Yannick Veilleux opened the scoring 2:07 into the match with his fifth goal in the last seven games. Jesse Ylonen won a foot race against the defender and fed Veilleux for the goal. On the play, Gustav Olofsson recorded his sixth assist in the last six matches. 

Ryan Poehling doubled Laval’s lead with 4:24 remaining when he picked up a loose puck that led to a breakaway goal that beat Filip Gustavsson. The Senators bench was furious with the officials, as they felt that Olofsson should have been called for an infraction for a hook that created the turnover. It was Poehling’s sixth goal in the last nine games. 

Tobie Paquette-Bisson nearly tripled the Rocket’s lead with a blast from the point that hit the post.

There was no scoring in the second period, however the physicality in this match picked up. The frame was highlighted by Colby Williams delivering a hard hit in the neutral zone on Michael Pezzetta.  

Each club had two power play opportunities that neither converted. The Rocket took one shot on goal during the four minutes of play with the extra attacker. 

Belleville was pinned in their zone several times during the frame, which led to Laval outshooting them 21-11 through 40 minutes of action. 

Laval increased their lead to three goals 31 seconds into the period when Joel Teasdale tipped Paquette-Bisson’s blast from the blue line. Paquette-Bisson’s assist extended his point streak to three games, where he’s recorded a total of four points. 

The rough play continued for the balance of regulation time. Veilleux dropped the gloves against Olivier LeBlanc, after he delivered a hard hit on Laurent Dauphin. Veilleux was assessed an instigator penalty and a 10-minute misconduct in addition to the major penalty. 

Later in the period, Josh Brook and Williams spent five minutes in the penalty box following a bout. Brook was part of an altercation at the conclusion of the match, where the officials called a misconduct for him and Jonathan Aspirot. 

There was a total of five shot on goals in the final frame. Belleville took their only shot on goal after 8:42, and Laval finished the match with 5:38 without a shot on Gustavsson.

The victory extended Laval’s winning streak to four games. McNiven made 12 saves to earn his first shutout of the season.

The teams will face off against each other on Saturday at 3:00pm eastern. Joel Bouchard confirmed that Vasily Demchenko will start in goal, and that Weal’s injury will be re-evaluated further.  

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