ROCKET
Laval

0-4

MOOSE
Manitoba

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

[one_half]Audette – Evans – Froese
Jevpalovs – Vejdemo – Grenier
Belzile – Martineau – Alain
Pezzetta – Verbeek – Waked[/one_half]

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

Goaltenders:
Lindgren
LaCouvee

Scratches:

Michal Moravcik, Alex Kile, Michael McNiven

Injury List:

Gustav Olofsson (shoulder), Noah Juulsen (undisclosed), Michael McCarron (undisclosed), Hunter Shinkaruk (undisclosed)

Game Report

After spending most of the past six weeks on home ice, the Laval Rocket flew to Winnipeg this week for a two-game series against the Manitoba Moose. Two notable additions to this game’s lineup were Charlie Lindgren, back from an injury sustained in early December, and David Schlemko, making his season debut with the team after clearing waivers from Montreal.

The opening period was definitely not the start that Laval was likely looking for. The Moose went up 2-0 early on when Cameron Schilling shot the puck from the point and it deflected into the net off of Lindgren’s blocker, followed by Alexis D’Aoust finding the back of the net after Schlemko and Maxim Lamarche both found themselves below the goal line.

Following that, a big scrum erupted as Antoine Waked and Michael Pezzetta were among the melee who dropped their gloves. After more than 10 minutes to sort out the penalties, the officials awarded Laval a four-minute power play, with Jimmy Oligny leaving the ice on a game misconduct for being the third man into the fight.

Toward the end of the period, Byron Froese managed to get the puck past Eric Comrie on a shorthanded attempt but was denied the goal as the official blew the whistle while the puck was still loose. Froese and head coach Joel Bouchard were visibly furious at the mistake.

The second period looked a bit different for Laval, as they were able to muster more shots on Comrie and brought a much stronger forecheck, however no changes in the score occurred.

For the final frame, there was more rough stuff and more shots on goal for Laval, the visitors just couldn’t find a way to crack Comrie’s crease. Discipline was an issue in this game as well, with plenty of penalties being taken at both ends of the ice. An empty-netter and then a last-second wrister from the slot sealed a 4-0 shutout for Manitoba as the Rocket quickly headed to the dressing room.

The Rocket will now have a day to think about this game, and what needs to improve, before the rematch at Bell MTS Place on Saturday night.

▲     Charlie Lindgren

▼     Maxim Lamarche, David Schlemko

1. Eric Comrie  MB
2. Jansen Harkins  MB
3. Cameron Schilling  MB

Interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for AHL Report

From The Press Box | Rocket Review, Scherbak, Hudon, All-Stars [S2/E15] https://t.co/dIfv7qEK0H pic.twitter.com/S0WimhZbVU

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) January 8, 2019

TRADE | Canadiens Prospect Nick Suzuki Acquired by Guelph Storm https://t.co/FssNcaSEej pic.twitter.com/IlpX0hW3uP

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) January 9, 2019

Follow @theAHLReport on Twitter