Senators Creep Closer to Playoff Spot in Shootout Loss to Marlies

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AHL Belleville Senators

Senators Creep Closer to Playoff Spot in Shootout Loss to Marlies

March 30, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


Belleville Senators' Leevi Meriläinen battles Toronto Marlies' Cédric Paré
Belleville Senators' Leevi Meriläinen battles Toronto Marlies' Cédric Paré
(Belleville Senators, Credit: Freestyle Photography)

The Belleville Senators are creeping closer to a playoff spot, picking up a point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Toronto Marlies, at CAA Arena on Saturday night.

The Senators came flying out of the gate and would draw first blood less than two minutes into the game by way of Xavier Bourgault's ninth goal of the campaign. Bourgault found a rebound in the right circle, got the puck to his backhand and muscled it to the far side of the net past Matt Murray. The 1-0 scoreline would hold to the intermission, with the Senators outshooting the Marlies 11-6.

Toronto would score the second period's only goal, leaving the teams tied 1-1 after 40 minutes of play. The Marlies' goal came on a power play, finished off by Joseph Blandisi following passes from Jacob Quillan and Nick Abbruzzese. The Marlies outshot the Sens in the frame 14-10.

The Marlies put another 14 shots on Leevi Merilainen in the third period, but the Belleville netminder was spectacular and turned them all aside, sending the two teams to overtime for the fifth time in their 10-game season series. After a back-and-forth extra period, Belleville appeared to have won the game, when Jan Jenik drove in and jammed the puck past Matt Murray. However, the referee's ruled that Jenik interfered with the Toronto goaltender it the goal was waived off, leading to the fourth shootout of the season series.

With Toronto shooting first, Alex Steeves would miss for the Marlies and Stephen Halliday did the same for Belleville. The next two shooters, Logan Shaw for Toronto and Xavier Bourgault for Belleville, both scored. The following four Belleville shooters would all miss, with three Toronto shooters unable to beat Merilainen, but Blandisi did notch the game-winner.

With the Syracuse Crunch (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and Cleveland Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets) both losing, Belleville is now one point back of Syracuse for the North Division's final playoff spot, and a meeting with the Crunch coming up in their next game. After that, Belleville welcomes the Rochester Americans (AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres) for a pair of games next Friday and Saturday.

The Sens will then hit the road for five games after that, in Rochester, Springfield, Providence, and Laval, before returning home to round out the regular season against the Rocket on April 19.

You can see the complete box score.

Fast Facts:

#13 Xavier Bourgault scored his ninth goal of the season

#35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 37 of 38 shots he faced in the loss

#38 Wyatte Wylie picked up his ninth assist of the season

#48 Filip Roos registered another assist and has three helpers in his past two games

The Senators were 0/4 on the Lifestyle Home Products Power Play and 3/4 on the ViewTech Window Door Penalty Kill.

Sound Bytes:

Sens captain Garrett Pilon on the tough loss:

"It's gonna sting. It's good to get the one point, it's a big game Wednesday against Syracuse here, but it's just a tough one to go home with."

Pilon on the weekend's stellar goaltending performances from Malcolm Subban and Leevi Merilainen:

"They both work very hard throughout the week to prepare, and for us when they're standing on their heads like that, it gives us a chance to get one point even, get wins, and it's huge for us right now with the stretch we're in, and especially coming down the wire here trying to get into playoffs."

Upcoming Games:

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - Belleville Senators vs Syracuse Crunch - 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena)

Friday, April 4, 2025 - Belleville Senators vs Rochester Americans - 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena) (Community Heroes Night presented by Bell)

Saturday, April 5, 2025 - Belleville Senators vs Rochester Americans - 7:00 p.m. (CAA Arena) (Faceoffs and Fossils Night)

Ticket Info:

Tickets for all 2024-25 Belleville Sens home games are now on sale via Ticketmaster, by emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com, or at the Belleville Sens Box Office at CAA Arena during select hours.

Fans looking for details on other ticketing options can click the following links for more on becoming a season seat member, purchasing a flex pack membership, or putting down a deposit for a group experience. More information on those ticket options, plus details on premium seating and Business Elite packages is available by visiting the Belleville Sens website or emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com.

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Images from this story

Belleville Senators' Leevi Meriläinen battles Toronto Marlies' Cédric Paré
Belleville Senators' Leevi Meriläinen battles Toronto Marlies' Cédric Paré
(Freestyle Photography)		   

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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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