Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Jesse Ylonen

Danick Martel – Cedric Paquette – Alex Belzile

Gabriel Bourque – Nate Schnarr – Joel Teasdale

Kevin Roy – Lukas Vejdemo – Jean-Christophe Beaudin

Xavier Ouellet – Sami Niku

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Louie Belpedio

Terrance Amorosa – Tory Dello

Kevin Poulin – Owen Savory

Emil Heineman, Olivier Galipeau, Devante Smith-Pelly, Peter Abbandonato, Lucas Condotta, Nicolas Mattinen, Brandon Gignac (illness)

Gianni Fairbrother (undisclosed), Cameron Hillis

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

Thursday night’s 6-0 win by the Rocket over the Monsters was a clinic in dominating a game. Just about every facet of the game was controlled by Laval from the start, and the win inched them closer to clinching a spot in the postseason.

On Saturday night, the two teams met again for the final time this season. Kevin Poulin remained in goal, with Cayden Primeau not set to rejoin the team until they arrive in Belleville on Sunday. Cedric Paquette returned from injury, but Brandon Gignac was out with illness.

First Period

After an uneventful opening six minutes, with not many shots getting through to the net, Scott Harrington took a couple of whacks at Lukas Vejdemo near the Cleveland crease and both were whistled for roughing.

Both teams made it through the four-on-four play unscathed, but Laval then found themselves shorthanded when Jean-Christophe Beaudin went to the box for slashing. Alex Belzile had a prime scoring chance on a breakaway during Beaudin’s penalty but Cam Johnson got a pad out in time to stop him.

The chippiness continued after Vejdemo laid a big hit along the boards, for which the Monsters took exception. A crowd gathered, and Tobie Paquette-Bisson stepped up in his teammate’s defense. A few minutes later, behind the play, Tristan Mullin got his revenge on Vejdemo in front of the benches and eventually took the Laval forward to the ice. Mullin earned a four-minute roughing penalty, Vejdemo got one for two minutes and also headed to the dressing room.

Mayhem continued when, with just seven seconds left in the period, Justin Scott tried to get back at Paquette-Bisson. The Laval defenseman wouldn’t comply though, and Scott tried to get a few shots in anyway. That drew the attention of plenty of Rocket sweaters, and plenty of dance partners got the rough stuff going. The end result was a pile of roughing minors and 10-minute misconducts getting handed out after the officials sorted everyone out.

Second Period

The physicality settled down in the second period, and the Rocket got the scoring started just after their four-minute power play expired. Belzile ripped a shot toward Johnson and hit the post, then the Monsters goaltender, and went into the net.

Laval didn’t have much time to celebrate their goal, however, when Cleveland lit the lamp at the other end of the ice when Tyler Angle batted down a deflected puck into Poulin’s net.

Power play struggles came back to haunt the Rocket in this game, after they had improved on that particular aspect of special teams play over the last few games. At the end of 40 minutes, Laval was 0-for-5 on the man advantage. In a tight game like this one, and needing the two points on the night, the Rocket were leaving too many golden opportunities unclaimed.

Third Period

A pair of goals about a minute apart in the third finally gave the Rocket the padding they were searching for in this game. First, Jesse Ylonen got the power play working when he ripped a shot from the circle.

Then, after Joel Teasdale went down on his way to the net, Nate Schnarr cleaned up the puck to make it 3-1 for Laval. An empty-netter by Bourque was just about enough to secure the two points for the Rocket, but before the final horn sounded Angle scored his second of the night as he shot a puck past Poulin short side.

What’s Next?

The Rocket will wrap up this five-game road trip on Monday night by returning to the place where it began: Belleville. The race for playoff positioning continues!

Plus / Minus

▲ Jesse Ylonen, Gabriel Bourque, Nate Schnarr, Joel Teasdale

▼ Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Danick Martel