The Laval Rocket entered the final portion of their trip to Western Canada on Monday night having earned at least a point in their last three games, with a win on Saturday in Calgary helping to give them a three-point lead in the North Division. The Rocket would again square off with the Wranglers with a chance to move five points clear of the Toronto Marlies, but would have to do so without David Reinbacher, who was out day-to-day.
Reinbacher’s injury moved William Trudeau back up to the top pair next to Adam Engström, while Ryan O’Rourke drew in on the third pair. Joshua Roy and Filip Mešár swapped lines as well, with Roy sliding down to the third line. In net it was rookie sensation Jacob Fowler making his second straight start after he got the win on Saturday.
The Rocket were all over the Wranglers as the game got under way, with Roy and Trudeau just narrowly missing the net on odd-man rush chances, with Laval’s speed proving to be an issue for Calgary. However, a misplay by Josiah Didier behind his net allowed the puck to fall to Dryden Hunt, who quickly moved it to Martin Frk at the point. Frk found Nick Cicek alongside him, and the Calgary defenceman had plenty of space to walk in and fire it into an open cage as Didier had collided with Fowler.
Things got instantly worse on the following shift as Calgary doubled their advantage on their next shot on goal. Zayne Parekh wired a shot off the post behind Fowler, with the puck then taking an unhelpful bounce off the edge of Fowler’s pad and into the back of the net.
The Wranglers kept the pressure coming as the first period ticked on, with the Rocket taking the game’s first penalty and potentially putting themselves in a massive hole. Needing a strong kill to avoid a three-goal deficit, the Rocket penalty-killers kept the Wranglers off kilter as they worked through Will Dineen’s penalty. Owen Beck and Roy put in a strong shift, opening up short-handed chances each and allowing Dineen to escape the box without further damage.
While the Rocket began to pile up scoring chances of their own, they could not solve Ivan Prosvetov in the Calgary net as the Wranglers’ netminder made strong saves and allowed absolutely nothing in terms of rebounds. At the other end, Calgary continued to take away the front of the net in front of Fowler, which allowed Frk to power one through the Rocket netminder to make it a 3-0 contest.
A disastrous first period had one more hurdle to clear before the first intermission as Trudeau was sent to the box for slashing with just 17 seconds left to play. Despite a short-handed chance created by Lucas Condotta, the Rocket entered the first intermission in a massive hole.
While the game wasn’t going the way the Rocket had hoped, their penalty kill remained flawless on the night as they dispatched the Calgary power play and went back to work to try to find a goal of their own. Instead, on the next shift, O’Rourke tried to just poke a puck along the boards after failing to clear it on his first attempt. Parekh took advantage, stealing the puck and spinning off the defender before roofing a shot over Fowler’s shoulder.
Even their first power play of the night did little to get the Rocket back on the right track as every single chance they created was swallowed up by Prosvetov and every second chance was pushed wide of the net. It was abundantly clear that the frustration was seeping in and the Rocket were desperate for a change in fortune if they wanted to pull off a comeback.
Instead, Condotta slashed the stick out of an opponent’s hands as the Rocket were pressuring inside the offensive zone, sending them back to the penalty kill. It continued to be a bright spot in a dismal affair as the Rocket’s short-handed attacks kept the Calgary power play on edge and created several chances once again.
With just over five minutes left, the Rocket finally managed to solve Prosvetov as Jared Davidson put Laval on the board. Beck sent Davidson in toward the offensive zone with Parekh mistiming his attempt to pinch for the puck at the point. Davidson settled the puck and waited out the Calgary netminder before tucking a backhand through the five-hole.
Then, in a moment of almost divine providence, the Rocket drew two penalties on the same play and created a five-on-three power play with just under four minutes left in the second period. The Rocket made the Wranglers pay instantly as Engström took advantage of the open ice to wire one by Prosvetov to make it 4-2.
Turner Ottenbreit, upset over a broken stick on the penalty kill, retaliated by cross-checking Laurent Dauphin in the ribs and making it a five-on-three once again for Laval. Right off the draw, Dauphin sped ahead into the offensive zone and centred a feed to Sean Farrell, who easily made it 4-3, and suddenly the Rocket had made it a game.
Thanks to Ottenbreit’s penalty, the Rocket remained on the power play and had a chance to tie the game despite a 4-0 deficit. Before the Rocket could really make much of an impact, Alex Belzile was suckered into dropping his gloves while Nick Cicek kept his on and cancelled out the remaining power play opportunity.
Belzile’s penalty ended up mattering a lot. Rory Kerins worked off the half-boards and fired a puck toward the net. Fowler was late to react and Hunt easily tipped it by the rookie netminder and cut off the Rocket surge as the game moved to a 5-3 scoreline.
Despite a truly awful start to the game, the Rocket managed to enter the third period in position to still claim at least one point in Calgary. However, as the opening minutes ticked away the Rocket found themselves struggling to create sustained offence as the Wranglers were quick to clear dump-ins out of the zone and clog up the boards as the Rocket tried to work up ice.
Before long, there were under five minutes left to play and the Rocket’s closest chance at finding another goal was Nate Clurman clanging a long-range wrist shot off the crossbar. Beyond that, the Wranglers were blocking every chance the Rocket tried to throw on net, and with 3:25 left, the Rocket opted to pull their goalie.
Laval kept trying time and time again, but the story of the game continued to be the Rocket being unable to find their final touch around the Calgary net. Eventually a Beck turnover in the neutral zone led to Frk burying the empty-net goal and closing out the Rocket’s road trip in disappointing fashion.
Final Score: Calgary 6, Laval 3
Laval’s road trip out west might be finished, but the team now heads to the snowy East Coast with a Friday night match with Syracuse next up. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET in Syracuse as the Rocket look to get back in the win column.
