The Laval Rocket scored four times in the second period and goalie Connor Hughes stopped 25 of 26 Belleville shots, as the visiting Belleville Senators dropped a 4-1 decision on the road on Saturday night.
Rookie defenceman Jorian Donovan scored his first AHL goal late in the game, as the loss, coupled with a Syracuse win tonight, put the Sens one point back of the Crunch for the final AHL North playoff spot, but with a game in hand.
After a scoreless opening period, Laval tallied first on a five-on-three power play in the second when Alex Barré-Boulet swept a shot home from the slot. On the very next shift, Laval doubled their lead when Lucas Condotta deflected a net-front feed past Leevi Merilainen to make it two goals in 17 seconds and a 2-0 Rocket lead.
Belleville began to battle back, but after a roughing call on Angus Crookshank, Laval converted on another power play at 16:22 when Laurent Dauphin tipped in another one from the crease, making the Rocket three for three on the man advantage. Jared Davidson then converted on a rebound off the end wall to make it 4-0 only 50 seconds later.
With just a few seconds left in the game, the Sens did spoil Hughes’s shutout bid when Donovan notched his first in professional hockey, rifling the puck home from the top of the left circle on a setup from Stephen Halliday to cut the deficit to three.
Fast Facts:
- #34 Stephen Halliday registered his 24th assist of the season and extended his point scoring streak to four games
- The Sens went 0 for 4 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 0 for 3 on the ViewTech Window and Door Penalty Kill
- Laval outshot the Sens 28-26 in the game
Belleville’s next four games are on the road starting Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
You can see the complete box score by clicking here.
See the game highlights here.
