Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Cedric Paquette – Jean-Sebastien Dea

Kevin Roy – Nate Schnarr – Jesse Ylonen

Danick Martel – Brandon Gignac – Joel Teasdale

Justin Ducharme – Jean-Christophe Beaudin – Gabriel Bourque

Xavier Ouellet – Nicolas Mattinen

Terrance Amorosa – Louie Belpedio

Darien Kielb – Olivier Galipeau

Cayden Primeau – Kevin Poulin

Devante Smith-Pelly, Sami Niku, Dominic Cormier, Peter Abbandonato

Lukas Vejdemo (upper-body injury), Alex Belzile (lower-body injury), Tobie Paquette-Bisson (undisclosed), Gianni Fairbrother (undisclosed), Josh Brook (lower-body injury), Cameron Hillis, Tory Dello

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Rocket concluded a five-game homestand on Saturday afternoon by receiving a visit from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Laval easily defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5-1 on Friday, while the Penguins travelled overnight to Laval after defeating the Belleville Senators 3-1. 

The last time that these two faced each other, the Penguins manhandled the Rocket 6-2 on March 12th on home ice.

Jean-Francois Houle kept his forward lines intact for the matchup. On defence, Darien Kielb returned to the formation after being scratched on Friday. Dominic Cormier was given the afternoon off after making his Rocket debut against the Phantoms.  

Cayden Primeau got the start in goal. In his last start, Primeau made 40 saves in Wednesday’s loss against Belleville. 

First Period

Laval opened the scoring 1:19 into the game when Louie Belpedio crashed the net, and it allowed Kevin Roy to put it behind Louis Domingue. The officials discussed the sequence and allowed the goal to the displeasure of the Penguins. 

Michael Chaput, former member of the Canadiens organization, put his team on the board 2:04 later by beating Primeau glove side.  

The Rocket took the lead back at the 10:18 mark during an odd-man rush when Jean-Sebastien Dea passed it to Cedric Paquette for the tap in goal. Paquette’s goal extended his scoring streak to four games. 

Later in the period, the officials waved off a Rocket goal when Gabriel Bourque deflected Belpedio’s shot with a high stick. 

Several penalties on both teams led to a rare sequence of 1:21 of three-on-three play during regulation time.  

Second Period

After killing a slashing minor to Kielb, Laval obtained the next three power play opportunities. The Rocket did not capitalize on any of them, but maintained possession of the puck in the offensive zone for the majority of the time. Laval took a combined two shots on goal and Dea hit the post during the three power plays. 

The Rocket increased their lead to two goals with 2:06 remaining when Jean-Christophe Beaudin circled the net and found Gabriel Bourque on the side of the net for the tap in goal. Bourque’s goal was his first since Feb.12th. Rafael Harvey-Pinard also obtained an assist on the play, his 13th point in the last 10 games.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton cut the lead back to one goal in the final minute of the period when Sam Poulin scored after taking advantage of Jesse Ylonen not being able to take control of the puck in the crease.

Third Period

The Penguins controlled the start of the third period, outshooting Laval 8-2 through the first eight minutes of action. At the 7:49 mark, Chris Bigras tied the score by beating Primeau with a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle. 

Nate Schnarr gave his team the lead with 4:45 remaining in the period. Schnarr’s first goal with Laval came after Ylonen found him in the slot from behind the net. The assist was Ylonen’s second of the afternoon. 

Harvey-Pinard sealed the victory with an empty net goal in the final minute. 

What’s Next?

With the 5-3 victory, the Rocket concluded the five-game homestand with nine of the 10 possible points. 

Laval will have a day off before flying to Winnipeg on Monday for their game on Tuesday against the Manitoba Moose at 8:00pm eastern. 

Be sure to scroll down to hear post-game interviews with Harvey-Pinard, Beaudin, Schnarr, and Houle by the AHL Report team and other members of the media.

Plus / Minus

▲ Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Cedric Paquette, Gabriel Bourque, Terrance Amorosa

▼ Joel Teasdale, Brandon Gignac, Darien Kielb