Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Peter Abbandonato – Joel Teasdale

Xavier Simoneau – Mitchell Stephens – Lucas Condotta

Emil Heineman – Jan Mysak – Pierrick Dube

Riley McKay – Nolan Yaremko – Gabriel Bourque

William Trudeau – Nicolas Beaudin

Jayden Struble – Corey Schueneman

Mattias Norlinder – Olivier Galipeau

Cayden Primeau – Kevin Poulin

Danick Martel, Madison Bowey, John Parker-Jones, Frederic Allard, Tory Dello, Brandon Gignac

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Otto Leskinen

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

Laval fought their way out of last place in the North Division on Sunday afternoon when they put together a dominant 4-1 victory over the Moose to kick off their road trip.

The two teams met on the Canada Life Centre ice again on Tuesday night as the Rocket looked to continue their push back into playoff contention, and Manitoba hoped to close the gap in a tight Central Division race for top seeding.

The biggest change for Jean-Francois Houle‘s roster came in the crease where Kevin Poulin was tapped to make his first start since January. Cayden Primeau was recalled to the Montreal Canadiens and was slated to start their game in Philadelphia to face the Flyers.

First Period

Laval took early control of this game when Joel Teasdale scored his 22nd goal of the season in the opening five minutes of play. He easily skated up the slot and quickly put the puck past Oskari Salminen.

Jayden Struble then found himself in the penalty box when he was found guilty of slashing on a Jansen Harkins breakaway. Harkins missed the net, and Laval’s penalty-killers took care of Manitoba’s power play.

Neither team was able to score on the man advantage in the opening 20 minutes, and the teams finished out the period with two full minutes of four-on-four play.

Second Period

Harkins went on to tie the game less than five minutes into the second period. He had plenty of ice to work with as he crossed through the slot, circled back, and ripped a shot past Poulin.

Emil Heineman soon restored Laval’s lead thanks to a shot by Pierrick Dube. Salminen couldn’t hold onto the puck and the rebound went straight to Heineman, who made quick work to find the back of the net.

Heineman then scored his second of the night later in the period after Mitchell Stephens shoveled the puck out to him from behind the net. Heineman was all alone in front of the net and made no mistake to extend Laval’s lead to 3-1. Manitoba answered right back, though, as Tyler Boland finished off a cross-crease pass from Cole Maier.

The one-goal deficit didn’t stay in place for too long, however, when Laval found themselves on the power play. Pierrick Dube put a puck on net that ended up deflecting off of a Manitoba body and into their own net.

Third Period

The first half of the final 20 minutes was fairly quiet, but suddenly the action picked up with about eight minutes left in regulation when Teasdale scored his second goal of the night. It was a quick shot from one knee in the right circle that went top shelf.

Almost immediately, however, the Moose answered again with a goal of their own. Parker Ford, making his professional debut on this night, batted the puck out of mid-air and past Poulin for his first goal in the pro ranks.

Jan Mysak padded the score even more with an empty-net goal with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.

What’s Next

The Rocket still have some time to spend on the road this week. They’ll next travel to Rockford for a tilt against the IceHogs on Friday night before a rematch in Milwaukee with the Admirals on Saturday.

Primeau was reassigned to Laval after the completion of the Canadiens’ game in Philadelphia earlier in the night.

Plus / Minus

▲ Emil Heineman, Joel Teasdale, Jayden Struble, Pierrick Dube

▼ Gabriel Bourque, Olivier Galipeau