Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Jesse Ylonen

Gabriel Bourque – Brandon Gignac – Kevin Roy

Joel Teasdale – Danick Martel – Shawn St. Amant

Alexandre Fortin – Peter Abbandonato – Devante Smith-Pelly

Xavier Ouellet – Tory Dello

Sami Niku – Louie Belpedio

Terrance Amorosa – Gianni Fairbrother

Kevin Poulin – Triston Berube

Justin Ducharme, Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Josh Brook, Cameron Hillis

Lukas Vejdemo (upper-body injury), Alex Belzile (lower-body injury), Tobie Paquette-Bisson (DTD)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Abbotsford Canucks visited Place Bell for the first time in franchise history on Friday. Laval was playing game five of their seven-game homestand. On Wednesday night, the Rocket allowed three goals in the third period against the Monsters in a 4-2 loss. Abbotsford defeated the Marlies 6-4 on Wednesday. 

Brandon Gignac returned to the lineup after being sidelined with an upper body injury since Jan. 15th. Cameron Hillis was scratched for the matchup. 

Kevin Poulin got the start in goal. In his last start, Poulin made 34 saves in Monday’s victory against Cleveland. Earlier in the day, Cayden Primeau was recalled by the Montreal Canadiens after Andrew Hammond was placed on injury reserve with a lower-body injury. 

First Period

Laval’s struggling power play got an early chance as former Canadiens prospect Noah Juulsen was called for interference in the first minute of action. The Rocket’s man advantage took one shot on goal during the minor penalty and Danick Martel rung the puck off the post in the final seconds.

Shawn St-Amant opened the scoring at the 10:50 mark with his first goal in eight games. The sequence began when Peter Abbandonato from behind the net found St-Amant in the crease. St-Amant’s first attempt was stopped before scoring on his own rebound. Abbandonato’s assist snapped his six game pointless drought. 

During the course of the first period, the Rocket lost Gianni Fairbrother to injury after a contact in front of Laval’s bench. 

Second Period

The second period was to the advantage of Abbotsford. At the 6:48 mark, Sheldon Rempal surprised the defence and beat Poulin on a wrap around. 

John Stevens gave the visitors the lead with a one-timer goal that was setup by Matt Murphy with 8:49 remaining. 

Abbotsford increased the lead to 3-1 in the final minute when Stevens found Devante Stevens in the blue paint for the tap in goal. 

The Rocket were outshot 16-5 in the second period. Laval’s best scoring chance in the period came when Louie Belpedio went on a breakaway after causing Juulsen to turn over the puck in the offensive zone.

Third Period

The third period was in Laval’s favour. The Rocket got a power play 1:03 into the frame but were not able to get any of their three shots on goal during the minor penalty past Spencer Martin. 

Laval led in possession in the final frame, obtaining several quality shots from the slot by Kevin Roy, Jean-Sebastien Dea, and Gignac. 

Jean-Francois Houle pulled Poulin with 5:28 to give his team the extra punch needed to cut the lead. With 4:29 remaining, Sheldon Dries scored into the empty net with a shot from his own zone. 

In the final minute, Gignac scored on a 2-on-0 shorthanded breakaway to cut Abbotsford’s lead to 4-2. 

What’s Next?

After the game, Houle confirmed that Fairbrother will not be available for Saturday’s rematch at 1:00 pm. He also indicated that the Rocket would likely sign a player on a PTO as Josh Brook and Tobie Paquette-Bisson are not available due to injury. Brook has not skated since Wednesday, as there has been swelling on his knee.

Devante Smith-Pelly missed some time in the first and second period. Houle said postgame that his status is doubtful for Saturday. 

Be sure to scroll down to hear post-game interviews with Xavier Ouellet, St-Amant, Gignac, and Houle by the AHL Report team and other members of the media. 

Plus / Minus

▲ Kevin Poulin, Louis-Belpedio, Danick Martel

▼ Jean-Sebastien Dea, Sami Niku, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Joel Teasdale