 3, 2025 © Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography
It was another case of ‘close, but no cigar’ for the Belleville Senators on Wednesday night.
In the 90th overall meeting between the two AHL rivals, the Toronto Marlies held off a pressing Senators club to win 4-3 at CAA Arena, handing Belleville its fourth straight defeat.
After some early pressure from both sides, the Marlies were the first to get on the board. A Matt Benning backhand between the circles helped set up Vinni Lettieri for a tip-in goal, making it 1-0.
19 seconds later, a driving Benoit-Olivier Groulx was denied on a net drive, but a rebound skipped out in front to Logan Shaw for his seventh of the year and a 2-0 advantage.
Those two quick goals didn’t rattle the Senators, who responded with one of their own minutes later. A deflection in the offensive zone found Garrett Pilon, who fed Olle Lycksell.
Showing incredible patience in front, Lycksell waited out Artur Akhtyamov to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The second frame saw the Marlies nab another early-period goal.
Marc Johnstone did it all himself with a takeaway and quick turnaround shot, scoring his second of the year and restoring Toronto’s two-goal lead, 3-1.
The Sens once again didn’t quit, and captain Garrett Pilon took the initiative to put the team on his back with a man down.
The Mineola, New York native made a mad dash to score on a two-on-one rush just 12 seconds into a penalty kill, notching his second of the season from Jorian Donovan at the 8:49 mark of the frame.
The key turning point was a five-minute major penalty assessed to Borya Valis in the third period for an elbow on Jamieson Rees that the Sens couldn’t capitalize on.
The Marlies took advantage with just over seven minutes left in the third, when Benning and Lettieri teed Reese Johnson up for a one-timer to put the Marlies back up by a pair.
A few minutes later, Belleville responded again, this time on the power play. A quick-moving Senators unit saw Philippe Daoust find Lycksell, who whipped a pass over to Arthur Kaliyev for the finish, cutting the lead to 4-3.
In the end the Marlies locked things down and would hold on for the edge.
Final shots favoured Toronto 31-22, with Mads Sogaard stopping 27 as the Sens fell back under .500 with a 10-11-2-0 mark.
The next time the Senators hit the ice will be this weekend, on December 5th, as they welcome the Laval Rocket (AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) for the start of a back-to-back at CAA Arena, with puck drop at 7:00 p.m.
