Coming off a second straight weekend sweep, the Laval Rocket rolled back into the boisterous confines of Place Bell to finish off a three-game series with the Utica Comets. The Rocket snagged a pair of narrow wins on Friday and Saturday last week while also navigating a suddenly hefty injury list. Filip Mesar is set to miss the next two months, while Brandon Gignac missed most of the practices this week with an undisclosed illness.
Gignac was back in the lineup for the game against Utica, while Vincent Arseneau missed out due to his still recovering fingers. Also missing was Logan Mailloux who was sent down earlier on Wednesday, but would not suit up for this game. Jakub Dobeš again got the start in net, looking to keep his undefeated streak intact, while Connor Hughes assumed his usual backup role.
The Rocket were out of the gate quickly, trying to get to Nico Daws early and force the Comets to play on their back foot just like they did last weekend. Gignac kicked off the chance barrage by speeding deep into the offensive zone, leaving a prime chance off for Alex Barré-Boulet, but the veteran forward couldn’t find the handle on his backhand. On the very next shift it was Florian Xhekaj finding a loose pass and then picking out Luke Tuch in the slot, but Tuch’s backhand was denied by Daws to keep it a scoreless contest.
While the Rocket attack was humming along, it was ground to a halt with Riley Kidney taking an offensive-zone slashing penalty, putting Laval on the game’s first penalty kill. After a shaky showing last week, the Rocket penalty-killers were dialed in, keeping the Comets far to the outside and Jakub Dobeš had to make just one save to fend off the two minute minor penalty. Shortly after Kidney exited the box it was a Jared Davidson rush through the slot that drew a power play for the Rocket and gave them a big chance to break open the scoreless game.
The Rocket power play fared no better than the Comets’ as they were unable to generate much actual pressure on Daws and the game continued in a nil-nil draw. While the Rocket continued to have a few good looks, the Comets had gotten their legs moving and began to hound the Rocket more and more inside the offensive zone, but the shots on goal were relatively few.
A Zack Hayes turnover at the horn threatened to gift the Comets a late goal, but Utica put the shot wide and sent the teams to the first intermission with a scoreless draw on the board.
Xavier Simoneau came into the second period with a point to prove, and on his first shift he created a solo scoring chance in the slot, threw a massive hit and then drew a holding call as he went to the net for a back post opportunity. Just 23 seconds into the man advantage though the gloves came off as Lucas Condotta took umbrage with a hit by Ryan Schmelzer on Owen Beck, scoring the takedown in a fairly even fight.
Laval tested Nico Daws more than they did on the first advantage, but the Comets netminder continued to be a stubborn obstacle as the game still remained without a goal in the opening minutes of the second period.
After a couple of rough games, Kidney finally found the break he needed and it came at a big moment for the Rocket. Alex Beaucage threw a leading pass up the boards, allowing Kidney to spin off his man and then cut to the front of goal to scoop his first goal of the year by Daws to open the scoring.
The Comets frustrations led to the Rocket being handed another power play, but before they could truly get anything going, Davidson was called for tripping and moved the play to a brief four on four period. Even when the Comets moved into an abbreviated power play, it was the Rocket continuing to create chances while short-handed and also keeping their one-goal lead intact.
Utica’s perseverance paid off as the game passed it’s halfway point, with an old friend finding a way to tie the game for the Comets. A shot from Brian Halonen was denied by Dobeš, but the rebound was kicked around near the net, and Nathan Legare caught Gustav Lindstrom unaware, and poked home his first goal of the year to tie the game.
The Rocket took that goal against to heart, kicking their offensive attack back into gear to try and break the game in their favour again. Owen Beck worked his way around a defender and fed a perfect pass to Alex Beaucage in the slot, but Beaucage saw his shot beat Daws and then clang off the post harmlessly. Even as the Rocket pushed for another goal, they couldn’t escape a brief mental mistake by Adam Engstrom which led to another Utica power play.
Laval’s penalty killers smothered everything the Comets attempted to throw at them, allowing Engstrom to escape the box unscathed. Back at even strength, the “Kid Line” led by Owen Beck continued to be a nuisance for Utica inside the offensive zone. Beck curled behind the net, picking out Jared Davidson all alone at the faceoff dot, then fed him a perfect one-timer to make it a 2-1 game for the home side.
Davidson’s goal allowed the Rocket to head into the second intermission with their lead back intact, and 20 more minutes to play.
The Rocket approached the third period with aggressive caution, still pushing and probing for opportunities that might be available to them, but not at the expense of their defensive structure and small details. Riley Kidney however, continued an impressive run of taking offensive zone penalties at crucial times, finding himself in the box for hooking with just over six minutes gone in the period.
Laval’s penalty killers were again all over the Comets power play, generating a pair of shorthanded chances through Brandon Gignac before Chase Stillman tripped up Tyler Wotherspoon in the neutral zone. The abbreviated Rocket power play didn’t do much to push the lead forward, but they did slowly chip more time off the clock as the game started to turn more into demolition derby than a hockey game.
As the minutes ticked off the Rocket found themselves finding off increasingly desperate incursions from the Comets, with Dobeš continuing to make key save after key save to stymie the Utica assault. The patience and composure of the Rocket’s veteran forwards allowed them to get the puck out of the zone, and Florian Xhekaj buried it into the empty net to put the game out of reach with 47 seconds left to play.
A dubious late power play gave the Comets a pity goal with four seconds left on the clock, far too late to stop the Rocket from collecting a fifth straight win and taking three straight over Utica.
Final Score: Laval 3, Utica 2
The Rocket now have a few days off before they welcome the Providence Bruins to Place Bell on Friday for the start of a two game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM, it is expected that Mailloux will return to the lineup as well.
