Sens' Playoff Push Ends in 5-1 Loss in Laval

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AHL Belleville Senators

Sens' Playoff Push Ends in 5-1 Loss in Laval

April 18, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


Belleville Senators' Angus Crookshank on game night
Belleville Senators' Angus Crookshank on game night
(Belleville Senators, Credit: Laval Rocket)

The Laval Rocket scored twice in the opening five minutes, and rode that early advantage to a 5-1 win over the visiting Belleville Senators on Friday night.

The loss eliminates the Senators from playoff contention, with one regular season game left to play.

Florian Xhekaj opened the scoring for the Rocket just under three minutes into the game, converting on a net front scramble. Jared Davidson converted on a similar play in front of the Belleville net to double the lead at the 4:12 mark.

Just over halfway through the game, Laval made it 3-0 on an odd-man rush, when Lucas Condotta sniped a wrist shot from the left side.

Just 91 seconds into the third period, Laval extended the lead to four. Alex Barré-Boulet took the puck away at the end wall of the Sens' zone and got a quick centering pass to Sean Farrell, whose quick one-timer found the back of the net.

With 11:11 left, Belleville got on the board as Garrett Pilon dropped off the puck at the right circle for a sharp-angle wrist shot by Oskar Pettersson that snuck in and cut the deficit to three.

With the season on the line and a late power play, the Sens gambled by pulling their goaltender early; but a long clearance by Barré-Boulet in the defensive zone found its way down ice and into the open cage to seal the 5-1 final score.

Fast Facts:

Laval outshot the Senators 32-24 in the game

The Sens went 3 for 3 on the Viewtech Window & Door Penalty Kill and 0 for 3 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play

#22 Garrett Pilon scored his 36th assist of the season

#32 Oskar Pettersson scored his 9th goal of the season

#33 Djibril Touré scored his 4th assist of the season

#35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 27 of 31 Laval shots

Sound Bytes:

Head Coach Dave Bell on the result:

"I think we ran out of gas. They've pushed hard for a long time; we had some guys dressed that shouldn't have dressed, quite frankly, and they gave it more than they needed to give. There were three guys that shouldn't have dressed at all. So, just ran out of bodies, ran out of gas, but the guys fought right to the end."

Bell on the team's tenacity:

"I've been extremely proud of them. They've been hit with a lot of adversity this year, a lot of different things out of their control, and they always come to the rink, practice day or game day, and they work; that's all I can ask."

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, April 19, 2025 - Belleville Senators vs. Laval Rocket - 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena) (Fan Appreciation Night)

Check out the Belleville Senators Statistics




Images from this story

Belleville Senators' Angus Crookshank on game night
Belleville Senators' Angus Crookshank on game night
(Laval Rocket)		   

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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