The Marlies began brightly at five-on-five and almost got themselves on the board within 30 seconds, but Bobby McMann was turned aside by Antoine Bibeau.
Toronto broke the deadlock at the six-minute mark courtesy of another relentless forechecking shift from the fourth line. Zach O’Brien sent the puck from behind the goal line out into the slot, where Ryan Chyzowski made no mistake.
The only threat from Belleville came off of own-zone turnovers by the Marlies. After a couple of near misses, the Senators capitalized on one such mistake. A shot from Maxence Guenette was tipped at waist height by Viktor Lodin, giving Erik Källgren no chance.