Story by Belleville Senators
The Belleville Senators travelled to Rochester to face the Americans in a tightly contested division matchup, skating away with a 3-1 victory.
The opening period featured quality chances at both ends. Rochester generated some early looks, but Belleville finished the frame strong, carrying momentum into the intermission. The Senators outshot the Americans 8-7 and earned the lone power play of the period, though neither side was able to break the deadlock.
The second period saw both sides break their scoreless nights, starting with Belleville. A pass up on the blue line from Tyler Boucher to Jorian Donovan moved the puck over to Lassi Thomson, who picked the top-right corner to give the Senators a 1–0 lead.
That edge was short-lived, however, as the Americans answered just over a minute later. A keep-in and pass by Trevor Kuntar to Nikita Novikov allowed him to walk in and feed Carson Meyer at the side of the net, knotting the game at 1–1.
The final twenty minutes saw the Senators take the lead with under six minutes to go. A faceoff win in the offensive zone had Donovan pass to Cam Crotty, whose shot was tipped in by Jan Jenik for the go-ahead tally and a 2-1 game. Belleville would add an empty-net goal after some great hustle from Oskar Pettersson to poke the puck ahead to Keean Washkurak, sealing a 3-1 final score.
Leevi Merilainen rebounded nicely after a loss in Cleveland last night to stop 21 of 22 Rochester chances.
The Senators will have to wait some time to wrap up this season series, as both will face off again on April 3rd back at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, with the puck coming down at 7:05 p.m.
Belleville will now travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning), beginning the first of a home-and-home on Friday and the final game of this road trip. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at Upstate Medical University Arena.
