Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Danick Martel

Cedric Paquette – Brandon Gignac – Alex Belzile

Joel Teasdale – Nate Schnarr – Kevin Roy

Lucas Condotta – Lukas Vejdemo – Jean-Christophe Beaudin

Xavier Ouellet – Sami Niku

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Louie Belpedio

Terrance Amorosa – Tory Dello

Cayden Primeau – Tristan Berube

Emil Heineman, Devante Smith-Pelly, Nicolas Mattinen, Olivier Galipeau, Peter Abbandonato, Kevin Poulin

Gianni Fairbrother (undisclosed), Cameron Hillis, Gabriel Bourque (DTD)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The North-Division-leading Utica Comets visited Place Bell on Saturday afternoon to face the Laval Rocket. The Comets headed into the game on a three-game winless streak, while the Rocket were coming off two wins against the Rochester Americans including a 4-3 overtime win on Friday.

Jean-Christophe Beaudin returned to the lineup, after being scratched on Friday. He replaced Gabriel Bourque, who is sidelined with an injury suffered against Rochester. On defence, Terrance Amorosa slotted in, replacing Olivier Galipeau. 

Cayden Primeau got the start in goal. In his last start, Primeau made 29 saves in Wednesday’s win against Rochester. Kevin Poulin was not dressed due to an illness not related to Covid. As a result, Tristan Berube signed a professional tryout contract to be in the backup role for the afternoon.

First Period

The first period was not a goaltending clinic. Both goalies struggled, and it resulted into an entertaining period. 

Laval came out strong, played tight defensively, and prevented Utica from taking a shot on goal for the first 6:50 of the match. 

The Comets capitalized on the few shots they took. At the 7:23 mark, Alexander Holtz beat Primeau short side after receiving a pass from Tyce Thompson to make it 1-0. 

With Danick Martel in the penalty box 55 seconds later, Ryan Schmelzer redirected Holtz’s shot past Primeau for the power play goal.  

Nolan Foote increased the lead to three goals 1:02 later with a one-timer. Jean-Francois Houle called a timeout to settle his team after they allowed three goals on seven shots in a span of 1:57. 

It took Laval 65 seconds to get on the board when Joel Teasdale deked Akira Schmid for his third goal in last three matches. 

Kevin Roy, playing in his 300th career pro game, cut the lead to one with a one-timer following a clean faceoff win by Nate Schnarr. 

With 1:34 remaining, Alex Belzile picked up Sami Niku’s rebound in the blue paint to put it across the red line and tie the game 3-3 through 20 minutes.

Second Period

Both goalies settled down in the second period, and shut down the door. 

Laval was not able to capitalize on their only power play when Utica was called for too-many-men. 

The Comets had two power plays in the period, with Cedric Paquette being called with minors at two different moments of the frame. 

The tempo was back and forth in the period with both teams having opportunities to get the lead.

Third Period

Laval took the lead for the first time of the afternoon at the 4:53 mark, when Rafael Harvey-Pinard sent Jean-Sebastien Dea on a breakaway. The forward cashed in on the opportunity and beat Schmid with a top corner shot on the glove side. Harvey-Pinard’s assist was his seventh point in three games this week. 

The Rocket had a double man-advantage for 1:30 midway through the period. Even though they did not score, they kept control of the puck in the offensive zone for the majority of the time. 

Utica applied pressure after pulling their goalie for the extra attacker, but Laval’s defence did a good job from preventing the visitors from tying. 

Dea sealed the victory with an empty net goal with 48 seconds remaining. Dea’s goal was his seventh point in the last three games.

What’s Next?

The Rocket’s 5-3 win extended their winning streak to three games, and solidified their spot at second place of the North division. 

Cedric Paquette did not return to the ice for the third period due to an upper body injury. He will be reevaluated on Sunday. 

Laval heads to Belleville to face the Senators on Monday at 7:00 pm eastern. 

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

Plus / Minus

▲ Louis Belpedio, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Sami Niku, Alex Belzile, Nate Schnarr

▼ Cedric Paquette, Jean-Christophe Beaudin