ROCKET
Laval

4-2

SENATORS
Belleville

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

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

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

Goaltenders:
LaCouvee
Marcoux

Scratches:

Michal Moravcik

Injury List:

Gustav Olofsson (shoulder), Charlie Lindgren (lower body), Noah Juulsen (undisclosed), Michael McCarron (undisclosed), Hunter Shinkaruk (undisclosed)

Game Report

The Laval Rocket kicked off 2019 with another divisional game at home against the Belleville Senators. Changes in the lineup saw Byron Froese and Hayden Verbeek back from injury, while Michael McCarron and Hunter Shinkaruk were both out with undisclosed injuries from the past two days’ team practices.  Newcomer Connor LaCouvee got the start in the crease for Laval.

The first period was pretty well dominated by the Rocket, as they outshot the Senators 12-2, and they took full advantage of two different five-on-three opportunities presented by Belleville. Froese scored the first power play goal of the night with a big slap shot from the high slot, followed by Alex Belzile with a one-timer from the left circle. Daniel Audette assisted on both goals, giving him another multi-point night early on.

The second period was filled with more penalties on both sides, including four roughing minors. For the first half of the period, play was slow and tentative but heated up quickly as the period went on.

Antoine Waked scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Hayden Verbeek, but with minutes left before intermission Gabriel Gagne fired a one-timer from the right circle past LaCouvee to get Belleville on the board, down 3-1.

Gagne would go on to score a second goal in the third period, bringing the Senators within one goal of tying the game, but Alexandre Grenier fired home a centering pass from Lukas Vejdemo to seal a two-point victory for the Rocket.

Laval will host the Rochester Americans this weekend for two games, starting on Friday night. Listen to full post-game audio in the player below!

▲     Byron Froese, Daniel Audette

▼     Adam Plant

1. Byron Froese  LAV
2. Gabriel Gagne  BEL
3. Daniel Audette  LAV

Post-game interview with Byron Froese:

Post-game interview with Connor LaCouvee:

Post-game interview with Maxim Lamarche:

Post-game interview with Antoine Waked:

Interviews conducted by Chris G for AHL Report

From The Press Box Podcast | Rocket Review, Trades, Affiliations, All-Star Coaches [S2/E14] https://t.co/dYke7xIgs7 pic.twitter.com/F4YkTyHM6m

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) January 2, 2019

Take 5 | Rocket News: Potential, Defence, Development, Goaltending, Schedule https://t.co/BZTS97h9YU pic.twitter.com/3MJuDYaMTd

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) January 1, 2019

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