It was a frustrating afternoon for the Belleville Senators on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after coming from behind to beat the Stockton Heat (Calgary Flames) on Friday, the B-Sens suffered their worst loss of the season in the rematch, losing 7-1.
Seven different players scored for Stockton including Connor Mackey, who also had a couple of assists and Luke Philp, who had scored on Friday night as well.
Artyom Zagidulin stopped 34 of 35 shots for the Heat to pick up the victory.
B-Sens captain Logan Shaw had their only goal, scoring his second in as many nights during the first period, with Matt Peca and Colby Williams assisting.
Kevin Mandolese had started in goal for Belleville, but was pulled after allowing five goals on 23 shots and was replaced by Cedric Andree, who stopped 15 of 17 he faced.
All seven of Stockton’s goals came in the first two periods, with the Heat outshooting Belleville 30-18 over that span, but the B-Sens took a 17-10 shot advantage in the third period and did manage to get their share of chances without being able to capitalize.
Belleville Senators forward Mitchell Hoelscher made is American Hockey League debut, during a game against the Stockton Heat at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, on March 27, 2021. (Photo: Freestyle Photography / Belleville Senators)
Senators coach Troy Mann tells Quinte News he felt like his team carried the play offensively, despite the result.
“We only scored one goal, but going into the third period we had the chances at 20-15 for us and it was 7-1. I just felt we were in the offensive zone and then next thing you know it was in the back of our net. Then we’d make another push offensively and then they’d come back down and it was in the back of our net.”
He added that, even with the lopsided loss, he doesn’t feel like his team deserves too to take too much criticism on their performance.
“If someone didn’t really watch the game and looked at the box score, they’d think we got creamed tonight. I don’t think we played that poorly. I thought we had better possession time than them and I thought we had better quality chances tonight. I think there’s a time and place to come down hard on your team and I have done that this year on a couple of occasions, but I don’t feel tonight was one of those nights.”
After a week that saw the B-Sens travel to Toronto and back to play on Wednesday, then play two games in less than 48 hours on the Friday and Saturday, the players will be given a day off tomorrow and will spend almost a week practicing, before their next game on Saturday (April 3) in Toronto against the Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs).
That kicks off an eight game road trip that also includes four games against the Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets) and another trio of matchups in Calgary with the Heat.
You can click here to read the box score from Saturday afternoon.
