The Sens went head to head with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers) to kick off their 2025-26 campaign, dropping a 5-2 decision on Saturday night.
The Sens had a productive first period, firing 11 shots on Phantoms’ netminder Aleksei Kolosov, but it was a Lehigh Valley rookie who made the difference in the frame. Devin Kaplan scored his first career AHL goal at 6:18 of the first, finding a hole over the shoulder of Sens’ goaltender Mads Sogaard. Then, a couple of minutes later, Kaplan took another wrist shot from the right circle and beat Sogaard again, giving the Phantoms a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Lehigh Valley extended its lead to 4-0 in the second. First, by way of a Karsen Dorwart power play goal at 2:08, then a Lane Pederson marker at 9:12. Belleville had a pair of powerplays in the period, but couldn’t convert.
Within the first two minutes of the third period, Keean Washkurak sparked some energy on the Sens bench, netting the team’s first goal of the season. Just three minutes later, Xavier Bourgault followed up with a short-handed tally to cut the Phantoms’ lead in half. Despite a strong push from Belleville the rest of the way, an empty-netter from the Phantoms sealed the 5–2 final.
The Senators continue their season-opening road trip on Sunday afternoon, when they visit the Bridgeport Islanders, who they were a perfect 4-0-0-0 against in 2024-25. Coverage from Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut begins at 2:50 p.m. on the Belleville Sens Entertainment Network and AHLTV on FloHockey.
(BROCK ORMOND)
