Belleville’s last five games have been a roller coaster, but the most striking part of the stretch hasn’t been the record. It’s been who has kept the Senators afloat. With the club going 2-3-0, the goaltending has repeatedly given Belleville a chance, even when the skaters around it have not always matched the effort.
That run started on October 23 in Wilkes-Barre, where the BSens rolled to a 7-3 win. Jackson Parsons was the backbone of that result, turning aside a barrage of dangerous chances while the defensive structure in front of him broke down.
Belleville’s penalty kill was a mess, surrendering multiple high-end looks and leaving Parsons exposed on Wilkes-Barre’s power-play goal. Still, the Senators stayed disciplined enough to take only one penalty all night, and Djibril Touré and Sammy Blais were among the skaters who kept their composure.
Touré brought his usual physical edge, added an assist, and then capped the night with an empty-net goal. Oskar Pettersson also stood out, generating shots, making a couple of strong stick checks, and setting up two goals.
Tyler Boucher beat the Penguins goalie twice, while Xavier Bourgault scored on his only shot but otherwise had a quiet night. Kasper Halttunen didn’t register a shot on goal and was mostly invisible.
Blake Montgomery made his season debut and looked like he was still finding his legs.
The next night in Hershey, Belleville briefly looked like it might pull off the same trick again. Philippe Daoust opened the scoring with his first of the season, and Phil Tomasino added another in the second period after also being a major offensive driver the night before in Wilkes-Barre, where he had a goal and three assists.
But Hershey eventually cracked the code on Parsons, scoring five straight goals, with the last two coming into an empty net. Parsons was still the best thing Belleville had going, especially considering he was back in the crease on consecutive nights.
Christian Kyrou was one of the few skaters who held up well in the loss, but most of the group never fully converted the early lead into sustained pressure.
Belleville’s third road game in three days came October 25 in Lehigh Valley, and the fatigue showed from the opening faceoff. The Senators looked sluggish and slow to pucks, and several of the second-period penalties came from getting beaten cleanly or arriving late.
Kevin Reidler made his season debut and gave them a solid outing, stopping 21 of 23 shots. The problem was the other end of the ice, where Belleville couldn’t finish despite chances from Tyler Boucher and Xavier Bourgault.
Kasper Halttunen helped defensively by breaking up a couple of Phantoms rushes, and Matthew Andonovski brought a strong physical presence while clearing the crease in front of Reidler. After that game, the club finally got home and into a much-needed break.
The first game back at home, on October 30 against Hartford, ended up looking more lopsided than it really was because of two late empty-net goals. Even in defeat, Halttunen was impossible to miss.
After a couple of quiet games, he came out flying, scored a beauty, dropped the gloves before the first period was over, and had two-thirds of a Gordie How Hat-Trick 16 minutes into the night. He also accounted for a fifth of Belleville’s shots by himself, which said plenty about both his impact and the lack of support around him.
That was especially true with Bourgault and Tomasino having been called up to the NHL, leaving Belleville short on offense. Parsons was once again the story in net, stopping 32 of 34 and nearly dragging the team to a result on his own.
Then came November 1 against Toronto, and for once Belleville controlled a game from start to finish. The BSens badly outshot the Marlies, with Parsons seeing only 15 shots all night.
Belleville jumped on Toronto early, outshooting it 12-2 in the first period and never really letting the pressure off. Halttunen took over completely, scoring his second hat trick of the season through 12 games, with all three goals coming on the power play as the unit went 3-for-6.
Philippe Daoust was a major part of that success, helping set up the power play and repeatedly finding Halttunen. Blake Montgomery was active on the puck and earned Belleville’s only even-strength goal of the night.
It was the kind of dominant win that has been rare for this team.
Through all of it, the goaltending story in Belleville has been the opposite of what Ottawa has dealt with. Jackson Parsons, after a rough start, has settled in and played four games without posting a save percentage below .919%.
Reidler also delivered in his lone AHL appearance. So far, the crease has not been the reason Belleville has hovered around mediocrity.
Halttunen has been another major theme. Like a lot of pure scorers, he comes in waves, and the numbers reflect that: six of his nine goals have come in two games.
But even when he isn’t scoring, he still finds ways to matter, usually through hits or by hunting pucks along the boards. If he keeps playing like this, he’s going to get his chance in Ottawa this season.
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