Belleville Senators Prospect Update: February 11th

A massive 6-5 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack aside, the Belleville Senators continue to struggle to consistently outscore their opponents. A 2-2-1 record in the last five games sees them with an 18-16-2 record, and thanks to a struggling Syracuse Crunch, has the B-Sens 6 points out of a playoff spot with 5 (!) games in hand.

• Wednesday, Jan. 29th: VS Hartford Wolf Pack - 6-5 Win (OT)
• Friday, Jan. 31st: @ Utica Comets - 1-0 Loss
• Saturday, Feb. 1st: VS Utica Comets - 4-3 Win (OT)
• Friday, Feb. 7th: @ Rochester Americans - 4-0 Loss
• Saturday, Feb. 8th: @ Utica Comets - 3-2 Loss (OT)

Notable Performances

• Yet another strong point-per-game two-week stretch for Stephen Halliday has him tied for the scoring lead on Belleville with 31 points in 39 games. In particular, his three-assist effort against Utica carried the team to a crucial OT victory. When, oh when, are we going to see him in the NHL?
• Angus Crookshank added a goal and a pair of assists across 5 games to improve his total to 27 points in 40 games, fourth behind Halliday, Jeremy Davies and Garret Pilon. The caveat here, is that it's nothing we haven't seen before – in fact, we've seen much better from him in the past. Part of the joy in writing these updates, personally, is seeing prospects improve with each passing year, and Crookshank's stagnant production has lost a bit of the gleam from last season.
• After the easiest shutout of his career (and probably most goalies' careers, as well), a 16-save effort against the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 1st, Leevi Merilainen returned to Belleville and went 0-1-1 in his two appearances and an .894 save percentage. I'm convinced he's an NHL goaltender today, and as such, one would assume he'd do as good if not better in the AHL, but will the rest of the team rally behind him, or hold him back?
• To the rest of the boys, my apologies, but at your level, one-point efforts have no place in these updates.