After a slightly inconsistent February, the Laval Rocket kicked off March with a dominant 4-1 win over the Belleville Senators on Saturday night. The Rocket made one lineup change for Wednesday from that win as Alex Beaucage came in for Jakov Novak on the fourth line. Cayden Primeau got the start after Connor Hughes got the nod on Saturday as the Rocket looked to improve on their 3-1-0 record against the Comets this season.
It was not a high-flying start for either side as shots were blocked or knocked out of play, but despite the slow pace it was the Rocket who struck first in the opening minutes. Florian Xhekaj battled for a loose puck off a faceoff, firing a shot on Isaac Poulter that was blocked on its way to the net. Jared Davidson was all over the rebound and fired home the second chance before Poulter even had a chance to react to give Laval the lead.
Laval’s smothering defensive work kept the Comets to the outside of the offensive zone, allowing Primeau to make a handful of routine saves while the offence slowly came to life. A quick breakout pass by David Reinbacher allowed Lucas Condotta to draw a slashing call on his way to the net.
Laval’s first power play did not do much to help tilt the game in its favour. In fact, the Rocket weren’t even able to test Poulter as the Comets swarmed all over every puck and quickly dispatched the Rocket man advantage. Shortly after the penalty expired, Xhekaj drew the ire of Will MacKinnon and the duo tossed off the gloves for a fight with Xhekaj also grabbing an extra penalty for roughing.
Before Utica could do much of anything on their advantage, the quick feet of Laurent Dauphin created a short-handed rush and drew a penalty in favour of the Rocket. During the four-on-four frame, it was the Rocket again pushing the pace of play, and Reinbacher nearly buried a second goal as he jumped into the slot to hammer a chance on net that Poulter made a big save on.
Then things turned ugly for the Comets in rapid succession while the Rocket took over the first period in the final few minutes. Sean Farrell was able to spring Dauphin on an odd-man rush down the ice, with Reinbacher joining in pursuit toward the net. Dauphin flicked a pass to the crease and Reinbacher appeared to have caught just a small piece of the puck to score his first goal of the season.
Reinbacher wasn’t done yet as he took a slash from Parent after the whistle, then turned around and decked the Comets forward and followed it up with a clean punch to Parent, earning both players a roughing penalty.
Laval took the four-on-four ice and promptly buried a third first-period goal to firmly wrest control in their favour as the period neared an end. Alex Barré-Boulet broke out in another odd-man rush in the offensive zone. His shot was saved initially by Poulter, but it bounced right to Dauphin and into the back of the net to make it a 3-0 game with just over a minute left to play.
A bit of sloppy play spoiled a near-flawless first period by the Rocket as Zack Hayes fired a pass under pressure to Farrell in the defensive zone. Farrell wasn’t able to field it cleanly, allowing Adam Beckman a clean look on net and he beat Primeau to give the Comets a lifeline heading into the first intermission.
Hayes started the second period with a tripping penalty deep in his defensive zone, giving the Comets another lifeline in a game that looked like it was over in the first period. Luckily for Hayes, the Rocket penalty-killers were locked in, killing off the Comets’ man advantage without a shot on net and keeping their two-goal lead intact.
A strong start continued for the Comets as they kept the Rocket hemmed deep in their own zone and gave them no space to use their speed to break up the Utica attack. In fact, the only thing able to slow down the forecheck was the pairing of Reinbacher and Adam Engström who finally pushed the play to the other end of the ice, with Reinbacher nearly banking in a second goal off a Utica skate in front of goal.
While the Rocket began to find their speed game again, the Comets were still controlling the flow of the game, and every Laval chance had an equal response from Utica. Reinbacher again hammered a chance on net, but as the play transitioned he slipped allowing an odd-man chance on net. Primeau came up big as he sprawled across to take away a sure goal from the Comets.
Primeau’s save seemed to snap the Rocket out of their funk, and they spent the final minutes of the second frame pushing back hard. It was again the Reinbacher-Engström tandem flustering the Comets in the offensive zone, with Reinbacher directing the flow of offence like a seasoned vet. Poulter, while under siege, continued to give out rebounds, but Laval wasn’t able to tuck one by him.
Tempers began to boil over as the period came to a close, with Brian Halonen going after Davidson and drawing the ire of everyone on the ice. Cooler heads (somehow Xhekaj’s) helped things de-escalate and the Rocket would enter the third period leading by two goals still.
Laval’s strong end to the second period carried over into the third as they stormed out of the gate, putting a number of dangerous chances on net in the opening minutes. Even a penalty on Lucas Condotta couldn’t slow the Rocket down as they immediately wiped out the Comets power play as Logan Mailloux drew a penalty of his own.
Laval powered through the four-on-four period once again, then used its man advantage to widen the gap. Engström walked along the blue line looking for an open lane, found one, and fired a shot in on goal. As the puck flew toward Poulter, Mailloux caught a piece of it, redirecting it into the net and pushing the Rocket lead to three goals.
Laval continued to handle the Comets’ attempts to claw back into the game with ease, grinding minutes off the clock as the Rocket looked to continue their strong start to March. Joshua Roy offered one last opportunity for Utica as he took a seat for hooking, and the Comets opted to pull their goalie for a six-on-four power play with over six minutes remaining.
Even with two extra attackers, the Comets couldn’t break down the stout Rocket defence, and with Roy out of the box the home team continued to dominate control of the puck. The hustle of Farrell to beat out an icing drew a high-sticking call, and the ensuing protest from the Utica bench turned it into a two-man advantage for Laval.
Laval tacked on one more goal for good measure as Reinbacher’s initial shot rebounded right to Roy, who slammed it home to put an exclamation point on the night.
The final seconds ticked away without incident and the Rocket found themselves now sitting just one point out of first place, with a game in hand on the Rochester Americans.
Final Score: Laval 5, Utica 1
Laval now faces their biggest two-game series of the season as they welcome the division-leading Amerks to Place Bell. Friday night’s contest is set for 7 PM.
League standings
