The Belleville Senators achieved a milestone on Saturday night by becoming the first AHL team this season to score against the Syracuse Crunch in Syracuse. They not only scored but secured a 7-4 victory.
Syracuse opened the scoring early when Cooper Flinton converted a rebound past Leevi Merilainen, just over five minutes in. Belleville responded quickly during a power play about three minutes later. Arthur Kaliyev scored his second goal of the season with a one-timer from the right circle, assisted by Stephen Halliday. Then Wyatt Bongiovanni added his fourth goal of the season about four minutes later, giving Belleville a 2-1 lead after the first period.
The second period saw rapid scoring with four goals within the first 6 minutes and 5 seconds. Jakob Pelletier tied the game early on a Syracuse rebound. However, Bongiovanni quickly regained the lead for Belleville with a high-slot wrist shot—his second goal of the game. At 4:52, Xavier Bourgault extended the lead with his fourth goal of the season, converting on a power play by moving through the crease.
"The Belleville Senators did something on Saturday night that no American Hockey League team had done yet this season: score a goal in Syracuse."
The Senators showcased strong offensive pressure and capitalized on power plays to take control of the game.
Author's summary: Belleville Senators broke a season scoring drought in Syracuse and powered to a 7-4 win through quick responses and strong special teams play.