The Belleville Senators and Manitoba Moose finished off their season series Saturday with another fast and physical affair that saw Marcus Hogberg earn a 27 save shutout and Belleville skate away with a 4-0 victory.
The win, coupled with a Utica loss at Lehigh Valley, moves Belleville into a tie for the final playoff spot in the AHL North Division.
It was a back and forth first period with more pace and flow than the first 20:00 on Friday.
Darren Archibald picked up where he left off on Friday delivering another massive hit that drew a crowd and turned the momentum a little bit in Belleville’s favour.
In a goaltending rematch from Friday, both Marcus Hogberg for Belleville and Mikhail Berdin for Manitoba made some crucial stops and were perfect through the first frame.
Belleville almost got on the board early in the second but Berdin robbed Stefan Elliott with his left pad, after the defender came screaming in off the point to hammer a rebound on net.
The B-Sens would eventually open the scoring, short-handed at 6:10 of the period, with Archibald making his presence felt on the scoresheet as well as physically.
Chase Balisy broke up a play at the Belleville blue line and Archibald broke away, beating Berdin with a hard wrist shot from the slot, at full speed.
Archibald says he’s finding his groove since being acquired from Utica a few weeks back.
Belleville would get a couple more good chances with Vitaly Abramov getting stopped on a breakaway and Erik Burgdoerfer hitting the crossbar after a pass from Adam Tambellini.
Hogberg was great again, stopping another 11 shots in the frame
Belleville Senators goaltender Marcus Hogberg made 27 saves, in a shutout win over the Manitoba Moose, on March 3,2019. (Photo: Jason Scourse / Belleville Senators)
Belleville would score three straight goals in the third, starting with Vitaly Abramov’s first as a Senator at 7:11.
The speedy Russian came flying off the bench during a line change, picked up the puck on the right wing boards and barrelled in on the Manitoba net, tucking it past a sprawling Berdin, to make it 2-0.
The Moose pulled the goalie late in the game and Adam Tambellini fired home the 3-0 goal from inside his own blue line.
Then, Manitoba took two penalties in the final couple of minutes and Drake Batherson slammed home a one-time from Nick Paul, to add insult to injury.
Erik Brannstrom earned his first point in a Belleville uniform with the second assist on the play.
Head Coach Troy Mann says a better start compared to Friday and a strong finish made the difference.
Hogberg’s shutout was his second of the season and the third of his AHL career.
He again credited the defenders in front of him in helping him stay perfect on the night.
The B-Sens are off until Thursday when they’ll hit the road for a double-header in Cleveland and then a crucial March Break Monday meeting with the Marlies in Toronto.
You can read the box score from Saturday night by clicking here and see highlights from the game below.
