Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The Belleville Senators’ high-wire act will continue for at least one more night.
Coming into the week, the Sens found themselves four points out of a playoff spot in what has been a jammed North Division race for weeks now.
And their remaining schedule featured three games against the league-leading Laval Rocket.
Wednesday’s visit to Place Bell basically amounted to a must-win game. No small task, either, facing an opponent that had the AHL’s second-best performance at home this season. Amid a dizzying set of clinching possibilities, one scenario stood out: depending on other results, a Belleville loss could have sent Syracuse, Cleveland and Toronto all into the postseason and ended the Senators’ playoff hopes.
Still, Belleville had reason for hope. The team had split its first four games at Place Bell this season.
“They know what’s at stake,” head coach David Bell said at the morning skate. “It’s part of their development to see how they step up… They’ve elevated their game in these big moments.”
Thanks to Xavier Bourgault’s goal with 8:18 to go in the third period on Wednesday, Belleville snagged a 2-1 victory and has even more hope now.
Syracuse clinched a playoff berth with an overtime win at Hershey, leaving it a three-team race between the Marlies, Monsters and Senators for the final two spots in the North Division. And something has to give. As it stands, Toronto is at 82 points, Cleveland has 81 and Belleville owns 78.
Cleveland visits Lehigh Valley on Friday before Saturday’s regular-season finale at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Marlies have a home-and-home set with the Amerks that starts Friday. And then there are the B-Sens, who are still in Laval for a rematch with the Rocket tonight followed by what could be a season-deciding showdown at CAA Arena on Saturday. The Rocket still have plenty to play for, too, as they are trying to secure the AHL’s regular-season title.
Goaltender Leevi Meriläinen may well have saved Belleville’s season Wednesday. On a Laval three-on-one chance featuring Alex Barré-Boulet, Laurent Dauphin and Sean Farrell, Meriläinen managed to shut down a doorstop chance to hold the game scoreless. He continued to fend off Laval chances late, preserving the victory with 23 saves.
There have been a lot of tight moments lately for Bell’s players. Belleville has earned points in seven of its last nine games (5-2-1-1), including a 3-0-1-0 stretch at Rochester, Springfield, Providence and Laval. Four road games, four opponents that are going to the Calder Cup Playoffs, and the Sens have captured seven of eight points. It’s familiar territory, too, for the Senators, who needed a furious finish last season – winning eight of their last nine down the stretch – to qualify for the playoffs. And in 2022, a run of seven wins in their final eight games sent them into the postseason.
“Every line was working, paying the price,” Bourgault said after Wednesday’s win. “Guys are believing.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
