Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Peter Abbandonato – Rem Pitlick

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Brandon Gignac – Xavier Simoneau

Danick Martel – Mitchell Stephens – Jesse Ylonen

Lucas Condotta – Jan Mysak

Otto Leskinen – Justin Barron

William Trudeau – Corey Schueneman

Nicolas Beaudin – Madison Bowey

Alex Green

Kevin Poulin – Cayden Primeau

Joel Teasdale, Tory Dello, Ryan Francis

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Alex Belzile (lower-body), Nate Schnarr (lower-body), Gabriel Bourque (upper-body), Mattias Norlinder (upper-body)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

In what was probably the best game this season in terms of prospect performances, the Laval Rocket persevered Friday night for a road win in regulation in Belleville. Saturday night the travelers looked to secure a second consecutive victory, but they likely had a tall task ahead of them to do so.

The Senators, despite their lengthy injury and callup list, would be looking for redemption after a disappointing loss the previous night, and to top things off: this game was the annual Teddy Bear Toss at CAA Arena. Energy and spirits were sure to be high.

Jean-Francois Houle gave the nod to Kevin Poulin for the start in net, and also chose to dress seven defensemen on this night.

First Period

Most of the opening period was an evenly-played back and forth between two goaltenders who weren’t giving much space to shoot. Laval controlled the puck a bit more often, but Antoine Bibeau made some significant saves to keep the Rocket off the scoreboard.

But with a flurry of activity in the crease, a little over six minutes before the first intermission, Lucas Condotta stuck with the puck and managed to force it over the line for the opening goal of the game.

After Otto Leskinen found himself in the penalty box for holding, Angus Crookshank took only 28 seconds before he wired a one-timer from the circle past Poulin to cue a flurry of fluffy teddy bears raining down from the stands.

Scott Sabourin took a double minor at the end of the period, putting Laval on an extended power play to begin the second frame.

Second Period

The Rocket were unable to take advantage of the lengthy man-advantage gifted to them by Sabourin, but they did extend their lead on the shot clock. Laval also announced that Cayden Primeau, serving backup goaltender duties on the bench, would not return to his position there for the remainder of the game after getting hit in the face by a stick.

Condotta found himself in the penalty box for tripping, and once again Crookshank made Laval pay on the power play. This time the goal came just 13 seconds into the man-advantage with a deflection in front.

Immediately after the goal, the Rocket had a chance for redemption when Brennan Saulnier took a tripping penalty of his own, but the Belleville penalty killers prevented Laval from tying the game.

Bibeau continued to stymie the Rocket shooters and made some pretty tough saves to keep a one-goal lead for Belleville. The Sens, however, took another late-period four-minute penalty, setting the Rocket up for another extended opportunity to open the third period.

Third Period

Instead, with just 20 seconds left in the long power play, the Rocket gave up a shorthanded goal to the Senators. Cole Reinhardt skated down the right wing side and ripped a shot over Poulin’s shoulder to give Belleville a 3-1 lead.

Laval continued to pepper Bibeau with shots, but the Belleville netminder was seemingly unstoppable. Occasionally a goaltender needs to steal a game, and the Senators had that going on this night. An empty-netter by Sabourin was enough to put a comeback out of reach for the Rocket.

What’s Next?

On a night that Laval registered 50 shots on goal, they were only able to score once. They watched five power plays come and go without converting a single opportunity. Belleville managed to score four times on just 21 shots, and were perfect on their two power play chances.

The team and coaches will need to take a hard look at finding the right solution before the next game. They’ll next travel to Utica on Wednesday for a divisional matchup against the Comets.

Plus / Minus

▲ Madison Bowey, Lucas Condotta

▼ Kevin Poulin, Danick Martel, Mitchell Stephens, William Trudeau