Rocket Lineup

Kevin Roy – Laurent Dauphin – Alex Belzile

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Jesse Ylonen

Gabriel Bourque – Lukas Vejdemo – Alexandre Fortin

Brandon Baddock – Brendan Gignac – Cam Hillis

Xavier Ouellet – Louie Belpedio

Corey Schueneman – Tory Dello

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Carl Neill

Michael McNiven – Kevin Poulin

Terrance Amorosa

Joel Teasdale (surgery), Josh Brook (surgery), Jean-Christophe Beaudin (DTD), Gianni Fairbrother (DTD), Danick Martel (DTD)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

The Rocket saw plenty of the Belleville Senators last year when the international border between Canada and the United States was closed and the Canadian teams spent the entire shortened season playing each other over and over again.

Even though the schedule looks much more typical this year, Laval and Belleville will likely have their fill each other this month as they face off four times in November. The last time these two teams faced off was on Place Bell ice on November 10th, with the Rocket posting a 3-0 shutout against their division rivals.

Tonight, without the services of Cayden Primeau, who backstopped that shutout but has since been recalled to Montreal while Jake Allen is on the mend, it was Kevin Poulin who was given the start in the crease. 

On Wednesday, the Rocket looked down and out early as they went down 5-1 in the second period and Michael McNiven was yanked from the game early. Poulin then came in and gave his teammates the ability to mount a spectacular shootout comeback.

Other roster changes consisted of Gianni Fairbrother and Danick Martel both being absent. Neither player finished Wednesday’s game, with Fairbrother not returning in the second period and Martel leaving the game after just one shift in the middle frame.

First Period

Only 32 seconds into the game, the Rocket found themselves on a power play after Pontus Aberg was whistled for boarding. Sitting 22nd in the league on the man advantage, however, meant that Laval struggled convert either of the two power play opportunities they were given in this period.

After the Sens killed off the early penalty, the game took a bit of a mellow turn with both teams sort of feeling each other out and not generating much pressure. All of that changed when Mark Kastelic shot the puck from the perimeter and the rebound caromed off of Mads Sogaard‘s pads, bounced around, and managed to make its way over the goal line.

Laval didn’t wait long to respond. Three minutes later, Lukas Vejdemo parked himself in front of the net and put the puck neatly in the top corner off a below-the-goal-line feed from Corey Schueneman to tie the game.

Second Period

Special teams played a big part in the middle frame, but first it was up to Poulin to stop a penalty shot by Cole Reinhardt. 

The Rocket then got into some penalty trouble, as has happened quite a few times this season, and Belleville’s struggling power play units were able to convert on back-to-back man advantages.

First, Zac Leslie buried a slap shot from the point, and then Maxence Guenette put a harmless looking shot from the blue line onto net that found its way through.

Fortunately, Laval’s power play started clicking before the end of the period as well and Laurent Dauphin found the back of the net off a rebound to bring the Rocket within one.

Third Period

It seemed as though the Rocket used up their energy and their scoring prowess in the second period, because the final period amounted to a whole lot of nothing. The shots were even in the frame at 11-11, and Laval couldn’t generate anything on the additional power play. They went one-for-six on the man advantage on the night.

Jean-Francois Houle pulled his goaltender with 1:41 remaining and, almost immediately, Dillon Heatherington shot the puck from one end of the ice to the other for an empty-net goal. 

After 50 seconds, Houle pulled Poulin again, and Belleville’s Matthew Wedman potted an empty-netter to make it 5-2 for the Senators.

What’s Next?

Plus / Minus

▲ Lukas Vejdemo, Cam Hillis

▼ Tory Dello, Corey Schueneman