Monsters hold off Senators 6-5, end Belleville's eight-game point streak

Cleveland produced a wild offensive night at Rocket Arena, edging the Belleville Senators 6-5 to halt the Senators’ eight-game point streak and keep momentum in the AHL North Division race. The Monsters built an early lead and withstood a late Belleville surge to move to 21-14-5-1 and remain fifth in the division, while Belleville fell to 19-19-7-0.

Cleveland carried a 3-1 edge out of the opening period after goals that, in part, came from Corson Ceulemans and Jack Williams. Jorian Donovan provided Belleville’s early response, with the broadcast exclaiming, "HERE'S A PASS OUT AND A SHOT AND A GOAL AND JORIAN DONOVAN HAS TIED THE GAME." The Monsters added two second-period goals and Oskar Pettersson scored at 16:57 to leave Cleveland ahead 5-3.

Belleville mounted a spirited third-period comeback. Olle Lycksell scored at 1:02 in his return, Brendan Gaunce closed the gap at 9:59 with assists from Luca Pinelli and Sillinger, and Tyler Boucher converted at 13:11 to make it a one-goal game. The Senators generated pressure late but the Monsters held on for the 6-5 result.

Goaltending figures were significant. Ivan Fedotov earned the win, stopping 23 shots for Cleveland, while Belleville netminder Leevi Meriläinen finished with 29 saves in defeat. Cleveland finished with 35 shots on goal to Belleville’s 28. Special teams did not decide the outcome: Cleveland was 0-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, while Belleville went 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the kill. Penalty minutes showed Cleveland with 10 minutes across five infractions and Belleville with six minutes on three infractions.

Individual contributions and depth plays stood out in a game driven by secondary scoring. #5 Wyatt Bongiovanni recorded an assist. #10 Philippe Daoust notched two helpers in his return. #11 Jorian Donovan scored his fourth goal of the year. #15 Olle Lycksell had one goal in his return. #16 Tyler Boucher tallied three points, with two being assists. #19 Jamieson Rees had one assist. #22 Garrett Pilon doubled up with two assists. #26 Carter Yakemchuk recorded one assist. #32 Oskar Pettersson potted home one goal.

The result has immediate implications: Belleville’s eight-game point streak is snapped, trimming a key narrative from their midseason push, while Cleveland gains a timely home victory before an immediate rematch Saturday night at Rocket Arena. The Monsters will aim to build on balanced scoring and Fedotov’s victory; Belleville must regroup, tighten their special teams, and convert chances if they want to salvage the back-to-back and stay in the playoff conversation.