Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Brandon Gignac – Jesse Ylonen

Anthony Richard – Xavier Simoneau – Danick Martel

Lucas Condotta – Mitchell Stephens – Gabriel Bourque

Peter Abbandonato – Jan Mysak – Joel Teasdale

Corey Schueneman – Justin Barron

Mattias Norlinder – Alex Green

Nicolas Beaudin – Tory Dello

Cayden Primeau – Kevin Poulin

Otto Leskinen, Madison Bowey

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Alex Belzile (upper body, day-to-day), William Trudeau (lower-body, out indefinitely), Nate Schnarr (lower-body, out indefinitely)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket hosted the Toronto Marlies on Friday for a second consecutive game. Four goals in the second period on Wednesday allowed Toronto to come out victorious at Place Bell.

Jean-Francois Houle made two changes to the lineup on defence. Nicolas Beaudin made his debut in a Rocket uniform after being acquired via trade on October 26th from the Chicago Blackhawks. The 23-year old has played three games with the Rockford IceHogs this season and has collected one assist.

Tory Dello returned to action after being scratched for the last three games. As a result, Otto Leskinen and Madison Bowey were not dressed.

Cayden Primeau got the start for the second consecutive game. On Wednesday, Primeau allowed five goals in Laval’s loss.

First Period

Toronto needed 1:13 after puck drop to get on the board. Graham Slaggert beat Primeau glove side with a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle that should have been stopped by the goalie.

Jesse Ylonen tied the score at 7:18 after skating with the puck from the neutral zone and deking goalie Dylan Ferguson. The goal extended Ylonen’s point streak to four games, and Brandon Gignac‘s assist was his sixth point in last five games.

Adam Gaudette gave the Marlies the lead right back as he skated around defenceman Alex Green and shot the puck blocker side for the goal.

Second Period

The first infraction of the night was called in the second period when Mitchell Stephens drew a hooking penalty. Toronto received another minor penalty 52 seconds later to give Laval a two-player advantage for over a minute.

The Rocket pressed but were not able to get one behind Ferguson. Danick Martel and Ylonen had the home team’s best opportunities during the sequence.

Toronto did not waste its first power play opportunity while newcomer Beaudin was in the box serving a slashing penalty. Joey Anderson found Logan Shaw wide open to the right of Primeau and the former Hab had an easy time to get it past the goal line.

Lucas Condotta cut Toronto’s lead to one goal with his second of the season. The sequence started when 5-foot-6 Xavier Simoneau muscled 6-foot-9 Curtis Douglas off the puck before setting up Condotta in the slot.

Third Period

The Marlies increased their lead to two goals with 4:22 remaining when Shaw picked up a bouncing puck in front of the crease to make it 4-2.

Houle pulled Primeau with 3:47 remaining and it paid off. Raphael Harvey-Pinard bounced on Anthony Richard‘s rebound to make it a one-goal game. Richard’s assist extended his point streak to six games.

Former Canadiens defenceman Jordie Benn cross checked Simoneau to give Laval a power play for the remainder of the period. With 34 seconds remaining, Gignac found Simoneau to the right of Ferguson. The forward tapped the puck to the back of the net and force overtime.

A penalty came to haunt the Rocket in overtime as Justin Barron was in the box when the Marlies sealed the victory. Shaw completed his hat trick with a wrist shot from the point. The former member of the Canadiens organization finished the two-game series with five goals and two assists.

What’s Next?

Frustration growing for the Rocket as they walked away with one win in their last seven games. The coaches and players have expressed their feelings that the record doesn’t reflect their performance.

Laval announced on Friday that Alex Belzile is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but is practicing with the team. Nate Schnarr and William Trudeau are both out indefinitely with upper-body injuries.

Be sure to scroll down for audio clips from tonight’s post-game media interviews with Beaudin, Simoneau, Teasdale, Condotta and Houle, conducted by the AHL Report and other members of the press.

Plus / Minus

▲ Raphael Harvey-Pinard, Joel Teasdale, Jesse Ylonen, Brandon Gignac, Xavier Simoneau

▼ Cayden Primeau, Danick Martel, Gabriel Bourque, Mitchell Stephens, Alex Green