Following a statement win on Friday night over the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Laval Rocket hopped on the bus and moved down the 401 into a snowy Belleville for a meeting with the Senators. With the top of the AHL’s North Division separated by all of three points, the Rocket would need to keep their winning ways intact to keep up with Rochester and Syracuse.
Coming off their win on Friday, Pascal Vincent opted for only one lineup change and as expected it was in net. The veteran Kaapo Kähkönen got the start after Jacob Fowler notched the win in Friday’s start. That meant William Trudeau and Adam Engström continued to anchor the first pair, while David Reinbacher and Tobie Bisson lined up in their second-pairing role.
It was a fast start for the Rocket who looked to have learned a lesson from their game on Friday night. Sean Farrell nearly opened the scoring early as he had one shot blocked, then missed his follow-up chance just wide of Hunter Shepard. The second line continued to be a nuisance though as Alex Belzile ripped a shot off of Shepard, allowing Filip Mešár to bury the rebound to open the scoring.
On the following shift, Joshua Roy took the game’s first penalty, handing the Senators a chance to tie the game up despite the heavy shot advantage for the Rocket. Laval’s penalty-killers kept the pressure on even while short-handed as Belzile generated three chances on his own. However, as Roy exited the box Lassi Thomson found himself wide open for a one-timer that found the back of the net.
In response, the Senators took back-to-back penalties and opened the door for the Rocket to begin piling up more shots. While the Rocket certainly tried on their extended power-play time, Shepard swallowed up every chance leaving the Rocket on one goal, with a 21-3 shot advantage with six minutes left in the first period.
It was the Rocket leading the way as the first period wound down, even after a faceoff scrum moved things to four-on-four to end the period. While Laval dominated on the shot counter 23-6, they had only snuck one puck by Shepard as they entered the first intermission tied.
The physicality was ramped up as the second period began, with the Senators making it a point to hit every player they could when they had the puck. While the Rocket remained in control of the game, a penalty on Belzile presented the Senators with a chance to take a lead against the run of play. For the second time in the game, the Belleville advantage struck gold as Arthur Kaliyev collected a Xavier Bourgault rebound and beat Kähkönen to put the Sens up 2-1.
While the Rocket were waffling a bit after a hot start, they slowly began to find their feet as the defence started to get more involved with each shift. Marc Del Gaizo worked off the half-wall, putting a few chances on net before feeding a pass back to the point. Jared Davidson took the pass and looked off Nate Clurman before rifling a low shot through traffic and Shepard to tie the game up at two goals apiece.
As games between the Rocket and Senators often do, the shenanigans after the whistle became more frequent and again two players found themselves in the box after a scrum. Keean Washkaruk and Roy were the two who took a seat as play shifted again to four-on-four. On the opening shift, Adam Engström had his stick snapped in half, leaving the Rocket down a defender as the Senators swarmed, with Belleville ringing a shot off the crossbar behind Kähkönen.
The Rocket did not muster much offence with the extra space out on the ice, but did well to mostly limit what the Senators were able to do as Roy and Washkaruk exited the penalty box. Before the Rocket could really mount much of a counter, they found themselves again on the penalty kill as Lucas Condotta was called for a hold in the offensive zone. Belleville’s power play last just nine seconds as Florian Xhekaj’s speed allowed him to draw a penalty of his own, moving play back to four-on-four.
Neither side really took much of a swing with the extra ice, but the Rocket came the closest as Roy jumped up in an odd-man rush, but his shot whistled just over Shepard’s head and off the end glass. Through 40 minutes it was still the Rocket with a massive shot advantage, but still tied as the third period loomed.
The third period’s opening minutes were not crisp as both sides were playing to not make any costly mistakes while holding on to a tied score. Just as the Rocket began a strong push, a loose puck turned into a breakaway chance for Kaliyev. While it looked like Clurman made a strong play to break up the play, a bit of a sell job by Kaliyev drew a fourth Senators power play. Laval’s penalty-killers did well to keep the advantage out of the dangerous areas, and kept it a tie game as the final 10 minutes of regulation approached.
The Rocket were struggling to find their usual breakout opportunities or to set up inside the offensive zone. The few chances they did manage kept the Senators pinned back, and if not for some key blocks by Jan Jenik it would likely have turned into at least another goal or two.
Thankfully for the Rocket, they did manage to convert one of the few odd bounces in their favour to take a late lead. A loose puck behind the net bounced in front of Shepard to the slot, and Laurent Dauphin was all over it as he buried it to give Laval a much deserved lead.
The Rocket kept the pressure on from that point, with Dauphin continuing a strong third period by drawing a high-sticking call with just under three minutes left to play. The power play opted for a more conservative approach to not allow the Senators anything while short-handed leaving the Rocket to defend their one-goal lead for just under a minute.
With eight seconds left, Condotta opted to take down Carter Yakemchuk and gave the Senators a power play with their goaltender pulled. After a lengthy wait to drop the puck, a sliding block sent the puck out of the Rocket zone, securing a third straight win and a key one over a divisional rival.
Final Score: Laval 3, Belleville 2
Laval now continues its road trip as they head down into New England for a meeting with Logan Mailloux and the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday. Puck drop in Springfield is set for 10:35 AM, a traditional school-day game and a rare morning start for Laval.
