Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Mitchell Stephens – Xavier Simoneau

Joel Teasdale – Peter Abbandonato – Gabriel Bourque

Lucas Condotta – Nate Schnarr – Pierrick Dube

Ryan Francis – Anthony Beauregard – Parker-Jones

William Trudeau – Corey Schueneman

Mattias Norlinder – Eric Williams

Olivier Galipeau – Santino Centorame

Kevin Poulin – Philippe Desrosiers

Rafael Harvey-Pinard (emergency NHL recall), Rem Pitlick (emergency NHL recall), Alex Belzile (NHL recall)

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Madison Bowey (upper-body), Jan Mysak (DTD), Danick Martel (DTD), Otto Leskinen, Brandon Gignac, Tory Dello, Nicolas Beaudin

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket began resumed their three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against the division leading Toronto Marlies.

Laval was down 2-0 against the conference leading Hershey Bears on Friday before answering back with three goals for the win. The Marlies extended their win streak to seven games on Friday with a 4-3 victory against the Belleville Senators. Toronto has won all three previous matchups against Laval this season.

With the news from Saturday morning that Cole Caufield‘s season was over, the Canadiens recalled Alex Belzile from the Rocket to play in the evening matchup against the Maple Leafs. Ryan Francis was called up from the Trois-Rivieres Lions to replace the captain in the lineup. Francis leads the Lions with 21 points in 31 games, and co-leads the ECHL with six power play goals.

Kevin Poulin got the start in goal for the second time in under 24 hours. On Friday, he made 25 saves in Laval’s victory.

First Period

The Marlies started the contest in penalty trouble taking consecutive minors. Laval capitalized on the second opportunity when Lucas Condotta made a no-look pass to Xavier Simoneau. Simoneau ended his 15-game scoring drought by beating Erik Kallgren blocker side.

Toronto took control of the balance of the period and Laval did not take any shots on goal for the 10:17 remaining.

The Marlies got on the board with under five minutes remaining when Gabriel Bourque‘s turnover in the offensive zone led to an odd man rush the other way. Marshall Rifai got the puck in the back of the net.

Toronto added a power play goal with two seconds remaining in the period while Simoneau was in the box when Nick Abruzzese surprised Poulin with a shot from the faceoff dot.

Second Period

Laval started the period with a scoring opportunity in the first minute when Olivier Galipeau lobbed the puck into the neutral zone that set up Peter Abbandonato for a breakaway. The forward was stopped by Kallgren.

The majority of the period was played on special teams as seven minor penalties were called by the officials.

Toronto continued to dominate the match but Laval was opportunistic with their chances. During the seventh minute, Pierrick Dube made a drop pass to Anthony Beauregard and beat Kallgren with a wrist shot from the slot. It was Beauregard’s first AHL goal since April 4, 2018 during his first stint with the Rocket.

Later in the period, Laval had a dangerous opportunity to take the lead when Anthony Richard‘s from point blank was stopped and Dube and Abbandonato both were not able to get a stick on the generous rebound.

Jean-Francois Houle‘s team headed to the dressing room in a 2-2 draw through 40 minutes despite being outplayed and outshot 24-12.

Third Period

Laval came out firing in the third period taking five shots in the opening 25 seconds during a power play that carried over from the second period. Kallgren stopped them all during the sequence. Poulin made some big stops on his end including a save against Pontus Holmberg on a breakaway. 

Bourque was in the box when Toronto took the lead when Abruzzese scored his second of the afternoon with a shot from the faceoff dot. The Rocket returned the favour with 5:53 remaining in the third period as William Trudeau setup Richard for a one-timer power play goal from the top of the faceoff circle. Both players extended their point streak to four games on the sequence.

The game remained tied through 60 minutes and in overtime, Richard had an early opportunity that was stopped. Later in the period, Trudeau knocked the puck in the net with his glove. The officials reviewed and confirmed the call on the ice.

In shootout, former Canadien Logan Shaw scored the game deciding goal. Dube was the only successful shooter for Laval.

What’s Next?

Laval’s three game winning streak was snapped with the 4-3 loss in front of a sellout crowd at Place Bell. The club seems to be satisfied by collecting three of possible four points over the weekend against the Eastern conference’s top two teams.

The Rocket host the Belleville Senators on Wednesday at 7:00pm Eastern.

Be sure to scroll down for audio clips from tonight’s post-game media interviews with Simoneau, Beauregard, Dube, and Houle, conducted by the AHL Report and other members of the press.

Plus / Minus

▲ Kevin Poulin, Anthony Richard, Pierrick Dube

▼ Gabriel Bourque, Nate Schnarr