ROCKET
Laval

2-1

MARLIES
Toronto

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

[one_half]Shinkaruk – Vejdemo – Grenier
Belzile – McCarron – Alain
Jevpalovs – Evans – Froese
Audette – Martineau[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Alzner – Juulsen
Ouellet – Lamarche
Depres – Fleury
Lernout[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders:
McNiven
Marcoux

Scratches:

Adam Plant, David Sklenicka, Michal Moravcik, Antoine Waked, Morgan Adams-Moisan

Injury List:

Gustav Olofsson (shoulder), Charlie Lindgren (lower body), Hayden Verbeek (upper body)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

It was “Marlies Unappreciation Night” at Place Bell on Friday as the Toronto Marlies were in town to face the Laval Rocket in the first of two games between the teams this weekend. Laval came into the matchup without a regulation loss in their last four games, while Toronto was trying to extend their three-game winning streak. Currently, there are five points separating the two teams in the standings as both target a playoff spot.

For a second consecutive game, there were seven defensemen dressed for the Rocket. Noah Juulsen made his season debut in Laval, paired with Karl Alzner. Prior to puck drop, the team announced that Hayden Verbeek suffered a concussion in last week’s game against Belleville.

There was no scoring in the first period, with a total of 11 shots in the frame. Laval got the best scoring chances of the period as Lukas Vejdemo,on a breakaway, wasn’t able to score on Eamon McAdam. Then Alexandre Grenier missed the net with his shot on a 2-on-1, and Hunter Shinkaruk had a shot which hit the post.

Two goals were scored in the first 4:45 of the second period. Colin Greening deflected Stefan Leblanc’s point shot through traffic and behind Michael McNiven. Michael McCarron, who was in the middle of a lot of post-whistle action, redirected Xavier Ouellet’s point shot on a power play to tie the game. The goal was reviewed by the referees for high sticking, and the Marlies bench wasn’t happy that the call wasn’t reversed. McNiven was kept busy as his opponents took 13 shots in the period.

Cale Fleury scored his second goal of the season at 9:14 as he chipped in to pick up Danielle Audette’s rebound. The Marlies weren’t able to get any of the nine shots of the period past McNiven. “I thought the third period was the best period for us”, said Bouchard after the game.

The Marlies also felt unappreciated by the officials in the final moments of the game. Several players and head coach, Sheldon Keefe, were trying to have words with the referees, and had to be held back by the linesmen. The Marlies wanted time to be added on the scoreboard as they thought the clock was run out after a McNiven save.

The Marlies will be looking for revenge on Saturday as these two teams face each other again at 1pm ET.  Listen in the player below for full post-game audio.

▲     Nikita Jevpalovs, Xavier Ouellet, Lukas Vejdemo, Michael McNiven

▼     Karl Alzner, Simon Despres

1. Michael McNiven  LAV
2. Michael McCarron  LAV
3. Byron Froese  LAV

Post-game interview with Cale Fleury:

Post-game interview with Lukas Vejdemo:

Post-game interview with Xavier Ouellet:

Post-game interview with Noah Juulsen:

Interviews conducted by Chris G for AHL Report

Take 5 | Rocket News: Despres, Ouellet, McNiven, Special Teams, Playoffs https://t.co/6zWzo20icU pic.twitter.com/laWrJdmcl7

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) December 18, 2018

From The Press Box Podcast | Latest from Laval, Juulsen, Mete, Hart [S2/E13] https://t.co/S3dUF8srG7 pic.twitter.com/RqWhtj2sW0

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) December 18, 2018

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