Rocket Lineup

Xavier Simoneau – Peter Abbandonato – Lucas Condotta

Gabriel Bourque – Mitchell Stephens – Joel Teasdale

Jan Mysak – Brandon Gignac – Pierrick Dube

Riley McKay – Nolan Yaremko – John Parker-Jones

William Trudeau – Corey Schueneman

Mattias Norlinder – Tory Dello

Olivier Galipeau – Frederic Allard

Cayden Primeau – Philippe Desrosiers

Jayden Struble, Nicolas Beaudin, Danick Martel, Louis Boudon, Madison Bowey

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

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket hosted the Utica Comets in the tail end of a back-to-back matchup against their division rivals. Utica defeated Laval for the first time of the season on Friday in a one-goal game.

Danick Martel did not finish Friday’s game due to injury and was not available on Saturday. Brandon Gignac took his spot after missing the last four matches with a lower body injury. John Parker-Jones also returned to the lineup after being scratched for the last two matches. Louis Boudon was scratched to make room.

On defence, Frederic Allard returned to the lineup after being sidelined the last three games. Madison Bowey sat out as a result.

Jean-Francois Houle went with Cayden Primeau in goal despite the short turnaround time between matches. On Friday, Primeau made 31 saves in a losing cause.

First Period

Laval got on the board first during the third minute of action when Gignac celebrated his return by using his speed to head into the slot and beat goalie Jake Theut with a backhander.

Fifty seven seconds later, Tory Dello‘s shot from the point found its way to the top corner blocker side to double Laval’s lead. It was Dello’s first goal since December 9th.

Utica had an opportunity to get back in the game when Mitchell Stephens and Dello consecutively headed to the penalty box. The Comets applied pressure throughout the power plays but the Rocket’s penalty kill units limited them to four shots on goal.

Laval added one more goal before the intermission when Gabriel Bourque made an accurate pass to Nolan Yaremko despite being covered tightly by a defenceman. Yaremko did not waste the opportunity and scored his first AHL goal since April 12th, 2019 when he was playing for the Stockton Heat.

Second Period

The second period began with a fight between Yaremko and Zack Hayes following Hayes making contact with Jan Mysak against the boards. It was the second time this weekend that the Rocket’s forward dropped the gloves.

The Comets got on the board four seconds after Riley McKay finished serving a minor as Reilly Walsh beat Primeau with a one timer from the faceoff to the right of the goalie.

Laval replied back 1:34 later when Stephens beat Theut with a wrist shot that hit the inside the net and bounced right out.

The Rocket received their first power play 11:36 into the period. The power play units took two shots during the minor.

Third Period

Utica had a power play in the third period when Mysak received a hooking minor. Primeau made several key saves during the two minute stretch to keep the lead to three goals.

With 5:36 remaining, the Rocket had a four-minute power play due to a high sticking double minor against the Comets. Laval took five shots during the sequence that did not result in a goal.

Utica pulled Theut for the extra attacker but Primeau and the defence prevented anything from crossing the red line.

What’s Next?

Laval’s 4-1 win snapped the team’s three game losing streak. The offence unblocked, scoring at least three goals for the first time in seven games.

Laval’s homestand continues on Wednesday by hosting the Bridgeport Islanders.

Be sure to scroll down for audio clips from tonight’s post-game media interviews with Allard, Primeau, Gignac, Abbandonato, and Houle, conducted by the AHL Report and other members of the press.

Plus / Minus

▲ Cayden Primeau, Mitchell Stephens, Brandon Gignac, Frederic Allard

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