The Belleville Senators started 2024 the same way they finished 2023, with a victory.
Belleville put together a solid defensive effort in a gritty win on the road in Winnipeg, knocking off the Manitoba Moose 3-1, at Canada Life Centre.
The Senators would gain some momentum from an early-period penalty kill and use that to capitalize at 9:04 of the first, when Josh Currie tipped a shot from Donovan Sebrango past Colin Delia, for his fourth goal of the season. The Senators were able to limit Manitoba to just four shots on goal in the frame while killing off two penalties.
Currie would add another point in the second, assisting on Graham McPhee’s fourth goal of the season, inside the first two minutes of the frame. The Moose would answer back on a power play, via a goal-mouth scramble finish by Jeffrey Viel. The highlight of the frame, however, may have been the fight between Belleville’s Boko Imama and Manitoba’s Tyrel Bauer, which left the Moose defender bloodied.
The only goal of the third came courtesy of an empty net marker from Egor Sokolov, with Mads Sogaard stopping every shot he faced in the period, to preserve the win.
Fast Facts:
- The Senators extended their win streak to a season-high five games
- #6 Donovan Sebrango earned his first point as a Senator, with an assist
- #13 Egor Sokolov had a goal, to extend his point streak to five games
- #18 Josh Currie had a goal and an assist and was named the game’s third star
- #27 Graham McPhee had a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star
- #40 Mads Sogaard stopped 15/16 shots
- The Senators were 0/2 on the power play and 4/5 on the penalty kill
Sound Bytes:
Belleville Sens forward Graham McPhee on the keys to win:
“We’re playing safe and reliable and when we get our chances, we found the net tonight. When we play within our structure it’s pretty easy, so sticking to our structure has been the biggest thing. We have a really strong group in there and guys are playing for each other and it’s really fun to be a part of.”
Belleville Sens forward Josh Currie on the keys to the current win streak:
“We had a good week of practice after a couple days to rest up and got a lot of good things done. I think we’re just feeling good as a team. When you win, everyone’s kind of feeling better and more confident, and I think that’s starting to show in our play.”
Game highlights can be seen here.
Up Next:
- Today@ Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets) – 3:00 p.m. ET
- Wednesday January 10, 2024 vs Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets) – 7:00 p.m. ET (Winning Wednesday)
- Friday January 12, 2024 @ Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) – 7:00 p.m. ET
- Sunday January 14, 2024 vs Toronto Marlies (Sunday Fun Day) – 2:00 p.m. ET
