Belleville Senators Prospect Update - February 25th

Last time we checked in with these guys, I erroneously stated their record to be 18-16-2 because I forgot that the AHL standings separate overtime and shootout losses, probably to account for end-of-season tiebreaker shenanigans. That said, their record is now 23-18-7, 2 points back of the Syracuse Crunch for a playoff spot with 2 games in hand.

• Wednesday, Feb. 12th: VS Laval Rocket - 5-0 Win
• Friday, Feb. 14th: VS Toronto Marlies - 5-3 Win
• Saturday, Feb. 15th: @ Toronto Marlies - 3-2 Loss (OT)
• Monday, Feb. 17th: VS Utica Comets - 3-0 Win
• Wednesday, Feb. 19th: @ Utica Comets - 5-2 Loss
• Friday, Feb. 21st @ Rochester Americans - 6-3 Loss
• Sunday, Feb. 23rd @ Cleveland Monsters - 2-1 Win (SO)
• Monday, Feb. 24th @ Cleveland Monsters - 2-1 Win (OT)

Notable Performances:

• Jan Jenik and Cole Reinhardt, the latter recently back from another NHL stint (and the former now called up for an NHL stint), played major roles in the sweep over Cleveland. Both scored the team's only regulation goals in the two victories, and Jenik scored the shootout winner on Sunday.

• Stephen Halliday and Angus Crookshank (the latter also on his way to the NHL) continue to lead the way offensively down in Belleville, with Halliday tallying 4 goals (including a pair against Laval) and an assist in 8 games, and Crookshank contributed 2 goals and 4 assists over the same stretch. With Zack Ostapchuk back in the AHL after struggling to produce, we could soon also see Halliday get a well-deserved shot in Ottawa if either Josh Norris or Shane Pinto aren't ready.

• Jenik, along with Philippe Daoust and Maxence Guenette, all made a bit of noise with 3 points each in the last 8 games. All three had shown promise in past seasons, but Jenik and Daoust have been injured far too frequently to gain much traction, while Guenette has failed to close the gap on Jacob Bernard-Docker while also being passed on the depth chart by Nikolas "Sixth-best D in Finland" Matinpalo.
• Even with a six-game suspension (for leaving the bench after the whistle) limiting his action to four games, Donovan Sebrango was one of just four Belleville prospects to score more than once in the last eight games. His 16 points in 38 games ranks second on Belleville's blueline, and his lack of NHL games this season is a byproduct of Ottawa's uncharacteristically good luck when it comes to injuries on the left point.
• Of course the health of Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson and Tyler Kleven only partly makes up for the horrid injury luck elsewhere. Leevi Merilainen took a skate to the head in a freak accident and had to be helped off the ice yesterday against the Monsters. The Finnish firewall had gone 4-1-0, posting 2 shutouts and a .948 save percentage in the process, but the coaching staff decided to roll the dice with a second-straight start, and paid the price. Malcolm Subban stopped all 14 shots in relief and got the dub in overtime.