Rocket Lineup

Joseph Blandisi – Ryan Poehling – Jesse Ylonen

Yannick Veilleux – Jordan Weal – Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Laurent Dauphin – Lukas Vejdemo – Arsen Khisamutdinov

Jacob Lucchini – Cameron Hillis – Kevin Lynch

Otto Leskinen – Corey Schueneman

Kaiden Guhle – Xavier Oullet

Gustav Olofsson – Gianni Fairbrother

Vasily Demchenko – Michael McNiven

Tobie Paquette-Bisson, Nathanael Halbert, Liam Hawel, Hayden Verbeek, Jacob Leguerrier, Michael Pezzetta, Cayden Primeau, Josh Brook, Joel Teasdale, Jan Mysak, Brandon Baddock

Alex Belzile (day-to-day)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

After spending the first two weeks of their season facing just one opponent over four games, the Rocket finally welcomed a new opponent to the Bell Centre on Monday night. The Manitoba Moose started the night 2-2 after splitting a series in Toronto against the Marlies.

Once again Joel Bouchard added some new faces to the lineup, as he explained to the media after the morning skate. Kaiden Guhle, Cameron Hillis, and Vasily Demchenko would all make their debut on this night.

First Period

The Moose are a much different team than the Belleville Senators, and it was obvious in the opening five minutes that the game would be a much more defensive outing. Luck for Laval went sideways when Jesse Ylonen retrieved the puck in the corner, turned to fire it around the end boards, and ended up putting it right past Demchenko and into the Laval net. The goal was credited to Ville Heinola, the last Manitoba player to touch the puck.

This was obviously completely accidental on Ylonen’s part, but keep in mind that he is still adjusting to a smaller ice surface in North America. After playing for his entire life on larger international ice rinks, muscle memory kicks in and, if the game had been taking place in Europe, the puck he rimmed around the boards would have done so with ease.

Instead, with a smaller ice surface, the angle from the corner is much sharper, which means the net is suddenly closer as well. It’s a mistake he’ll likely only make once, but it just goes to show why patience is preached when it comes to young and/or European prospects in making the transition to hockey on this continent.

Second Period

The middle frame was a much stronger showing for Laval, with Lukas Vejdemo‘s line having an especially strong period. Vejdemo himself had two dangerous scoring opportunities but Manitoba goaltender Mikhail Berdin made each save look easy.

It was Corey Schueneman who tied the game with a point shot, fed to him by Arsen Khisamutdinov. The Rocket then took a 2-1 lead when Otto Leskinen fired a wrister from the high slot thanks to a nice centering pass from Ylonen.

Third Period

Just 15 seconds into the third period, the Moose tied the game at 2-2 when Jeff Malott suprised Demchenko with a quick shot from the slot

Moments later, Dylan Samberg laid a heavy hit on Rafael Harvey-Pinard along the boards that Yannick Veilleux didn’t like. The pair dropped the gloves and Veilleux easily handled the 6’4″ defenseman.

Manitoba seemed to find their legs a bit and applied a much heavier forecheck. Laval found ways to gain momentum here and there throughout the 20 minutes, but it was probably one of the more challenging periods of hockey the team has played thus far this season. Couple that with the fact that Berdin looked like a brick wall most of the night, and it was the recipe for extra minutes.

Before the horn sounded, however, Kevin Lynch took a tripping penalty with just 28 seconds left on the clock. It meant that the Rocket would need to kill off about a minute and a half shorthanded to start the overtime period.

Heinola took full advantage and wound up a big one-timer from the top of the circle to win it for Manitoba.

What’s Next?

The Rocket can’t hang their heads at this loss. They managed to get a point out of a game that at times was very wonky. Their second period effort was to be commended, and after the game Bouchard was quick to compliment the team on doing plenty of things the right way. They’ll drop the puck against the Moose again on Wednesday night.

Be sure to scroll down for full audio with our AHL Report team and other other members of the media in post-game interviews with Hillis, Guhle, Vejdemo, and Bouchard.  

Plus / Minus

▲  Lukas Vejdemo, Cam Hillis, Arsen Khisamutdinov

▼  Joseph Blandisi, Kevin Lynch