ROCKET
Laval

1-2

CRUNCH
Syracuse

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

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

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

Goaltenders:
Lindgren
McNiven

Scratches:

David Broll, Eric Gelinas, Willie Corrin

Injury List:

Jeremiah Addison (shoulder)

Game Report

With an 3-4-1-2 record for their last 10 games coming into Friday night’s tilt in Syracuse, the Laval Rocket were looking for any way possible to leave the building with two points. However, another sleepy offense meant the Rocket would still be searching for that recently elusive win.

The first period was played very well on both sides of the ice. The Crunch came out aggressive and physical, as they usually do, and Laval stood their ground defensively. Charlie Lindgren looked especially strong in net.

Noah Juulsen continued to impress in his second game of the season, applying solid pressure where needed and creating turnovers along the boards. Markus Eisenschmid was back in the lineup after missing six weeks due to a lower body injury, and found his legs quickly. He looked determined and full of energy.

But the offense still couldn’t find ways to get pucks into the net. After a scoreless first period, it would take eight minutes in the middle frame before the Rocket registered another shot on goal.  Adam Erne finally got the first goal of the night with a deke on Lindgren and some of the Laval forwards struggling to get back to the defensive zone.

Then a huge character moment in the game came through for the Rocket when Yannick Veilleux took a five-minute boarding penalty, closely followed by an Adam Cracknell slashing minor. The ensuing five-on-three penalty kill, in addition to the remaining shorthanded time for Veilleux’s major, was a shining moment in what has been a struggling PK for Laval.

With six power play opportunities throughout the even, the man advantage continued to struggle – with the exception of Chris Terry who came through with one of his signature special teams performances to put the Rocket on the board with under five minutes remaining in regulation. Laval came on hard in the final minutes and had some good chances, but couldn’t find their way past Louis Domingue and fell to Syracuse 2-1.

In the second period, Michael McCarron left the game in a hurry after a hit along the boards where he appeared to get cut behind his left ear. He was reportedly taken to the hospital for repairs, where he remained after the team departed for Lehigh Valley. More updates will provided as they become available.

Per Sylvain Lefebvre after the game, the team just needs to find a way to get a win and they’ll have another chance at that later today when they take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to finish out this short road trip.

▲     Noah Juulsen, Markus Eisenschmid, Chris Terry, Jeremy Gregoire

▼     Adam Cracknell, Thomas Ebbing

1. Matthew Peca  SYR
2. Louis Domingue  SYR
3. Adam Erne  SYR

Post-game interview with Noah Juulsen

Post-game interview with Markus Eisenschmid

Post-game interview with Adam Cracknell

Interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for AHL Report

The new guy. Welcome Adam Cracknell! @RocketSports @ACracknell25 @FlyersRule #GoRocket @RocketLaval pic.twitter.com/2vvYsndTY7

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) December 2, 2017

From the Press Box | Rocket Reactions, A Special Visitor, Top 5 Hockey Grub [Podcast S1/E11] https://t.co/N7ZfpocULV pic.twitter.com/UEBSLAiyRU

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) November 28, 2017

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