BSens Split Weekend on the Road

Following a busy schedule last week, the Belleville Senators only suited up for two games this weekend, visiting the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins before stopping for some chocolate in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The BSens turned to netminder Filip Gustavsson for their matchup with the Penguins on Friday night and the young Swede did not disappoint. The good guys kicked off the scoring with a relatively rare but very welcomed goal from Parker Kelly who was rewarded for his play away from the puck for the third time this year.

Halfway into the second period, Belleville added to their lead on an perfectly placed shot from Andrew Agozzino.

This...is a work of art#ForTheB pic.twitter.com/7PPRZ9Lxqw

— Belleville Senators (@BellevilleSens) February 12, 2022

I mean, come on.

In the third period, the Penguins were able to make it interesting by spoiling Gustavsson’s perfect game with a powerplay marker from Valtteri Puustinen. On top of Gustavsson’s strong play, stopping 31 of 32 shots, Belleville’s penalty kill went to work and were successful in stopping four of five opportunities for the opposition.

On Saturday night, things with Troy Mann’s former club were far more action packed than the low scoring affair from the night before. The BSens turned to Mads Søgaard in net and he was certainly busy, facing a total of 35 shots. Hershey put their visitors behind the eight ball quickly, as they were able to pot one less than three minutes after puck drop.

Freshly on a PTO, Hugo Roy scored his first career AHL goal to even things up just five minutes later.

Hugo Roy (@BellevilleSens) tallied his 1st AHL goal on the powerplay to even the score in #BELvsHER. pic.twitter.com/MgLGc3M69y

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) February 13, 2022

While Hershey took no time at all to regain the leading, scoring on the very next shift, everyone’s favourite BSen Egor Sokolov evened things back up just a few minutes after with his 11th of the season.

🚨Egor Sokolov ripped his 11th goal of the season on Saturday, a PPG in a 5-4 loss to Hershey

Sokolov has an even 26G, 26A in 68GP with Belleville across the past two seasons #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/iWHXJbiYk6

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) February 14, 2022

After exchanging another pair of goals in the second period, the two clubs headed into the third knotted at three a piece. It all came down to one period of exciting hockey to see if Belleville could sweep the weekend. Things kicked off on the right note as Belleville Captain Logan Shaw scored just 90 seconds into the third.

Unfortunately for the good guys, the Bears had plenty of bite left thanks to two familiar faces. Former BSen Macoy Erkamps (remember him?) assisted on Hershey’s game tying goal, and Cody Franson netted the eventual game winner.

Weekly Notes

• Filip Gustavsson posted a very nice 0.969 SV% on Friday night on route to his 37th win for the franchise, pulling him ahead of Marcus Högberg for the winningest goalie in Belleville Senators history.
• Egor Sokolov scored again this week, bringing his season totals to 11 in 33 games. His 27 points leads the team.
• Michael Del Zotto did the unthinkable and went pointless through two games this weekend. He now only has 18 points through 15 games.
• Mads Søgaard was busy and, unfortunately, unsuccessful against the Bears, posting his third sub-0.900 SV% in his last five starts. The Great Dane™ has cooled off of late, seeing his season save percentage drop to 0.906 SV%.
• Lassi Thomson sustained a minor injury which kept him out of the lineup. He’s expected to be back the next time Belleville plays, according to Head Coach Mann.
• Due to COVID-related concerns, Belleville’s game against the Laval Rocket tonight has been postponed.
• In case you missed it, Head Coach Troy Mann was on TSN 1200 yesterday and he spoke about a lot of things - including the goaltending battle between Gustavsson and Søgaard heading down the stretch. /