Rocket Lineup

Danick Martel – Laurent Dauphin – Cole Caufield

Gabriel Bourque – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Jesse Ylonen

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Lukas Vejdemo – Kevin Roy

Brandon Baddock – Brendan Gignac – Alexandre Fortin

Gianni Fairbrother – Xavier Ouellet

Corey Schueneman – Louie Belpedio

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Tory Dello

Michael McNiven – Cayden Primeau

Carl Neill, Cam Hillis

Joel Teasdale (surgery), Josh Brook (surgery), Jean-Christophe Beaudin (DTD)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Rocket continued their home stand on Friday as the Islanders were at Place Bell for the team’s only visit of the season. Laval is coming off a 3-0 victory over Belleville on Wednesday, while Bridgeport defeated Syracuse 3-1 on the same night.  

As a result of Ryan Poehling and Mattias Norlinder heading to Montreal on Thursday, Kevin Roy and Tory Dello returned into lineup. Roy was scratched versus Belleville, and Dello missed the last seven games due to injury. 

Michael McNiven obtained the start in goal. In his last start, McNiven stopped 23 pucks in Laval’s 4-2 loss against the Comets on Sunday. 

Friday marked milestone games for Xavier Ouellet, Gabriel Bourque, and Lukas Vejdemo as they played their 300th, 200th, and 150th career games, respectively, in the AHL.

First Period

It took 27 seconds for the Rocket to get on the board as Laurent Dauphin found Danick Martel in the crease for the goal. The Islanders tied the game while Kevin Roy was in the penalty box serving a delay of game penalty. Robin Salo took a shot from the point through traffic that found its way to the back of the net. 

Bridgeport grabbed the lead at the 10:15 mark when Louie Belpedio blocked a shot, and the puck went straight to Arnaud Durandeau’s stick. Durandeau had an open net to score on, as the blocked shot forced McNiven to be out of position. 

With 2:57 remaining, Alexandre Fortin found Roy at the faceoff, and he beat Jakub Skarek with a blocker side wrist shot. Paul LaDue gave Bridgeport a 3-2 lead as his point shot was redirected by Bourque behind his own goalie.

Second Period

Laval was not able to capitalize on a 50-second two-player advantage. Cole Caufield set up Jean-Sebastien Dea with an open net during the power play, but his shot was blocked by the defender.

With 7:20 remaining in the period, Jesse Ylonen found Martel uncovered in the neutral zone, and that led to Martel scoring his second of the night to tie the contest.

Corey Schueneman just jumped out of the penalty box when Chris Terry give Bridgeport the 4-3 lead with a top corner shot that beat McNiven glove side. 

Brandon Gignac and Dea both had dangerous scoring chances that they were not able to convert in the final two minutes.

Third Period

The Rocket came back from a one-goal deficit for the the third time of the match as Ouellet scored 1:31 into the third period. Dauphin found the captain at the top of the faceoff circle for a top corner wrist shot.

Laval obtained a second power play opportunity later in the period, and the home team spent 1:45 in Bridgeport’s zone. The Rocket was not able to add another goal with the extra attacker, but they obtained several opportunities and gave them momentum.  

Overtime was needed to determine the winner, and 1:20 to get the 7,123 fans in attendance roaring. Dauphin maintained possession of the puck as he was knocked on the ice, before Ylonen set him up for the winning goal. 

What’s Next?

The Rocket showed character on Friday, remaining focused despite trailing at three different times. Indiscipline in the second period could have been costly for Laval. 

The undefeated Utica Comets roll into Place Bell on Saturday at 1:00pm eastern time. 

Be sure to scroll down to hear post-game interviews with Ouellet, Martel, Ylonen and Houle by the AHL Report team and other members of the media.

Plus / Minus

▲ Danick Martel, Xavier Ouellet, Cole Caufield, Laurent Dauphin, Jesse Ylonen

▼ Gabriel Bourque, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Rafael Harvey-Pinard