ROCKET
Laval

0-2

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
Sklenicka – Fleury
Lernout[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders:
Marcoux
McNiven

Scratches:

Adam Plant, 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

The Laval Rocket hosted the Toronto Marlies on Saturday afternoon at Place Bell in the second game of the weekend series between these teams. The Marlies lost Friday’s game by a score of 2-1, while the Rocket tried to extend their five-game streak without a regulation loss.

Etienne Marcoux got the start in goal, and David Sklenicka returned to the lineup. This was Sklenicka’s first game with the Rocket since his recall from the ECHL as he replaced Simon Despres, who was released earlier in the day for him to join Team Canada at the Spengler Cup.

The first period was dominated by the Marlies as they outshot the Rocket 12-2. Laval played with no energy in that period. Trevor Moore and Vincent LoVerde scored for Toronto. Moore completed a tic-tac-toe move from the slot during a power play, while LoVerde picked up a loose puck to beat Marcoux in the top corner of the net.

Moore’s goal was the first power play goal that the Rocket had allowed in 15 opportunities. Laval’s only scoring opportunity was a shorthanded breakaway by Alex Belzile, with Kasimir Kaskisuo making the save. “We had heavy legs for some reason. We’re not a skating team” said Bouchard after the game on his team’s start.

There was no scoring in the second period. Laval did show a better effort in that period, but not enough to generate any scoring. Xavier Ouellet was moved to a forward position, as he played to the left of Jake Evans and Byron Froese. Ouellet got Laval’s best scoring chance of the period as he took a shot from in front of the goal that was stopped by Kaskisuo with a blocker save. On the other side of the rink, Marcoux made several big saves to keep his team in the game, with 24 saves at the end of two periods.

Laval wasn’t able to score in the third period, and weren’t able to capitalize on their scoring chances. Brett Lernout and Alexandre Grenier both hit the post with their shots, and Ouellet looked up to the sky after missing his chance in front of the net.

The players in the dressing room weren’t happy with their team’s start. “We had too many passengers tonight in the first period” said Byron Froese. “I think as a team we weren’t focused, we weren’t ready to play, and you can’t afford that”, added Ouellet.

Laval will have five days off for the holidays before they head to Belleville to visit the Senators on Thursday night at 7pm ET. That will be the Rocket’s first of three games in three days. “Some of the young guys have been playing a lot, they going to get some rest. So I think it’s going to be good for them,” said Bouchard on how they will prepare for that stretch. Listen in the player below for full post-game audio.

▲     Etienne Marcoux, Xavier Ouellet, Alex Belzile

▼     David Sklenicka, Alexandre Alain, Michael McCarron, Hunter Shinkaruk

1. Chris Mueller  TOR
2. Etienne Marcoux  LAV
3. Vincent LoVerde  TOR

Post-game interview with Etienne Marcoux:

Post-game interview with Alexandre Grenier:

Post-game interview with Xavier Ouellet:

Post-game interview with Byron Froese:

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

Follow @theAHLReport on Twitter