Kasper Halttunen delivered a masterclass on the power play as Blake Montgomery and his Belleville Senators marked the anniversary of their inaugural home opener with a dominant 4-1 victory over provincial rivals the Toronto Marlies.
Returning to the ice where Belleville contested their first AHL home fixture on 1 November 2017, the hosts produced a near-flawless special-teams display at CAA Arena to claim local bragging rights in the Battle of Ontario.
Finnish prospect Halttunen was the standout performer, maintaining his red-hot start to the campaign by registering his second hat-trick of the season. All three of his goals came on the power play, where the 21-year-old winger repeatedly punished Toronto's indiscipline with devastating finishing.
Rookie forward Montgomery also enjoyed an afternoon to remember, doubling the hosts' early lead with his first goal of the year just moments after Halttunen had opened the scoring.
The Senators' offensive rhythm was fueled by creative distribution from the blue line and through the middle, with Ryan Suzuki, Phil Daoust, and Christian Kyrou all collecting a pair of assists.
Belleville's discipline when defending was equally sharp, extinguishing all three Toronto man-advantages with an unblemished penalty kill. Behind a resolute defensive wall, goaltender Jackson Parsons was largely untroubled but dependable when called upon, turning aside 14 of the 15 shots he faced to collect his second victory of the season.
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