ROCKET
Laval

0-3

MARLIES
Toronto

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

[one_half]Audette – Evans – Belzile
Kile – Froese – Jevpalovs
Pezzetta – Vejdemo – Grenier
Shinkaruk – Verbeek – Alain[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Schlemko – Lernout
Culkin – Lamarche
Sklenicka – Fleury[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders:
LaCouvee
Lindgren

Scratches:

Adam Plant, Phelix Martineau, Xavier Ouellet, Karl Alzner

Injury List:

Gustav Olofsson (shoulder), Noah Juulsen (eye), Michael McCarron (shoulder), Antoine Waked (upper body injury)

Game Report

After a dismal effort against Toronto on Friday, where they lost in overtime, the Rocket were back on the ice at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday afternoon to face off one more time against the Marlies.

This time it was Connor LaCouvee guarding the crease for the visiting team, with Kasimir Kaskisuo in net for the Marlies. Adam Plant watched from the press box as a healthy scratch as newly-recalled defenseman Ryan Culkin took his place in the lineup.

It didn’t take long for the Marlies to get the scoring started after Sam Gagner fired a one-timer past LaCouvee from the circle. The goal was scored just over a minute into the game on the power play, as Daniel Audette was in the box for slashing.

The remainder of the period, however, was played pretty evenly between the two teams. Unlike the prior night, Laval managed to keep up with Toronto in shots on goal, but weren’t able to convert either one of their two power play opportunities.

Laval was finally able to outshoot their opponent for the first time all weekend in the second period, but most of the shots were held to the perimeter and not very dangerous for Kaskisuo to face. Alex Belzile and Byron Froese each had the best chances to put the puck past the Toronto netminder, but each were denied.

Additionally, the Rocket were 0-for-4 on the power play through two periods and with just 25 seconds left in the middle frame, Cale Fleury took a slashing penalty which would put Laval on the penalty kill for the remainder of the period and about a minute and a half to start the third.

The final period was more of the same, with the Rocket outshooting the Marlies and physicality ramping up a bit. Joel Bouchard pulled LaCouvee with about a minute and a half left in the game but Toronto’s Trevor Moore found his way through traffic to pot an empty-netter. LaCouvee headed to the bench once again, and this time Chris Mueller was the one to put the puck into an empty net, giving Toronto a 3-0 victory.

This is the Rocket’s fourth consecutive loss, and they were shut out by Toronto both nights. Laval now leaves Ontario to head home to Quebec where they’ll have plenty of practice days to work their weak spots before they host the Belleville Senators on Friday night in the first game of a home-and-home series for the weekend.

Plus/Minus

▲     Connor LaCouvee, David Schlemko, Cale Fleury

▼     Alexandre Alain, Nikita Jevpalovs

Stars of the Game

1. Kasimir Kaskisuo  TOR
2. Connor LaCouvee  LAV
3. Calle Rosen  TOR

Interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for AHL Report

From The Press Box Podcast [S2/E18]| Rocket Road Review, All-Star Festivities, AHL Hall of Fame https://t.co/Qo7wqTYBnK pic.twitter.com/KPhPz2ezZz

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) January 31, 2019

RECAP | Rocket – Marlies: Lindgren Outstanding, Marlies Win in OT https://t.co/SYblFMpkDH pic.twitter.com/kKec6tPJNF

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) February 2, 2019

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