Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Peter Abbandonato – Joel Teasdale

Xavier Simoneau – Mitchell Stephens – Lucas Condotta

Gabriel Bourque – Brandon Gignac – Pierrick Dube

Riley McKay – Jan Mysak – Danick Martel

William Trudeau – Corey Schueneman

Olivier Galipeau – Nicolas Beaudin

Mattias Norlinder – Frederic Allard

Cayden Primeau – Philippe Desrosiers

Rafael Harvey-Pinard (emergency NHL recall), Rem Pitlick (emergency NHL recall), Jesse Ylonen (emergency NHL recall), Alex Belzile (emergency NHL recall), John Parker-Jones, Nolan Yaremko, Madison Bowey, Tory Dello

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Otto Leskinen, Kevin Poulin (upper-body)

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket ended a four-game homestand on Wednesday by hosting the Belleville Senators. It was the final matchup of the regular season between the North division rivals.

Laval was coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday while the Belleville Senators rolled in to Place Bell on a two-game winning streak.

Defenceman Frederic Allard made his Rocket debut after playing with Montreal on Sunday. Forward Danick Martel returned to the lineup for the first time since December 3rd due to a concussion. Defensemen Madison Bowey and Tory Dello were scratched.

Cayden Primeau got the start for the seventh consecutive match. He made 28 saves in Saturday’s loss.

First Period

Belleville needed 1:09 of playing time to get on the board. On an odd-man rush, Ridly Greig beat Primeau between the pads to take the lead.

Special teams became a factor for the remainder of the period. Laval obtained the first power play but were not able to generate any shots on goals during the two-minute stretch.

Allard got off on the wrong foot in his debut as he was penalized for holding to give Belleville a power play. Luckily for the defenceman, the Senators were not able to get any chances during the minor.

Lucas Condotta took consecutive penalties with four seconds separating both infractions. During the first penalty kill, goalie Dylan Ferguson made back-to-back pad saves on Gabriel Bourque and Brandon Gignac on a two-on-one. The Senators replied on the next shift with Lassi Thomson hitting the post with a shot from the blue line.

Thomson didn’t miss his next opportunity while Condotta was serving his second minor as his point shot through traffic found the back of the net.

Laval obtained another power play before the end of the period and it was Belleville that nearly increased their lead as Cole Reinhardt hit the crossbar on a shorthanded two-on-one.

Second Period

Indiscipline carried over for Laval in the second period and it was costly. Bourque was in the box for seven seconds when Thomson beat Primeau with a one timer through traffic from the blue line.

A little over three minutes later, Allard was serving his second infraction of the night when Cole Cassels set up Reinhardt for a one-timer goal from the slot.

During the next television timeout, Luke Richardson came into relief of Ferguson between the pipes of Belleville.

In the second half of the period, it was the Senators’ turn to be undisciplined giving the Rocket the next three power plays. Laval obtained chances during the second man advantage but Richardson stopped all five shots faced during that sequence.

Third Period

The intensity in the game increased as the night went on. In the third minute of the period, a fight broke out between Riley McKay and Mitchell Heard.

Laval obtained a power play with 12:05 remaining and Jean-Francois Houle was aggressive by pulling the goalie for the extra attacker. The strategy paid off as Peter Abbandonato found William Trudeau in the slot for the goal.

Midway through the period, there was a scrum that resulted in Laval being short two players for a full two minutes. Belleville capitalized on the opportunity as Roby Jarventie knocked in a rebound for a goal.

Laval’s frustration showed on the ice as the game finished with a lot of infractions. The Rocket took 46 penalty minutes only in the final period.

What’s Next?

Laval’s 5-1 loss ends their sequence of 15 games at Place Bell without a regulation loss. Belleville won nine of the 12 games against the Rocket this season.

The Rocket head on the road for three games starting with the Syracuse Crunch on Friday.

Plus / Minus

▲ 

▼ Cayden Primeau, Danick Martel, Joel Teasdale, Brandon Gignac, Frederic Allard, Lucas Condotta