Rocket Lineup

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

Kevin Roy – Laurent Dauphin – Alex Belzile

Michael Pezzetta – Lukas Vejdemo – Gabriel Bourque

Brandon Baddock – Jean-Christophe Beaudin – Danick Martel

Xavier Ouellet – Louie Belpedio

Fairbrother – Schueneman

Bisson – Dello

Cayden Primeau – Michael McNiven

Brandon Gignac, Alexandre Fortin, Terrance Amorosa, Carl Neill

Joel Teasdale (surgery), Josh Brook (surgery), Ryan Poehling (undisclosed)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

After a statement win to open the season on home ice, followed by a tough loss in Belleville the next day, the Laval Rocket welcomed the Manitoba Moose to Place Bell on Wednesday night for their first matchup of the season. Both teams went 1-1-0 to start the season, with Manitoba coming off a 5-0 victory over the Marlies on the weekend.

Ryan Poehling was not in the lineup, after leaving Saturday’s game in the first period. He was hit in the back of the head by Andrew Agozzino‘s elbow during a puck battle along the end boards and subsequently left the game. No timeline for return or type of injury has been announced.

Laval’s points leader coming into this game was Michael Pezzetta, with four pts (1G/3A) in two games and tied for third in AHL scoring.

With Alex Belzile clearing waivers and returning to the Rocket, he was placed on the second line as the only change to Jean-Francois Houle‘s lineup.

First Period

While the pace to start this game was quick, the time it took to accrue some shots on goal was not. Both teams spent plenty of time in the opening minutes going north-south, but not generating much in either offensive zone.

Laurent Dauphin opened the scoring on Laval’s first shot of the game. Brandon Baddock skated the puck up the near wall, passing it to Dauphin in the slot where he fired the puck past Mikhail Berdin for his first goal of the season.

57 seconds later, Manitoba responded with a goal by Mikey Eyssimont who tipped David Gustafsson‘s point shot past Cayden Primeau. The Moose doubled their tally with a late goal by Gustafsson, taking a cross-ice pass from Jeff Malott and beating Primeau blocker side with a quick snap shot.

Second Period

Laval wasted no time at the start of the middle frame, coming out with plenty of jump in their skates and quickly outshooting Manitoba 4-0. With a stronger forecheck, the Rocket were able to maintain better offensive zone presence.

At one point, the fans in Place Bell cheered for what they believed was another Rocket goal after the puck hit the top of Manitoba’s net and fell down behind Berdin. Upon review, it was shown that the Moose goaltender managed to bump the puck just to the side of the net to avoid a goal against.

But that didn’t stop the Rocket’s momentum, as Kevin Roy outskated a Manitoba defenseman to a loose puck and wired it past Berdin to even the score at 2-2. Then, on a five-on-three power play, Belzile blasted a one-timer into the Manitoba net to retake the lead.

Third Period

Winnipeg Jets prospect Ville Heinola put his stamp on things early in the third period when he pulled the puck to the center of the blue line and fired a point shot past Primeau to tie the game at 3-3. But Jean-Sebastien Dea had something to say about that when he ripped a wrister past Berdin less than two minutes later to secure the lead for Laval once again.

As the Moose continued to press throughout the period, Primeau did a good job keeping Manitoba’s shots out of the Laval net. The Rocket then added to their lead when Tobie Paquette-Bisson found the back of the net to give Laval a 5-3 advantage.

Despite a pretty solid performance by the home team, the penalties piled up in the third period, including one by Belzile just seconds after Eyssimont and Corey Schueneman were sent off for roughing minors. It gave the Moose a four-on-three advantage that the Rocket were fortunately able to kill off.

In a flurry of pressure during the final 60 seconds, Manitoba looked have scored off a puck that hit the bar but the official immediately waved it off. But they did manage to score with just three seconds remaining to pull within one goal.

What’s Next?

Back on the winning side of things, the Rocket will have a just a short amount of time to get ready for their first road trip south of the border since early 2020. They’ll face off in Providence on Saturday against the Bruins before heading to Bridgeport on Sunday to match up against the Islanders.

Be sure to scroll down for audio from post-game interviews with Houle, Dea, Belzile, and Baddock with the AHL Report and other members of the media.

Plus / Minus

▲ Laurent Dauphin, Alex Belzile, Jesse Ylonen, Brandon Baddock

▼ Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Louie Belpedio, Gabriel Bourque