Quick Hits

• Levi Meriläinen recorded a 26-save shutout
• Arthur Kaliyev scored three goals for the Senators
• Four Senators recorded at least two points

Game Story

The Manitoba Moose (29-26-5-1) dropped a 5-0 decision to the Belleville Senators (25-30-8-1) at CAA Arena on Friday night. They were coming off a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday.

The Moose had the bulk of the best chances through the first 16 minutes of the game, but couldn’t solve Levi Meriläinen, who made 10 stops in the frame. At 16:18, Thomas Hamara walked into a booming slap shot to break the deadlock. Arthur Kaliyev made it 2-0 on the next shot, and just 42 seconds after that, Kaliyev finished off a breakaway chance for a 3-0 Belleville lead through 20 minutes. 

Manitoba had a handful of good chances to get on the board in the second, including a pair of two-on-one chances on the penalty kill, but they still couldn’t crack Meriläinen. Domenic DiVincentiis made 10 stops in the period, holding the deficit to 3-0.

Phillippe Daoust snapped a shot past DiVincentiis just 26 seconds into the third, making it 4-0. Kaliyev completed his hat-trick at 11:09, scoring a power play goal for a 5-0 Belleville lead. Meriläinen stopped eight shots in the third to put the finishing touches on a 26-save shutout, as the Senators took a 5-0 win.


Statbook

• Brayden Yager recorded at least three shots on goal for the 10th time this season
• Reece Vitelli played his first game for the Moose since Nov. 15 at Rockford
• Domenic DiVincentiis made his 30th appearance of the season