Rocket Lineup

Yannick Veilleux – Laurent Dauphin – Josh Brook

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jordan Weal – Jesse Ylonen

Jake Lucchini – Lukas Vejdemo – Alex Belzile

Brandon Baddock – Cameron Hillis – Jan Mysak

Corey Schueneman – Otto Leskinen

Tobie Paquette-Bisson – Terrance Amorosa

Xavier Ouellet – Gustav Olofsson

Cayden Primeau – Michael McNiven

Nathanael Halbert, Jacob LeGuerrier, Liam Hawel, Vasily Demchenko (COVID-19 precautions), Arsen Khisamutdinov, Tristan Pomerleau, Cale Fleury

Ryan Poehling (undisclosed), Joel Teasdale (surgery), Joseph Blandisi (surgery), Michael Pezzetta (surgery)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Marlies visited the Bell Centre on Friday night for the third of five matchups against the Rocket. Toronto beat Laval on Wednesday afternoon to split the two games at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. 

Alex Belzile, Jesse Ylonen, and Xavier Ouellet all returned to the lineup following their stints with the Canadiens. Arsen Khisamutdinov, Tristan Pomerleau, and Cale Fleury sat out. Joel Bouchard said earlier in the day that the team’s doctors wanted Fleury to play three of the four games in the five-day period. 

Cayden Primeau started the match in net after being assigned to the AHL by the Canadiens. He had won his last seven starts with the Rocket.

First Period

The Marlies took the lead with two early goals. Firstly, Justin Brazeau beat Primeau up high on the glove side with Toronto’s first shot on goal at the 4:27 mark. Secondly, Kalle Kossila made it 2-0 at the 7:50 mark by scoring high blocker side. It was a shaky start for Primeau allowing two goals on three shots.  

Laval obtained several chances during the initial frame that they weren’t able to capitalize on. Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Corey Schueneman both hit posts through 20 minutes. 

Laurent Dauphin took Laval’s only shot on goal during the team’s man advantage. It was only the fifth time this year that the Rocket trailed after one period.

Second Period

The Rocket got back into the game by scoring the next two goals. At the 4:21 mark, Belzile won a battle in the corner and found Yannick Veilleux at the faceoff circle for the goal. Veilleux beat Michael Hutchinson glove side for his eighth goal in eight matches against the Marlies, and extended his goal streak to four games. Dauphin’s assist extended his point streak to five matches.

Six minutes later, Dauphin took a shot from the point that hit Belzile’s glove before going in the back of the net. The goal was Belzile’s sixth point in the last four games.  

It took 14:24 of action before Toronto took its first shot of the frame. With 1:30 remaining in the second, Pavel Gogolev picked up a rebound in front of Primeau and knocked it in goal to give the Marlies 3-2 lead. 

Jordan Weal received a 10-minute unsportsmanlike misconduct on the play as he had some words with the officials for not calling a penalty for a contact against him in the neutral zone, that led to the Marlies counter attack.

Third Period

The play got chippy in the first minute as Hutchinson slashed Veilleux’s hand behind the action. Veilleux had to leave the bench for a few minutes to get it checked out by the team’s doctors. For the remainder of the game, Veilleux was visibly upset about the incident and kept exchanging words with the goalie. 

With 6:03 remaining, Scott Pooley nearly increased Toronto’s lead as he hit the post on a breakaway. 

The Rocket received a power play opportunity with 3:18 remaining, but weren’t able to tie the game. Josh Brook took the only shot on goal during the minor penalty. Laval’s power play has scored two times in their last 22 opportunities, and both goals were during the same match.

What’s Next?

Toronto took 21 shots to hand Laval a second consecutive loss by a 3-2 score. The teams square off again on Saturday at 3:00pm eastern at the Bell Centre.

Be sure to scroll down to hear post-game interviews with Belzile, Brook, Dauphin, and Bouchard by the AHL Report team and other members of the media.

Plus / Minus

▲  Laurent Dauphin, Alex Belzile

▼  Cayden Primeau, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Jordan Weal