Rocket Lineup

Gabriel Bourque – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Jean-Christophe Beaudin

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Lukas Vejdemo – Alex Belzile

Danick Martel – Brandon Gignac – Kevin Roy

Brandon Baddock – Cam Hillis – Peter Abbandonato

Terrance Amorosa – Louie Belpedio

Gianni Fairbrother – Tory Dello

Corey Schueneman – Tobie Paquette-Bisson

Michael McNiven – Cayden Primeau

Alexandre Fortin

Joel Teasdale (surgery), Josh Brook (surgery), Xavier Ouellet (lower-body injury)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Rocket returned home after playing a pair of road games last weekend. No fans were permitted inside Place Bell following a request made by Quebec health authorities. 

Laval had won four of their last five games, including a 4-2 victory against Hershey on Sunday. Providence began their seven-game road trip with a 2-1 win against Bridgeport on Wednesday. The Rocket defeated the Bruins 4-0 when they played on October 23rd. 

Corey Schueneman returned to action for the first time since December 1st, after being returned to the AHL from the Canadiens on Thursday. The defenceman replaced Mattias Norlinder at the blue line after the organization announced on Thursday that he will return to Sweden for the remainder of the season.

Michael McNiven got the start in goal for Laval. In his last start, McNiven allowed five goals on 39 shots in a 7-3 loss to Belleville on November 27th. 

Providence signed Alexis D’Aoust to a professional tryout contract on Thursday. D’Aoust was playing for the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the ECHL, where he has collected 14 points in his last nine games. The Trois-Rivieres native played two games with the Belleville Senators earlier this season.

First Period

Providence got on the board quickly after puck drop with two goals. At the 2:56 mark, D’Aoust scored his first of the season with a shot that beat McNiven between the legs.

33 seconds later, Cameron Hughes went around Tory Dello, and beat McNiven with a top corner backhanded shot on the blocker side. 

The Bruins nearly increased their lead to three goals when Brady Lyle’s shot beat McNiven, but hit the post to the left of the goalie. 

Laval got on the board with 6:07 remaining in the period, when Gabriel Bourque’s pass hit John Moore’s skate and went behind his own goaltender. The goal was Bourque’s second goal, and third point in the last two games.

Second Period

Providence got in penalty trouble, and paid the price. During a two-man advantage, Louie Belpedio beat Troy Grosenick with a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle. Alex Belzile’s assist on the play extended his point streak to five games. 

On the same extended power play, Peter Abbandonato found Lukas Vejdemo in the crease, and that allowed Vejdemo to give his team the lead. Vejdemo and Rafael Harvey-Pinard each obtained their fifth point in the last three games on the sequence. 

On the Rocket’s fifth power play of the period, Belzile’s shot from the point was redirected by a defender and behind Grosenick. The goal was Belzile’s third in the last five matches. 

The bounces in the second period continued going in favour Laval’s favour as Cameron Hillis took a shot on Grosenick and Zach Senyshyn tapped the puck passed his own goalie. 

Laval outshot Providence 13-3 in the period.

Third Period

The Rocket increased their lead on their first shot of the third period. Kevin Roy beat Grosenick with a top corner shot on the blocker side at the 1:24 mark.

Providence capitalized on a penalty against Tobie Paquette-Bisson to reduce the deficit to three goals. Jack Ahcan found an opening between McNiven’s pads to slip the puck to the back of the net. 

It was Laval’s turn to get into penalty trouble as Hillis, Roy, and Brandon Baddock took consecutive penalties. The Rocket’s penalty kill units did a solid job preventing the Bruins from obtaining dangerous scoring opportunities. Providence took three total shots on goal on their four power plays.

What’s Next?

Laval’s 6-3 victory places them third in the North division. After the game, the Rocket jumped on the team bus to drive to Syracuse for Saturday’s game against the Crunch at 7:00pm eastern.

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

Plus / Minus

▲ Lukas Vejdemo, Alex Belzile, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Louie Belpedio, Kevin Roy

▼ Corey Schueneman, Michael McNiven, Tory Dello, Danick Martel