THE ROCKET BEGIN ROAD TRIP WITH 3-2 (OT) LOSS TO SENATORS

BELLEVILLE (February 8, 2020) – The Rocket began their five-game road trip with a 3-2 (OT) loss against the Belleville Senators on Saturday night at the CAA Arena. 

Riley Barber (1 G, 1 A), Charles Hudon (1 G, 1 A) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2 A) each recorded two points on the night. The latter has notched six assists in three games since joining the Rocket. 

Josh Norris, who sits fourth in the AHL with 50 points, continued to have success against his division rivals. With two assists, the centreman has registered 15 points (7 G, 8 A) in seven outings against the Rocket. Alex Formenton, who notched the game-winner and is 10th in the league with 42 points, has 12 (4 G, 8 A) in six games against the Rocket. 

After Hudon gave the Rocket an early 1-0 lead, the Senators took at 2-1 advantage before the end of the first period with goals from Jean-Christophe Beaudin and Erik Brannstrom. Barber tied the game on a 5-on-3 late in the second period to tie the game at two-a-piece. Outshooting the Rocket 15-5 in the final frame, the Senators were unable to solve goaltender Cayden Primeau, who made several key saves to send the game into overtime. The Rocket then created a flurry of chances but netminder Filip Gustavsson stood tall in extra time. Formenton gave Belleville their seventh consecutive victory, and their sixth against the Rocket this season. 

“I think it’s not the outcome we wanted. […] I think everyone wants to bring a little more. We are getting closer and closer. They’re a good hockey team, they really came out fast at us but I think for a lot of the game we handled them well and kept them to the outside but we had a couple of breakdowns and that cost us in the end,” said Evan McEneny after the game. 

Marqueurs/Scorers 

LAV: Hudon (Kotkaniemi, Barber) | Barber (Kotkaniemi, Hudon) 

BEL: Beaudin (LaBate) | Brannstrom (Abramov, Norris) | Formenton (Murray, Norris) 

Unités spéciales/Special teams 

LAV | AN/PP: 1/6 | IN/PK: 5/6 

BEL | AN/PP: 1/6 | IN/PK: 5/6 

Gardiens/Goaltenders 

LAV: Primeau (30/33) | BEL: Gustavsson (20/22) 

Trois étoiles/Three stars 

1. Gustavsson – BEL 2. Barber – LAV 3. Brannstrom – BEL