Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jordan Weal – Jesse Ylonen

Joseph Blandisi – Ryan Poehling – Joel Teasdale

Brandon Baddock – Jan Mysak – Liam Hawel

Jake Lucchini – Michael Pezzetta – Arsen Khisamutdinov

Corey Schueneman – Otto Leskinen

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Cale Fleury

Guillaume Brisebois – Josh Brook

Cayden Primeau – Michael McNiven

Nathanael Halbert, Hayden Verbeek, Jacob Leguerrier, Cameron Hillis, Terrance Amorosa, Tristan Pomerleau, Gustav Olofsson, Vasily Demchenko, Yannick Veilleux (suspended)

Alex Belzile (undisclosed), Lukas Vejdemo (undisclosed)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Rocket were at the Bell MTS Iceplex on Friday night to face the Moose for the second time of the four-game series. On Thursday, Manitoba scored twice in the last 32 seconds of regulation time to tie the game, and end up winning 4-3 in shootout. 

Earlier in the day, Laval announced that Alex Belzile and Lukas Vejdemo will be unavailable for the rest of the road trip due to injury. Liam Hawel and Arsen Khisamutdinov replaced the two veterans in the lineup. Cayden Primeau obtained the start in net. In his last start, he made 24 saves in a win against the Heat.

First Period

Laval got on the board on their first shot of the night at the 2:43 mark. Jake Lucchini made a cross ice pass to Joel Teasdale in the offensive zone, and Teasdale beat Mikhail Berdin with a nifty move. 

Ryan Poehling obtained a scoring chance in the period, when Guillaume Brisebois made a pass to him through the neutral zone. Poehling went on a breakaway, where Berdin stopped the puck with a glove save. 

The Rocket had one power play in the period, and weren’t able to generate any dangerous chances. Laval did a good job defensively, allowing Manitoba to take only four shots through 20 minutes.

Second Period

Laval was on the penalty kill early in the frame as Hawel got his first penalty in his professional career on a questionable call. Hawel knocked the puck on Jimmy Oligny’s mouth and the official from the neutral zone called a high sticking penalty on the Canadiens prospect. 

Both teams obtained scoring chances in the period, that they weren’t able to convert. For Laval, Jesse Ylonen’s wrist shot from the slot was stopped by Berdin during the ninth minute of play, and with 2:16 remaining, Berdin made a stop on Rafael Harvey-Pinard from point blank. 

Primeau had to make key saves including a stick save against Bobby Lynch on a breakaway opportunity. 

Third Period

The Moose set the tempo early as Nathan Todd hit the crossbar 30 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from the face-off circle. 

Jan Mysak drew a penalty that could have given his team an opportunity to increase the lead, however it was short lived as Jordan Weal got called for cross-checking seven seconds later.  

Pascal Vincent called a timeout with 1:53 remaining in the third to delivery a strategy to reproduce Thursday’s outcome of tying the score with the extra attacker. 

Laval, led by their goaltender, didn’t budge. The defensive unit and Primeau shut the door for the 1-0 victory.

What’s Next?

Primeau made 19 saves for his first shutout of the year. Bouchard stated after the game that he was happy with the way his team responded to Thursday’s loss. 

The teams continue their series on Sunday at 3:00pm eastern time. 

Be sure to scroll down to hear full audio from the AHL Report team and other members of the media in post-game interviews with Primeau, Teasdale, and Bouchard.

Plus / Minus

▲  Cayden Primeau, Joel Teasdale, Jan Mysak

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