Home Featured RECAP | Rocket – Comets: Laval Road Woes Continue

RECAP | Rocket – Comets: Laval Road Woes Continue

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RECAP | Rocket – Comets: Laval Road Woes Continue
Photo credit: Christian Bonin/TSGphoto.com | Toronto Marlies

Laval Rocket vs Utica Comets Game Recap: Line-up, Score, Game Report, Statistics, Highlights, Three Stars, Rocket Sports Media

FINAL | Regular Season – Game 51 | Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Adirondack Bank Center, Utica, NY

ROCKET

Laval

2-3

COMETS

Utica

Photo credit: Christian Bonin/TSGphoto.com | Toronto Marlies

Rocket Lineup

Forward lines

Charles Hudon – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Kevin Lynch

Matthew Peca – Ryan Poehling – Riley Barber

Alexandre Alain – Phil Varone – Nikita Jevpalovs

Yannick Veilleux – Laurent Dauphin – Antoine Waked

Defense pairings

Karl Alzner – Cale Fleury

Otto Leskinen – Josh Brook

Gustav Olofsson – Evan McEneny

Goaltenders

Cayden Primeau – Michael McNiven

Scratches

Maxim Lamarche, Michael Pezzetta, Keith Kinkaid

Injuries

Noah Juulsen (upper body), Alex Belzile (pectoral surgery), Andrew Sturtz, Hayden Verbeek, Lukas Vejdemo, Joe Cox, Will Pelletier, Ralph Cuddemi

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

With the Laval Rocket dropping their first two games on this five-game road trip, they pulled into Utica on Wednesday for another clash with the Comets in an attempt to grab hold of two divisional points.

The Laval goalie rotation continued, this time with Cayden Primeau getting the start in net and Michael McNiven dressing as the backup. Keith Kinkaid was a healthy scratch.

In the opening 20 minutes, Laval controlled the puck for a good portion of the period, particularly in the opening couple of minutes. That bout of good offensive pressure ended with Otto Leskinen wiring a big shot from the point to beat Michael DiPietro.

At the other end of the ice, Primeau made a number of important saves through the middle of the frame as the Comets started to get some penetration into the zone. It wasn’t until a series of penalties left the Rocket shorthanded on a 4×3 advantage for Utica that the home team managed to score. Jonah Gadjovich was parked in the crease and banged away at a loose puck until it squeaked through Primeau’s pads.

To begin the second period, the Rocket and the refs believed that Laval scored a go-ahead goal, but then the officials immediately changed their mind. They had to resort to a video review and ultimately determined that no goal had been scored, and the game remained tied at 1-1.

Then Yannick Veilleux, fresh off his newly-signed AHL contract with Laval, put the Rocket back up by one goal when he lifted the puck over DiPietro’s pad on the power play. The visiting team continued to find themselves in the penalty box, however, and eventually Utica capitalized for a second time on the power play when Sven Baertschi backhanded the puck into the Rocket net.

This game was ultimately decided in the open 36 seconds of the third period when Reid Boucher forced a turnover by Charles Hudon and quickly ripped a wrister blocker side into Primeau’s net. The Rocket tried mightily to get that goal back and at least tie the game, but DiPietro stood tall and the Comets prevailed.

Laval has gone 0-2-1 so far on this road trip, with two tough opponents left before they head back to Quebec. Additionally, Syracuse defeated Binghamton tonight to tie Laval and Toronto in points, and push the Rocket into 6th place in the division. They’ll face Hartford on Friday.

Plus / Minus

▲  Laurent Dauphin, Yannick Veilleux

▼  Kevin Lynch, Matthew Peca

The Numbers

 Game Statistics 
ROCKET   COMETS
30 Shots 19
1 for 5 Power Play 2 for 4
10 Penalty Minutes 12
 Scoring Summary
 FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Rocket (23-21-5-2) 1 1 0 2
Comets (28-18-3-2) 1 1 1 3
Scorers Goalies
  • LAV: Leskinen (2), Veilleux (5)
  • UTI: Gadjovich (12), Baertschi (9), Boucher (27)
  • LAV: Primeau (L) 12-8-3-3
  • UTI: DiPietro (W) 16-7-2-1

Stars of the Game​​

 AHL Official Three Stars
  1. Reid Boucher  UTI
  2. Sven Baertschi  UTI
  3. Michael DiPietro  UTI

Watch

 Video Highlights 

What Did They Say?

 Post-game Interviews

Interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for AHL Report

Social Media

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Follow @theAHLReport on Twitter

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