The Belleville Senators struck twice in quick succession in the third period to secure a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Hockey Fights Cancer Weekend.
Belleville weathered an early storm from the visitors before breaking the deadlock in the opening frame. After Phantoms goaltender Aleksei Kolosov turned aside an initial close-range effort, Tyler Boucher worked the puck to Xavier Bourgault, who picked out Djibril Touré to sweep home his second goal of the season.
A scoreless second period followed, defined by end-to-end chances and fine netminding. Lehigh Valley edged the frame on the shot counter 9-8, carrying a 21-19 overall advantage into the final period.
The Phantoms responded instantly after the restart, drawing level just 18 seconds into the third. A rebound carved out by Danila Klimovich and Carl Grundstrom fell kindly to Jacob Gaucher, who buried his fifth of the campaign to make it 1-1.
Parity proved short-lived, however, as Belleville produced a decisive two-goal surge just before the midway mark.
Philippe Daoust and Oskar Pettersson battled along the boards to set up Bourgault, who executed a sharp wraparound finish to restore the Senators' lead. Moments later, Luke Ellinas seized on a neutral-zone turnover and slid the puck through Kolosov’s five-hole to notch his first AHL goal and establish a crucial two-goal cushion.
Lehigh Valley threw men forward in the dying stages, but Belleville netminder Jackson Parsons stood tall, turning aside 34 of 35 shots on the night to comfortably see out the win.
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