The Laval Rocket rang in the New Year with a frustrating run of play that saw them drop from their perch atop the AHL’s North Division all the way down to fourth place. Their biggest players like Logan Mailloux and Joshua Roy were failing to find the scoresheet and leaving Pascal Vincent with few options to help them dig out of their funk.
Standing in their way in their first game of 2025 were the Abbotsford Canucks, a team the Rocket have historically struggled against since they joined the AHL. The Rocket entered this game without Brandon Gignac again listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury, while Florian Xhekaj also missed out with a minor injury. It was a return debut for Cayden Primeau after clearing waivers last week, while on defence the group remained the same as Noel Hoefenmayer missed out due to an illness.
Coming off a long week away from the rink, the Rocket came out looking much the same as they did at the end of 2024, with passes missing their target in the offensive zone and struggling to mount continued pressure. The Canucks’ top line was able to take advantage of that, pushing the Rocket back in their own zone and forcing them to make a play in order to break the siege. Primeau looked sharp as he fought off wave after wave of shots on goal to keep the game level as the halfway point of the period approached.
Despite Abbotsford dominating control of the puck early on, the tenacity of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was enough to draw the game’s first penalty, and a bigger chance for the Rocket to create some offensive momentum. The stagnant power play continued to be an issue as Primeau ended up making more saves than his opponent, including a pair in tight on Aatu Räty to keep the game scoreless.
One of the few chances the Rocket got to control the puck resulted in them drawing a penalty as Filip Mesar snuck past the defence, forcing Chase Wouters to tackle him and send Laval back to the power play. After struggling in their first attempt, the Rocket’s top power play unit didn’t see much of the ice and the second unit, with a few changes, got most of the time.
They nearly made the most of it with Sean Farrell getting robbed by the outstretched pad of Nikita Tolopilo at the post. Then, Lucas Condotta just put a puck wide through the crease, followed up by Luke Tuch being unable to corral a loose puck in his skates. Despite the tough start, the Rocket entered the first intermission having found their legs, but the Canucks remained ahead on the shot counter, 14-10.
While they ended the period strong, the Rocket did not start the second with that same intensity. The Canucks tested Primeau repeatedly inside the first 90 seconds. To compound the issue, William Trudeau took an ill-timed holding penalty in the neutral zone as the Rocket were preparing to counter-attack, forcing them to kill off their first penalty of the night.
The Rocket penalty kill dispatched the Canucks’ power play without allowing a shot, and as the play returned to even strength, Roy’s quick counter-attack drew another penalty for Laval as well. For as strong and structured as the penalty kill was, the power play lacked the same polish as passes continued to be picked off along the boards and shots never making it to the net.
While the high-end plays were lacking for the Rocket, their ability to grind out plays and find space with their speed made a difference as they scored the game’s opening goal. Josh Jacobs sent Farrell in on the wing with speed, and Farrell threw a pass right to the front of the net for Xavier Simoneau. The feisty forward fought through a check to deflect the pass beyond Tolopilo and break the deadlock at Place Bell.
Somehow, Simoneau was also called for interference on the play, but his goal stood. The Rocket had to kill off another Canucks power play, but did so with ease, looking to build on their narrow lead late in the second period.
Fate however, works both ways as Primeau made an initial save on a long shot from Räty, but the puck sat just behind his pad. As Primeau tried to adjust to find the puck he accidentally steered it into the net, giving Abbotsford a tying goal out of nowhere.
Neither side really did much to take advantage as the rest of the period wound down, but the Canucks over-eagerness along the boards led to Nils Aman taking a cross-checking penalty to end the period. Despite the fracas it caused, the Rocket would start the final frame with a full two minute power play.
Unfortunately for the Rocket their power play continued to be an issue. Farrell and Condotta combined for the best chances, but again Condotta wasn’t able to just poke it through Nikita Tolopilo’s pads as the Canucks killed off a fourth Laval advantage.
As Laval’s passes continued to miss sticks, the Canucks chipped away at the Laval defence, eventually drawing a penalty as Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was called for roughing. Once more the Rocket penalty-killers showed to be a cut above their power-play counterparts, allowing zero shots on Primeau during the Canucks’ advantage and keeping the game level at a goal apiece.
Then the game became a march to the penalty box as Sammy Blais was first called for slashing to give Laval a man advantage, which was quickly cancelled out by Logan Mailloux being called for interference on a dubious call by the officials.
Before the four-on-four section could begin in earnest, the Canucks tripped up Trudeau as he attempted to move the puck up ice and shifted the play to four-on-three for the Rocket. In the aftermath of the second Canucks penalty, Räty fired a puck near an official in protest of the tripping call and was also assessed a misconduct for his actions.
The two brief man advantages that the Rocket enjoyed during this stretch again yielded zero goals for the team, with Roy coming closest to breaking the tie along the goal line but he wasn’t able to jam it by Tolopilo’s pad at the post. Even with the special-teams struggles continuing, at even strength the Rocket seemed up to the task of netting a go-ahead goal, with Vincent Arseneau nearly doing so as he crashed the crease for a loose puck, but again found himself denied by the Canucks netminder.
Both teams battled relentlessly for every shot and every save as the third period ticked down. Neither Primeau nor Tolopilo blinked in the final minutes, and the Rocket managed to secure at least one point in their 2025 debut, with another available in overtime.
The overtime period didn’t need long to find a winner as the Rocket collected a crucial second point. Owen Beck nearly won the game in the opening 45 seconds, but Tolopilo was again quick to deny the rookie as the puck trickled just to the goal line. However, on the next shift, it was Alex Barré-Boulet feeding a pass to Laurent Dauphin in the slot that ended things. Dauphin had his first attempt saved, then he grabbed his own rebound and roofed it to secure a much-needed win for the Rocket to kick off 2025 at Place Bell.
Final Score: Laval 2, Abbotsford 1
The feisty nature of Friday’s game is sure to carry over to Saturday as these two sides will square off at Place Bell at 7:00 PM.
