Rocket Lineup

Charles Hudon – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Kevin Lynch

Matthew Peca – Ryan Poehling – Riley Barber

Alexandre Alain – Phil Varone – Nikita Jevpalovs

Yannick Veilleux – Laurent Dauphin – Antoine Waked

Karl Alzner – Cale Fleury

Otto Leskinen – Josh Brook

Gustav Olofsson – Evan McEneny

Cayden Primeau – Michael McNiven

Maxim Lamarche, Michael Pezzetta, Keith Kinkaid

Noah Juulsen (upper body), Alex Belzile (pectoral surgery), Andrew Sturtz, Hayden Verbeek, Lukas Vejdemo, Joe Cox, Will Pelletier, Ralph Cuddemi

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

With the Laval Rocket dropping their first two games on this five-game road trip, they pulled into Utica on Wednesday for another clash with the Comets in an attempt to grab hold of two divisional points.

The Laval goalie rotation continued, this time with Cayden Primeau getting the start in net and Michael McNiven dressing as the backup. Keith Kinkaid was a healthy scratch.

In the opening 20 minutes, Laval controlled the puck for a good portion of the period, particularly in the opening couple of minutes. That bout of good offensive pressure ended with Otto Leskinen wiring a big shot from the point to beat Michael DiPietro.

At the other end of the ice, Primeau made a number of important saves through the middle of the frame as the Comets started to get some penetration into the zone. It wasn’t until a series of penalties left the Rocket shorthanded on a 4×3 advantage for Utica that the home team managed to score. Jonah Gadjovich was parked in the crease and banged away at a loose puck until it squeaked through Primeau’s pads.

To begin the second period, the Rocket and the refs believed that Laval scored a go-ahead goal, but then the officials immediately changed their mind. They had to resort to a video review and ultimately determined that no goal had been scored, and the game remained tied at 1-1.

Then Yannick Veilleux, fresh off his newly-signed AHL contract with Laval, put the Rocket back up by one goal when he lifted the puck over DiPietro’s pad on the power play. The visiting team continued to find themselves in the penalty box, however, and eventually Utica capitalized for a second time on the power play when Sven Baertschi backhanded the puck into the Rocket net.

This game was ultimately decided in the open 36 seconds of the third period when Reid Boucher forced a turnover by Charles Hudon and quickly ripped a wrister blocker side into Primeau’s net. The Rocket tried mightily to get that goal back and at least tie the game, but DiPietro stood tall and the Comets prevailed.

Laval has gone 0-2-1 so far on this road trip, with two tough opponents left before they head back to Quebec. Additionally, Syracuse defeated Binghamton tonight to tie Laval and Toronto in points, and push the Rocket into 6th place in the division. They’ll face Hartford on Friday.

Plus / Minus

▲  Laurent Dauphin, Yannick Veilleux

▼  Kevin Lynch, Matthew Peca