ROCKET
Laval

1-3

MARLIES
Toronto

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

[one_half]Audette – Cracknell – Terry
Gregoire- Petti – Baun
Veilleux – Eisenschmid – Waked
Boucher – Ebbing – Broll[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Taormina – Lernout
Parisi – Juulsen
Gelinas – Leblanc[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders:
Lindgren
McNiven

Scratches:

Simon Bourque, Willie Corrin, Zach Fucale

Injury List:

Michael McCarron (ear), Jeremiah Addison (shoulder)

Game Report

It’s always an exciting night when the rival Toronto Marlies team rolls into town, and add a Teddy Bear Toss on top of it and you have the makings of a packed house at Place Bell in Laval on Friday night.

However, the first period seemed to lack the intensity and excitement that typically comes in a meeting between these two teams. There was a lot of back and forth and quite a few penalties, however. After failing to convert two power plays, the Rocket found themselves trailing 1-0 when Kasperi Kapanen capitalized on a David Broll roughing penalty.

But just moments later, Niki Petti carried the puck down the ice and banked in an unassisted goal to even the score and send teddy bears raining down from the crowd.

The second period started a little curiously as Garret Sparks did not return to the crease for Toronto. No reason, such as injury, was given, and Sparks did take up his position on the backup goaltender’s stool while Calvin Pickard took over in the net.

At the other end of the ice, Charlie Lindgren held his ground despite having some close calls thanks to a bit of sloppy defensive play. Pickard, on the other hand, was peppered with a series of shots but managed to keep the puck out of the net each time.

The team seemed to find their legs a bit more towards the end of the period, creating some open ice and offensive pressure. Laval was much more disciplined in the middle frame, with only Kyle Baun getting two minutes for tripping.

For the final period, the Rocket looked completely listless. They mustered their first shot of the period almost halfway through the frame, and only got a total of four shots on goal in the entire 20 minutes.

In addition, the power play units had six opportunities in this game which all went without a goal scored. However, the Marlies were able to capitalize on two man advantages, including one in the third period which put them ahead 2-1.

Antoine Waked went to the dressing room for a bit after taking a heavy hit in open ice through the neutral zone, but soon returned to the Laval bench.

Lindgren continued to make some very big saves, but the offense just couldn’t generate any sustained pressure. Then Travis Dermott sent the puck flying down the ice for an empty-netter that sealed the victory for Toronto.

The Rocket don’t have much time to mull over this loss, as they get right back to it against the Marlies on Saturday afternoon for a matinee game. They’ll need to stay out of the penalty box and find a way to wake up their sticks in order to get a much-needed victory.

▲     Adam Cracknell, Charlie Lindgren, Niki Petti

▼     Kyle Baun, Stefan Leblanc

1. Kasperi Kapanen  TOR
2. Niki Petti  LAV
3. Calvin Pickard  TOR

Interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for AHL Report

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