Belleville Senators were unable to capitalise on another clinical finish from leading goalscorer Kasper Halttunen, falling to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Hartford Wolf Pack.
With Bermudian prospect Blake Montgomery lining up in the Senators' forward ranks, Belleville sought to build momentum at home but found themselves trailing just over six minutes into the opening frame when Anton Blidh converted on an early Hartford power play.
The hosts issued an immediate response midway through the first period. Capitalising on crisp build-up play from Eskild Bakke Olsen and Samuel Bolduc, Finnish winger Halttunen picked up the puck inside the left-wing circle and fired past Callum Tung to register his sixth goal of the campaign at 10:48.
Parity proved short-lived, however. Hartford restored their advantage before the opening interval courtesy of Justin Dowling’s power-play marker, nudging the visitors ahead 2-1.
A tightly contested, scoreless second period saw Belleville goaltender Jackson Parsons produce a string of key stops to keep the contest within reach, turning aside 32 of the 34 shots he faced on the night.
As the Senators pressed for a late equaliser in the third, Hartford exploited the vacant Belleville net, with Carey Terrance and Blidh adding empty-netters to seal a resolute road victory for the Wolf Pack.
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