Starting strong this season, the 3-1 Laval Rocket were at home on Friday night to take on the 0-4 Utica Comets. The game presented an excellent opportunity for Laval to get a divisional win, and keep pace with the Toronto Marlies at the top of the standings.
The Rocket were clearly hungry out of the gate, controlling the play and generating chances at will from the first drop of the puck. They ran into a hot goaltender in Nico Daws, however, who made their lives incredibly difficult in the opening 20 minutes. Past the midway point, they held a heavy advantage on the shot clock, but had nothing to show for it.
Late in the period, it was Zack Hayes who would finally break through. Jared Davidson found him with plenty of space coming down from the point, and he beat Daws clean with a perfect shot to the short side to put the Rocket up 1-0.
Despite an 11-3 shot advantage, that was all the Rocket could muster through 20 minutes. They stayed firmly in control of the game to start the second period, which began to frustrate the Comets into some penalty trouble.
Though they managed to kill off their first penalty, a second would spell trouble for Utica. Joshua Roy would complete an excellent tic-tac-toe play for the Rocket, hammering an Owen Beck offering to put the Rocket up 2-0 with a power play goal.
Shortly after the 2-0 goal, the Rocket were right back on the attack. Laurent Dauphin would find himself streaking into the zone with a two-on-one, but electing for the shot proved to be the right decision, as he found some space on the short side and made it 3-0 for the home side.
Exactly one minute into the third period, however, Utica would get one back. A badly-timed line change by the Rocket led to a break for the Comets, and Brian Halonen was able to beat Jakub Dobes on the far side, just getting it in off the post to draw Utica within two. This seemed to energize the Comets, and give them a measure of momentum for the next few minutes, as Dobes had to make a couple of good saves to preserve his team’s two-goal lead.
But the Rocket weathered the short storm, and went back to work. Near the midway point, a strong shift from the fourth line would extend the lead. Luke Tuch got the puck to Riley Kidney in the corner, and he found Florian Xhekaj near the dot for his first AHL goal, and a 4-1 Rocket lead.
The Comets would answer back hastily. On a play that didn’t seem particularly dangerous, Seamus Casey put the puck on a platter for Filip Engaras, and he’d beat Dobes for the second time of the night to bring the comets back within two.
The Rocket would hold that score down to the final minutes, but would have to contend with a dicey situation when Riley Kidney took a tripping penalty with under three minutes to play. Utica immediately pulled Daws for an extra skater, creating a two-man advantage, and they’d get one rather quickly thanks to a laser of a shot from Justin Dowling to make it a one-goal game with less than two minutes on the clock.
But that was as far as they’d go. Daws would head back to the bench for an extra skater, but the Rocket were able to defend well and escape the game with a 4-3 win. They’ll have to do it all again tonight, as they’ll finish the home-and-home against Utica in their barn tonight at 7PM EST.
Thoughts
First: Joshua Roy is an NHL player, and he should be in the NHL. His transitional defence alone is something severely lacking with these Canadiens, and he showed that he can generate plenty of offensive opportunities as well. Even when he’s not scoring, he’s making plays like someone who could clearly help the big club on any given night. He has to be the first call up.
Second: Owen Beck played a surgically effective game. He might not be quite ready for the bright lights of the Bell Centre, but you can clearly see the makings of a future NHLer. His defensive acumen was never in doubt, and he appears to be learning how to create more offensively at the professional level. He won’t be far from a call up, either.
Third: Jakub Dobes was excellent in this game. None of the three goals against could be charged to him, and he made some truly stellar saves in key moments for the team. You have to wonder if and when he’ll get his first crack at the crease with the big club, because he looks like he could take a start tomorrow night if they really needed him to.
Finally: Florian Xhekaj is… A Xhekaj. He plays the game like he’s simultaneously expecting trouble, and looking to create it. His goal came from an absolute screamer of a shot, one that I didn’t know he had in his tool box. The pop that Place Bell gave for his first professional goal was huge, so you can clearly see that he has endeared himself to the fans already, much like his older brother has in Montreal.
