The Belleville Senators earned yet another hard-fought point despite falling 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night to the Atlantic Division-leading Springfield Thunderbirds.
Springfield opened the scoring at the 4:53 mark of the first period when Dakota Joshua found the back of the net. Belleville quickly responded through Clark Bishop, who tied the contest shorthanded just under four minutes later.
In the second, the Thunderbirds quickly jumped out to a 2-1 advantage. However, the Senators once again showed their resolve, capitalizing on a nifty passing play as Roby Jarventie made no mistake finishing an Egor Sokolov feed.
The final frame saw Belleville take their first lead of the contest through Jake Lucchini’s 18th of the season. The back and forth scoring continued as James Neal tied the game for Springfield with 3:26 left to play, ultimately forcing extra time.
In overtime, Tommy Cross secured the comeback win for the Thunderbirds, scoring the game-winner with 51 seconds remaining.
Sens On Special Teams
Power Play: 0/3 | Penalty Kill: 2/3
Fast Facts
- Michael McNiven made 31 saves in his Belleville Senators debut.
- The Belleville Sens have collected points in 13 of their last 17 games.
- Lassi Thomson has six points in his last four games.
Head Coach Troy Mann
“I thought we played a real good hockey game. We battled back a couple of different times. We weathered the storm early. They made a hard push there, obviously, the building was very energized; it was a nice crowd here tonight. We knew they were going to come hard, and they did and got the lead, but we responded well, and I liked our five-on-five game tonight. It could’ve gone either way.”
Playoff Push
The Belleville Senators remain in a playoff position in the American Hockey League’s North Division currently sitting 4th.
The Belleville Senators are back in action Sunday afternoon with another game in Springfield versus the Thunderbirds. You can hear the game on the Senators’ Official Broadcast Partner 800 AM CJBQ.
Coverage begins at 1:50 p.m. ET with David Foot.
