The Laval Rocket returned back to the friendly confines of Place Bell on Wednesday night after a three-game North Division trip ended with a 1-2-0 record. It was a rare occurrence for the Rocket to stumble to two straight losses like they did last week in Belleville and Rochester before ending on a high note in Utica. In front of the Rocket on Wednesday were the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who were third in the Atlantic at 4-2-0-1 on the year.
Laval’s lineup remained mostly the same, with a few players shifting spots around the starting group. Ryan O’Rourke rejoined the formation, sliding in alongside Wyatte Wylie on the third pairing while Tyler Thorpe and Florian Xhekaj anchored the Rocket fourth line. In net it was again Jacob Fowler getting the start for the Rocket and looking to build on a strong win in his last outing against the Comets.
The Rocket had a chance to get the game off on the right foot as Denver Barkey caught a Laval player up high with his stick inside the defensive zone, handing Laval the game’s first power play. The Rocket’s power play continued to show some growing pains as they generated just a single shot on net while giving up two on short-handed chances to the Phantoms.
Neither side was able to establish much of a true offensive zone presence as the period wore on, but Thorpe gave the Phantoms a power-play chance of their own as he tripped a man up in the defensive zone. The Rocket penalty kill put forth an impressive shift, smothering the Phantoms’ attack and clearing the zone easily to make life much easier for Fowler as Thorpe exited the box.
Just as it looked like neither side was going to put a goal up on the scoreboard, the Rocket leaders stepped up in a big way. Laurent Dauphin attacked Dennis Gilbert at the line, dangling around him and feeding the puck across the slot to Jared Davidson. Davidson waited a moment before throwing a pass back into the slot for Adam Engström, and the Swedish defenceman buried his chance to open the scoring.
Engström’s goal kicked the Rocket offence into gear to end the first period as the top line continued to hound the Phantoms in their own zone. Alex Belzile and Laurent Dauphin swarmed all over every loose puck, and as the period came to a close peppered Alexei Kosolov with five shots in rapid succession. While they didn’t add to their lead, the momentum was tilting in Laval’s favour heading into the second period.
Laval came out quick to start the second period, with the first line nearly striking again, but Belzile sailed his backhand shot over the net. The Phantoms then took advantage on the following shift and trapped the Rocket fourth line deep in the offensive zone for several lengthy shifts. Fowler did his part, battling for multiple saves including a sprawling effort on Garrett Wilson to keep the Rocket lead intact.
The Rocket managed to survive the onslaught, and again the top line went back to work in generating looks. It nearly became a two-goal advantage when Wylie stepped into a feed from Sean Farrell and drilled his chance off the post behind Kosolov. The rest of the forward group started to find its game as well, with Filip Mesar playing like a waterbug around the Phantoms’ defence, and if not for a defender’s skate the Rocket would have seen Engström double the lead.
While the Rocket were cruising, a kneeing penalty on Xavier Simoneau presented the Phantoms a huge opportunity to turn the tide of momentum late in the second period. Laval’s penalty-killers made short work of the second power play they faced on the night, and as Simoneau exited the box they drew a power play of their own. Karsen Dorwart’s high stick drew blood, handing the Rocket a four-minute power play with three-and-a-half minutes left in the second period.
The opening two minutes were not the prettiest as the Rocket struggled to find a pattern of attack that worked for them, and it ended up being the second wave of the power play that finally found a second goal. Nate Clurman put a puck into the slot where Thorpe wisely pushed it off to Florian Xhekaj. The second-year forward calmly slid it across the front of goal and Owen Beck finished the play off to double the Rocket lead.
It was another strong end to the period for the Rocket, who entered the final 20 minutes of regulation with a two-goal lead and a hefty shot advantage.
Laval again came out of the gate strong, this time with more than just the first line generating chances as they looked to increase the lead. Luke Tuch sailed one look over the net, then on his next chance flustered Kosolov and nearly got a bounce off the goaltender’s glove.
The dam did eventually break thanks to the continued pressure of the Rocket. Lucas Condotta won a puck back in the neutral zone, then sent Davidson in all alone on Kosolov. Davidson waited, then calmly slid his chance through the five-hole and gave the Rocket a sorely needed insurance goal early in the third
While the Rocket were flying high as the game neared its end, they still had to contend with a feisty Phantoms side. Thorpe, never one to pass up a hit, got a bit too carried away in finishing a check and took a seat for two minutes. The Rocket penalty kill again stood its ground to fend off the Phantoms’ power play, and like the previous period drew a call of their own on the next shift.
The Phantoms handled the Rocket’s power play with relative ease, despite the continued pressure from Laval’s second unit. However, as the play returned to even strength, Barkey launched a puck out of play and put the Laval power play right back on the ice. With the final minutes winding down, the Rocket weren’t pushing overly hard, but looking to see out a win on home ice. The Phantoms did get the kill, but it left them with just over two minutes to try to solve Fowler.
Laval handled the final two minutes with ease, notching a second shutout win for Fowler this season and winning consecutive games.
Final Score: Laval 3, Lehigh Valley 0
The Rocket will have Thursday off before welcoming the Rochester Americans on Halloween night to Place Bell. Puck drop is set for 7 PM. Laval will get a boost with Joshua Roy and Marc Del Gaizo returning to the lineup after being with the Canadiens for the past week.
