The Rocket entered Wednesday night’s game staring down another North Division rival in the Utica Comets, needing a quick change in fortunes after a disastrous October. In the previous week they bled goals against while struggling to keep their offence in gear.
The lineup saw a handful of changes, namely the arrival of Jakov Novak and Nolan Yaremko on the fourth line alongside Nathan Légaré. Lias Andersson and Joshua Roy were paired on a line together and Brady Keeper returned from a lower-body injury to help stabilize the defence.
Through the opening minutes it was all Rocket as they pushed the Comets back into their own zone and peppered Ian Poulter with repeated chances. At the other end of the ice, the puck was quickly out of the defensive zone, allowing Jakub Dobeš to settle into the game without much issue. However, shortly after Roy was denied on a breakaway chance, Keeper found himself in the box for slashing.
Laval’s penalty kill smothered the Utica power play, giving them no space to set up and operate, while forechecking them relentlessly and killing Keeper’s minor penalty easily, allowing just a single shot on Dobeš.
It remained a relatively quiet opening period with the Rocket shutting down the Comets’ attack before it could develop, and then beginning another cycle in the offensive zone. Jayden Struble in particular made his presence felt as he extended plays for his teammates. Despite the impressive showing by the Rocket in controlling the flow of play, the two sides entered the first intermission without a goal on either side.
The Rocket found themselves in a great spot to open the scoring in the second period as the Comets were called for hooking, putting Laval on their first power play of the evening. Roy took centre stage as he directed the flow of play, but again Poulter stood tall to keep a charging Rocket team off the scoreboard.
Laval failing to capitalize on all of its chances soon came back to bite the team as Utica opened the scoring. On a defensive-zone draw, the defence was beaten to a loose puck, resulting in a scoring chance by Xavier Parent. The shot created a rebound that Dobeš wasn’t in position for, and Parent poked the puck by his skate to make it a 1-0 game.
That lead soon doubled as the Rocket continued to struggle with their defensive-zone play this season. A shot was deflected and bounced in front of Dobeš. The rookie netminder made the save but could not control the rebound. Parent was in front of goal, having beaten Nathan Légaré to the open space and easily buried the loose puck.
Things continued to be frustrating for the Rocket as they struck out on back-to-back power plays, leaving them still trailing by a pair of goals. To make matters worse, Struble stepped up and ripped a shot off the crossbar, and as he transitioned back to the defensive side of the puck, he was called for tripping.
Fortunately, the Rocket’s penalty-killers were up to the task to keep the Comets from increasing their lead, thanks in part to some big saves from Dobeš and great work on stifling the Comets’ shooting lanes. Even with a strong penalty kill and stronger offensive push to end the period, Laval found itself trailing by two heading into the final period and needing a huge push to have a chance.
The need for a big third period grew even greater in the opening two minutes as the Comets again took advantage of the Rocket’s disorganized defensive-zone play. A long dump-in bounced out of Dobeš’s reach, and an attempt from Mattias Norlinder to clear it from danger just threw the puck into the centre of the ice. Chase Stillman collected the errant pass, outwaited Dobeš, and calmly made it a three-goal game.
There was an immediate answer from the Rocket though, as the ever precocious Xavier Simoneau made a huge impact when the team needed it. Brandon Gignac won a 50/50 battle in the corner and pushed the puck out to Simoneau. The small winger fed the puck to the point for Struble, who stepped up and ripped a shot off the crossbar and in to make it a 3-1 game.
The goal brought the Rocket back to life as they sought out a second goal, and they nearly found it. First was a great play behind the net, leading to Yaremko having an open cage to shoot on, but the pad of Poulter was faster, denying the winger a sure goal. Then it was Norlinder driving through the entire Comets team and having his shot ring off the mask of Poulter, leaving the Rocket in a two-goal hole still.
Another Comets penalty gave the Rocket a huge opportunity to cut into the lead further. However, a suddenly ice-cold Rocket man advantage struggled to generate sustained pressure, and outside of a late chance by Riley Kidney, failed to threaten the Comets at all.
Needing a near-miracle to claim at least a point, Laval called Dobeš to the bench with over five minutes left to play as they tried to find two more goals. Almost instantly they had a great chance, with Roy hammering a shot off the crossbar, but it bounced away out of danger.
That crossbar was the last real attack the Rocket made, as Parent completed his hat trick with the empty-net goal to seal another loss for the Rocket who drop to 1-6-1 on the season.
Final Score: Utica 4, Laval 1
The road ahead doesn’t get an easier for the Rocket as they welcome the Toronto Marlies to Place Bell on Friday night for a two-game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Friday, and one would hope for some serious changes to the defensive lineup for that game.
