The Belleville Senators snapped a five-game skid on Saturday thanks to some outstanding goaltending and a timely late goal.
Jackson Parsons made 26 saves, many of the top-quality variety and Garrett Pilon deflected home the winning goal with more than two minutes to go in regulation for a 4-3 win over the Laval Rocket.
The Sens got what they desperately needed and that was the opening goal, on a Scott Harrington blast set up from behind the Laval net by Xavier Bourgault.
The goal was the Kingston native’s second of the year just over two minutes into the night, also assisted by Phil Daoust.
Jorian Donovan added to the advantage at 6:31. by pulling around a challenging Laval player’s stick and rifling a low shot through Kahkonen for his third of the season.
The hits kept coming for the Sens at 11:07, as Daoust took a neat drop pass from Bourgault and wired a shot from the close slot through Kahkonen and chased the Finnish netminder from the net on just seven shots for Jacob Fowler.
Belleville’s momentum was stunted in the second period with three Laval markers, including a Josh Roy goal 26 seconds into the frame and two from Alex Belzile to turn the game completely on its head.
Parsons came up clutch with a few brilliant saves in the third, including two on back-to-back shorthanded breaks by Quinte Red Devils graduate Owen Beck and Roy, setting up the Sens late heroics.
On a powerplay, Lassi Thomson blasted a one-timer set up by Wyatt Bongiovanni that Pilon deflected past Fowler for his third of the season with 2:23 left.
The Sens held on for the victory and pull to within eight points of first-place Laval in the AHL’s North Division standings ahead of a Wednesday night meeting with the Rochester Americans at 7 p.m.
