Rocket Lineup

Lucas Condotta – Mitchell Stephens – Joel Teasdale

Danick Martel – Peter Abbandonato – Pierrick Dube

Xavier Simoneau – Jan Mysak – Gabriel Bourque

Riley McKay – Nolan Yaremko – Mattias Norlinder (seventh defenseman)

William Trudeau – Corey Schueneman

Olivier Galipeau – Tory Dello

Nicolas Beaudin – Madison Bowey

Cayden Primeau – Philippe Desrosiers

Frederic Allard, John Parker-Jones, Jayden Struble

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Otto Leskinen, Kevin Poulin (upper-body), Brandon Gignac

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

The Laval Rocket wrapped up their road trip on Wednesday night with a visit to Rochester to take on the Americans. Coming off of a devastating 5-2 loss to Springfield on Saturday night, the Rocket needed to have a strong game in Rochester and come away with two points. The Amerks, in fourth place in the North Division coming into tonight’s game, were sitting just one point ahead of Laval in the standings.

In the lineup, Jean-Francois Houle returned to deploying seven defensemen, and also got the services of Xavier Simoneau back up front.

First Period

The Rocket controlled the puck for the better portion of the opening 10 minutes. It even looked like they had scored the first goal of the night, but the officials immediately said no goal, as the puck had gone into the net off of a player’s hand.

Play remained pretty neutral for the rest of the period, unless you take into account the six penalties both teams racked up in the final seven minutes of the frame. Neither team could capitalize on their respective power play opportunities, including a five-on-three advantage for the Amerks.

Second Period

Rochester did finally manage to open the scoring in the game when Linus Weissbach was in the box for hooking. Brandon Biro scooped up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated it quickly up the ice. William Trudeau was weak on his defensive play, and Biro easily put the puck past Cayden Primeau for a shorthanded goal.

Third Period

What’s Next?

With Rochester and Belleville both winning games on this night, the Rocket now slip to sixth place in the division, and out of a playoff position for now.

Earlier in the day, the Montreal Canadiens signed NCAA defenseman Jayden Struble to a two-year entry-level contract, which will begin next season. Struble also signed an AHL contract in order to report to Laval and finish the season with the Rocket. He’ll likely join the team once they’re back in Quebec this week, preparing for two games against the Utica Comets at Place Bell on Friday and Saturday.

Plus / Minus

▲ Gabriel Bourque, Mattias Norlinder

▼ William Trudeau, Tory Dello