Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Mitchell Stephens – Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Emil Heineman – Peter Abbandonato – Jesse Ylonen

Xavier Simoneau – Lucas Condotta – Pierrick Dube

Riley McKay – Jan Mysak – Gabriel Bourque

William Trudeau – Corey Schueneman

Jayden Struble – Olivier Galipeau

Mattias Norlinder – Tory Dello

Cayden Primeau – Kevin Poulin

John Parker-Jones, Frederic Allard, Brandon Gignac, Nolan Yaremko, Jakub Dobes, Danick Martel

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Otto Leskinen, Madison Bowey, Nicolas Beaudin

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket resumed their homestand on Wednesday by hosting the Toronto Marlies. Laval was coming off a 4-0 win on Monday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins while Toronto lost nine of their last 10 games.

With Joel Teasdale being recalled by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Jan Mysak returned to the lineup after being scratched the last game. Riley McKay was a late addition to the formation in the place of Danick Martel.

On defence, Nicolas Beaudin was sidelined with an upper body injury. Olivier Galipeau returned to the lineup in his place.

Cayden Primeau got the start in goal after posting a 41-save shutout on Monday.

First Period

Laval got on the board first at 3:46 when Anthony Richard won a foot race versus two defenders that resulted in a breakaway and the forward capitalized to light the red lamp.

The Marlies bounced back 1:05 later when Radim Zohoma from the back of the net found Semyon Der-Arguchintsev uncovered in the crease for the tying goal.

Toronto took the lead later in the period when former Canadien Logan Shaw snuck in between the defence in the slot and beat Primeau top corner.

Two minutes later, in what seemed an exact copy of the first goal, Rafael Harvey-Pinard set up Richard for a breakaway and he beat Erik Kallgren for the second time of the period.

Second Period

The Rocket had some luck early in the second period as Corey Schueneman dove and prevented a rolling puck from crossing the red line.

Later in the period, Der-Arguchintsev nearly gave his team the lead when he rung another puck off the post.

The Rocket obtained the next two power plays and did not generate any dangerous chances. They did not settle in the offensive zone, had trouble completing passes, and gave up a pair of breakaways to Mark Johnstone.

With under three minutes remaining, Mysak was robbed with a right pad save by Erik Kallgren after being set up by Pierrick Dube on an odd-man rush.

Laval had a four-on-three power play when Richard’s one-timer hit the crossbar and seconds later, Mitchell Stephens hit the post and knocked his own rebound in for a goal. Stephens’ goal extended his point streak to seven games.

Third Period

Laval struck first in the third period when Stephens surprised Kallgren with a wraparound goal.

The visitors bounced back 1:12 later when Pontus Holmberg bounced on William Villeneuve‘s rebound and beat Primeau to keep it a one-goal game.

Toronto had a golden opportunity with five minutes remaining when Schueneman received a hooking penalty. The Marlies cancelled their power play by taking an infraction in the offensive zone.

When Schueneman’s penalty expired, Laval capitalized on the power play when Richard set up Ylonen in his office at the faceoff dot for a one-timer goal. Harvey-Pinard collected his fifth assist of the night on the sequence.

In the final minute, Richard completed his hat trick with an empty net goal.

What’s Next

Toronto won the season head-to-head series with six victories in eight matchups. Harvey-Pinard and Richard each added five points to their statistics.

Laval’s win eliminated the Belleville Senators from the playoffs. The Rocket now have a three-point lead over Cleveland for the final spot with the Monsters holding two games in hand.

Laval wraps up the regular season on Friday by hosting the Syracuse Crunch.

Plus / Minus

▲ Corey Schueneman, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylonen, Mitchell Stephens, Anthony Richard

▼ Olivier Galipeau, Peter Abbandonato