Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jordan Weal – Jesse Ylonen

Yannick Veilleux – Lukas Vejdemo – Alex Belzile

Joseph Blandisi – Ryan Poehling – Joel Teasdale

Brandon Baddock – Cameron Hillis – Liam Hawel

Corey Schueneman – Otto Leskinen

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Cale Fleury

Guillaume Brisebois – Josh Brook

Cayden Primeau – Vasily Demchenko

Liam Hawel, Hayden Verbeek, Jacob Leguerrier, Cameron Hillis, Guillaume Brisbois, Terrance Amorosa, Tristan Pomerleau, Michael Pezzetta, Jake Lucchini, Gustav Olofsson, Jan Mysak

N/A

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

Playing five games in eight days is probably not something most professional hockey players thought they’d endure on their schedule, but it’s been the reality for many this year. This week it was Laval’s calendar that was jam-packed, and tonight’s home game marked the fifth game played since LAST Monday night. It was also the Rocket’s final home game of the month. They entered the game coming off a home victory against the Toronto Marlies.

Cayden Primeau resumed his position in the crease, and three new faces joined the lineup: Guillaume Brisebois, Liam Hawel, and Cameron Hillis.  Defenseman Brisebois is on loan from the Vancouver Canucks, while forwards Hillis and Hawel made their professional debuts.

First Period

It was apparent that the Rocket are a bit out of gas in the energy department throughout this game, and early penalties were a theme tonight. Yannick Veilleux took an interference penalty about three minutes into the game, which the Rocket was able to kill off.

But the power play did give the Senators, who had won only two games this year coming into tonight, some motivation and they quickly ran up the shot clock. 

However, Jordan Weal was the first skater to find the back of the net when he cleaned up his own rebound in front of the net. The play was started by Tobie Paquette-Brisson who shot the puck off the end boards for a favorable bounce in front of the goal. Cale Fleury picked up the secondary assist.

Second Period

Ten seconds into the middle frame, Alex Belzile found himself in the penalty box for hooking, and this time the Senators made the Rocket pay for it. Cole Reinhardt scored his first AHL goal on the man advantage to even the score.

26 seconds later, though, Joel Teasdale restored Laval’s lead on a play where Ryan Poehling gained the zone and dished the puck out to Teasdale who wristed it past Cedrick Andree.

The remainder of the period consisted of a parade of penalties, primarily against Belleville. Although the Rocket had three power play opportunities through the rest of the frame, they weren’t able to capitalize on any of them.

Third Period

It was a tired group who took the ice for Laval in the third period, but still they persisted. They also mixed it up quite a bit with their bitter rivals from Ontario. After having enough of Cody Goloubef‘s questionable physical play, Alex Belzile tied him up behind the net which led to Goloubef returning the favor a moment later. The gloves dropped and the two went for a quick bout.

In addition to each players’ five minutes for fighting, Belzile was also slapped with a two-minute interference penalty, a two-minute instigating penalty, and a 10-minute misconduct for instigating. The Rocket stepped up for their teammate and successfully killed off the four minutes spent shorthanded.

The Senators wouldn’t go away, though, and they managed to find an equalizer again with under seven minutes left in the game. Laval didn’t panic, returned to their structure, and were rewarded. On the rush, Rafael Harvey-Pinard made a slick cross-ice pass to Ryan Poehling in the left circle. Poehling patiently waited, stick-handled, then roofed the puck to restore the Rocket’s lead.

What’s Next?

Plus / Minus

▲  Lukas Vejdemo, Ryan Poehling, Cale Fleury

▼  Alex Belzile, Brandon Baddock