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AHL Belleville Senators

Game Day Build-Up: Senators vs. Monsters, April 6

April 6, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


The set-up

There's no way around it for the Belleville Senators that if they hope to keep their playoff chances alive, they must beat the Cleveland Monsters tonight.

Belleville (35-29-3-5) dropped a decision to Hershey Friday and coupled with Cleveland's win in Laval, the Senators now find themselves three points back of the Monsters who have also played one less game.

Cleveland (36-26-7-2) have stormed back to take a playoff spot from Belleville after putting together an active 7-0-1-1 record as they look to claim the final spot in the North Division with Syracuse, Rochester and Toronto already locked in.

The Sens are 21-10-1-3 at home this season while the Monsters hold a 17-15-3-1 road record.

Roster notes

The Senators received a big boost ahead of Friday's game as Ottawa returned Rudolfs Balcers and Christian Wolanin to the team. It was widely expected both would head back to Belleville eventually but with Ottawa not finishing their season until tonight it seemed destined that the Sens would only get them for the final three games of the season next week.

Marcus Hogberg started again for Belleville Friday and at this point, you have to assume he goes again tonight in a must-win for Troy Mann's squad.

Andrew Sturtz, Cody Goloubef, Erik Brannstrom, Jim O'Brien, Max Lajoie and Morgan Klimchuk are out for Belleville.

Previous history

Tonight is the eighth and final meeting of the year between the two teams. Cleveland leads the season series as Belleville has only mustered a 2-4-0-1 record against the Monsters.

Who to watch

Rudolfs Balcers was out of the Belleville for nearly three months (his last game was Jan. 26 before his recall by Ottawa) but he still ranks seventh in Belleville scoring this year with 28 points in 39 games.

Rookie Derek Barach has stepped into the Monsters line-up after completing his NCAA season with Mercyhurst College and in 10 games, has eight points (five goals) and is riding a four-game point streak.

Where to watch

Saturday's game starts at 7:00pm and can also be seen on AHLTV. Fans can also watch tonight's contest at Shoeless Joe's in Belleville.

The radio broadcast on CJBQ 800 begins at 6:50pm with Jack Miller on the call and Paul Svoboda on colour.

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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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