The final home game of the regular season for the Laval Rocket brought about another opportunity to clinch the MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s top team on Friday night. All the home side needed was a single point against the Belleville Senators to claim the spot in front of a sold-out Place Bell crowd.
The Rocket were bolstered by the return of Joshua Roy from his time with the Montreal Canadiens, with Roy sliding in on a new-look second line with Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck. The shuffle meant that Riley Kidney and Filip Mesar joined Luke Tuch on the fourth line, while Will Dineen was a healthy scratch. On defence the lineup remained the same, but David Reinbacher had begun taking first-power-play reps in practice before the game. In net, it was Cayden Primeau getting the start after Jacob Fowler got the nod on Wednesday night.
It didn’t take long for the Rocket to wrest control of the game and take a lead. After Beck kept the puck in deep, Xhekaj put a shot wide that Tuch swept back into the slot. Xhekaj grabbed the puck and dished it to Gustav Lindström for a shot on goal. The rebound by Leevi Merilainen spilled out to Xhekaj and he lifted the backhand chance into the net to open the scoring.
The Rocket kept their foot on the gas as they looked to put away their rival quickly in this contest and snuff out the last of Belleville’s playoff hopes. It was the third line that made that a happen as they hounded the Senators inside the offensive zone. A turnover forced by Jared Davidson came to Lucas Condotta, who patiently worked his way into the slot for a chance. His shot was blocked, but bounced fortuitously into the path of Davidson who managed to bank the puck in off of Xavier Simoneau’s skate for a second goal.
While Laval didn’t take their foot fully off the gas for the rest of the period, they did seem content to coast into the first intermission with their lead. The Senators put chances on net, but Primeau was giving them no space and few rebound chances as the first period came to a close. Up by two after a period of play, the Rocket were in prime position to lock up yet another major accolade in their incredible regular season.
After coasting into the first intermission with their lead, the Rocket turned the pressure right back on to start the second period. Each line rolled into the offensive zone in a few quick passes and began piling up scoring chances again. The speed of the Rocket attack eventually drew the game’s first penalty as Keean Washkurak went to the box for tripping. The new power-play units were flustered not by the Senators penalty-killers but a broken stick as Beck had the best chance for a goal and was failed by his lumber exploding on his shot.
Even with the power play failing to get on the board, the ice was firmly tilted in favour of the Rocket and they continued hound Leevi Merilainen. The Senators’ netminder made a half-dozen strong saves to deny the Rocket, but eventually the dam developed another crack as the Rocket lead increased. Off a turnover in the defensive zone, Davidson sent Condotta forward and joined him in an odd-man rush. Condotta opted to call his own number, ripping a shot by Merilainen and making it a 3-0 contest.
While the Rocket continued to beat the Senators all over the ice, they would soon have to contend with a penalty kill of their own as Reinbacher sat for a questionable interference call. Laval’s penalty kill just kept the hammer down, nearly adding to the lead if not for an incredible glove save by Merilainen that robbed Condotta.
The Senators were lacking their usual fight against the Rocket as the second period wound down, with the home side just snuffing out every attack. With 20 minutes left in regulation, the Rocket had a firm grip on the contest.
The Rocket made sure to put the game all but out of reach in the opening minutes of the third period, leaving no doubt for the rest of regulation. Reinbacher dumped a puck in behind the Senators’ net, with Alex Barré-Boulet sneaking in to steal the puck back. Barré-Boulet threw a pass to the front of goal and Sean Farrell buried it to run the score up to 4-0.
With a four goal lead, the Rocket switched back into their defensive posture to continue running out the clock and collect their last regular-season accolade. The Senators did play spoiler a bit as they broke Primeau’s shutout bid with just over 11 minutes left to play. Garrett Pilon cut through the centre of the Rocket zone, leaving a puck behind for Oskar Pettersson. The Sens winger snapped a shot that just went through Primeau’s armpit to get Belleville on the board.
The Rocket felt charitable as the final minutes approached, as Xhekaj took a cross-checking penalty, which combined with the Senators pulling their goalie for a desperation attempt at a comeback. Those hopes were quickly put to rest as Barré-Boulet calmly collected an errant pass, and threw it the length of the ice for the short-handed, empty-net goal to put the game truly out of reach.
The Senators gave the Rocket a major helping hand by holding a parade to the box in the final minutes, allowing the Rocket to easily run down the clock with a patchwork power-play unit and escape without any further insanity.
Final Score: Laval 5, Belleville 1
With their dominant win, the Rocket not only clinched the MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy but eliminated their most hated rival from playoff contention at the same time. This win made Saturday’s regular-season finale entirely pointless for both sides, but the Rocket will travel to Belleville for one last game against the Senators. There will be a very different looking lineup for the Rocket as they rest several players for the playoffs.
