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AHL Belleville Senators

Captain Szwarz Returns to Sens Lineup After Injury Absence

February 3, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


The captain has returned.

Belleville Senators captain Jordan Szwarz returned to the Senators lineup Saturday night after missing 15 games with a lower-body injury suffered Dec. 27 in Rochester.

"It's nice to join the boys again. I missed them," Szwarz said. "Obviously, they were on that long road trip so it was good seeing all the faces again. They really dug in there on a hard road trip and got 13 of 16 points. Tip of a cap to them. They did a helluva job out there."

With the Sens having headed out for its 16-day road trip in early January, Szwarz spent most of his recovery away from the team including spending time in Ottawa with the Senators' athletic therapist Gerry Townend.

"I got good treatment," Szwarz said. "Just a lot of treatment from [Belleville Senators athletic therapist Craig Belfer] and the staff. I obviously put the work in myself so I'm feeling good."

Szwarz returned to his spot at centre Saturday where the Sens staged a wild third period comeback to clinch a 5-4 overtime win over the Rocket after trailing by three goals with less than seven minutes to play in regulation.

Despite missing more than a month, Szwarz's 11 goals are tied for the fifth most on the team while his three short-handed goals are tied for second in the AHL alongside teammate Morgan Klimchuk. All in all, the 28-year-old has 21 points in 30 games with Belleville.

Saturday's win continued to cement the Sens' place atop the North Division and with less than 30 games to play in the regular season, the Senators are in a prime position to secure its first ever playoff appearance.

But with being a captain comes experience, and with nine years in the AHL, Szwarz knows how things tighten up down the stretch.

"We've got to continue to build on that momentum we gained on the road trip," he said.

"We're sitting in a good spot. This is a really hard time of the year to play hockey games. The month of February is always tough and then getting into March for that playoff push so mentally we've got to be sharp.

"We've put ourselves in a good position here and we've got to keep the momentum going forward."

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