Rocket Lineup

Joseph Blandisi – Ryan Poehling – Joel Teasdale

Yannick Veilleux – Jordan Weal – Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Hayden Verbeek – Laurent Dauphin – Jake Lucchini

Michael Pezzetta – Cameron Hillis – Arsen Khisamutdinov

Corey Schueneman – Otto Leskinen

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Gustav Olofsson

Xavier Ouellet – Josh Brook

Michael McNiven – Vasily Demchenko

Nathanael Halbert, Jacob Leguerrier, Terrance Amorosa, Tristan Pomerleau, Cayden Primeau, Liam Hawel, Brandon Baddock, Cole Caufield (COVID-19 protocol)

Alex Belzile (undisclosed), Lukas Vejdemo (undisclosed), Jan Mysak (undisclosed), Jesse Ylonen (undisclosed), Cale Fleury (undisclosed)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Rocket hosted the Heat on Easter Sunday at the Bell Centre for the second time in the three-game series. On Friday, Laval beat Stockton for the fifth consecutive time with a 3-0 shutout.  The victory extended the squad’s streak to 11 games without a regulation loss. 

Gustav Olofsson returned to the Rocket’s lineup following his recent stint in Montreal’s taxi squad, and Arsen Khisamutdinov drew in after sitting out the last match. Cale Fleury, and Brandon Baddock were both out of action due to injuries suffered during Friday’s tilt. 

Michael McNiven obtained the start in goal. In his last match, McNiven stopped 35 pucks in a victory against the Moose.

First Period

The first 20 minutes of play was dominated by the Rocket. They won the one-on-one battles, and didn’t give the Heat any room to generate anything. Stockton took their first shot on goal with 2:22 remaining in the period. Laval wasn’t able to get any of they 14 shots behind Garret Sparks. 

Jordan Weal had the team’s best scoring chance in the second minute of play, when he created a turnover that led to a breakaway, that was stopped by Sparks. 

Laval took one shot on goal during the frames only power play opportunity.

Second Period

The action was more balanced in the second period between the division rivals. 

Laval opened the scoring while on a power play, when Rafael Harvey-Pinard beat Sparks with a shot from the top of the crease. Ryan Poehling’s assist on the play extended his point streak to five games. Laval has won 13 of the 16 games where they scored first. 

Poehling paid the price on the sequence as he got cross-checked by Connor Mackey. He went to the dressing room for a few minutes, but returned a few minutes later. 

The Rocket has 12-0-1-1 record when leading through 40 minutes.

Third Period

Laval took a 2-0 lead 1:30 into the final period when Weal from the side of the net found Yannick Veilleux with a pass through the crease for the goal. 

At the 4:05 mark, Ryan Poehling made it 3-0 by completing a tic-tac-toe play that began with Olofsson skating the puck deep into the zone, and passing it to Joel Teasdale. 

The Heat got on the board when Carl-Johan Lerby circle McNiven’s net and passed the puck to Mark Simpson on the side of the net for the goal. The goal snapped a sequence of 110:38 since Stockton’s last scored against Laval. 

Sparks was in the bench for the extra attacker when the visitors cut the lead to one goal with 39 seconds remaining. The play started when Alexander Yelesin faked a shot from the point before passing it to Adam Ruzicka. Ruzicka was patient and waited for McNiven to lay on the ice before scoring up high. 

Harvey-Pinard sealed the victory with an empty net goal as Laval goes on to win 4-2. It was his second goal of the night, and seventh point in the last four games. Weal’s assist on the play was his sixth point in the last three games.

What’s Next?

McNiven made 16 saves to extend his streak to eight games without a regulation loss. 

The teams will square off again on Tuesday at 7:00pm eastern. 

Be sure to scroll down for full audio from our AHL Report team and other members of the media in post-game interviews with Harvey-Pinard , Olofsson , and Bouchard.

Plus / Minus

▲  Jordan Weal, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Ryan Poehling, Yannick Veilleux, Joel Teasdale

▼  Xavier Ouellet