Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Peter Abbandonato – Rem Pitlick

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Brandon Gignac – Danick Martel

Xavier Simoneau – Mitchell Stephens – Jesse Ylonen

Lucas Condotta – Jan Mysak – Gabriel Bourque

Corey Schueneman – Justin Barron

Otto Leskinen – Madison Bowey

Mattias Norlinder – Tory Dello

Kevin Poulin – Joe Vrbetic

Joel Teasdale, Ryan Francis, Alex Green, Nicolas Beaudin, William Trudeau

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Alex Belzile (lower-body), Nate Schnarr (lower-body), Cayden Primeau (DTD)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson 

Before heading out for a two-game stint in the Pacific Time Zone, the Laval Rocket had one more road game a little closer to home this week. The Utica Comets sit directly above the Rocket in the North Division standings, making this matchup one of importance. After a 4-1 loss to the Belleville Senators last Saturday, a game in which Laval put 50 shots on goal and could only turn one of them into a goal, the team was looking for a good start to the week.

In goal, Kevin Poulin got the start, as Cayden Primeau did not make the trip to Utica after requiring stitches last weekend from a hit in the head by a stick while sitting on the bench during backup duties. In his place, Joe Vrbetic was recalled from Trois-Rivieres to serve as the backup goaltender on this night.

Additionally, Mattias Norlinder and Gabriel Bourque both were back from injury, giving the blue line a much-needed boost.

First Period

The Comets wasted no time to light the lamp in this game, with Jack Dugan tipping in a puck shot from the point less than three minutes after the opening faceoff. Soon after, the Rocket started to turn up the pressure in the offensive zone, but Utica netminder Isaac Poulter was up to the task, making some impressive saves early on.

Andreas Johnsson received the first penalty of the night when he hit Rafael Harvey-Pinard a little too close to the boards and went off for roughing. On the power play, Harvey-Pinard scooped up a loose, bouncing puck that rebounded in front of Poulter and brought Laval even with Utica on the scoreboard.

Second Period

The ice tilted in the Comets’ direction for the first half of the second period, as they poured on shot after shot on Poulin. The Laval netminder had to make some spectacular saves to keep the puck out of the net.

Through the opening 10 minutes of the period, Laval hadn’t registered a shot on goal in the frame. Then, Otto Leskinen took a hooking penalty, and put the Rocket back on the kill. Utica absolutely peppered the goaltender, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Pressure even continued at the Laval end of the ice while Utica was serving a goaltender interference penalty.

At the 6:19 mark of the period, the Rocket finally got their first ‘shot’ on goal when the puck bounced off of Anthony Richard‘s arm and into the net to give Laval a 2-1 lead.

Third Period

Both teams came out hard in the third period, with play going back and forth down the ice. At the halfway point, with 10:04 left in regulation, the Comets tied the game after a defensive-zone turnover by Laval led to Reilly Walsh shooting the puck from the slot to make it 2-2.

The Rocket had a good opportunity to regain the lead when Utica took a tripping penalty, but Richard took a tripping penalty of his own. 42 seconds of four-on-four play was followed by a Comets power play, but the score didn’t budge.

In overtime, both goaltenders again showed their prowess, but Utica seemed to lose a bit of momentum. Just when it appeared as if the game might require a shootout, Corey Schueneman skated the puck into the zone and put it on net. It deflected off a Comets player and into the net for a Laval victory.

What’s Next?

Plus / Minus

▲ Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Anthony Richard, Jesse Ylonen, Kevin Poulin, Corey Schueneman

▼ Rem Pitlick, Tory Dello, Brandon Gignac