The Belleville Senators host the Cleveland Monsters, the top farm club of the Columbus Blue Jackets, in Game 1 of the AHL North Semifinals on Wednesday night.
The best-of-five North Division semifinal between the Belleville Senators and the Cleveland Monsters gets underway on Wednesday night. The Senators advanced to round two after a 2-1 series win over the Toronto Marlies.
Garrett Pilon scored the overtime winner in game three on Sunday afternoon. Pilon led all Sens scorers in the series with four points and he's having a fine run of AHL playoff success, helping Hershey win the Calder Cup last season.
Wyatt Bongiovanni, Josh Currie, and Jacob Larsson all had three points apiece for Belleville in round one. Mads Sogaard's save percentage in the first round was nothing to write home about (.881) but he did make some huge stops at key times.
The Monsters went 1-3 against Belleville this season and finished first in the division this season, drawing a first-round bye and a berth in the semifinals. But it should be noted they ended up only six points ahead of the B-Sens in a very tight North.
Angus Crookshank was a monster against the Monsters with two goals and two assists in the season series. For Cleveland, Trey Fix-Wolansky will be a player for Belleville to reckon with. He posted 58 points in 60 games this season.
"They have all the ingredients to be a first-place team and that's why they are," head coach David Bell told the Belleville Senators Entertainment Network. "They play fast. They play the right way. So you know what? We're going to do our thing and try to dictate the game to our strengths and put pucks where we play well and then see if we can grind out a win."