Sasha Pastujov had two goals and an assist as the Laval Rocket bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday at Place Bell.
Reilly Walsh had a goal and three assists, and Luke Mittelstadt picked up three assists. Jacob Fowler made 23 saves in his second straight start. Brett Berard, Alex Belzile, and Samuel Poulin also scored for Laval.
“We knew we had more in here, and I’m glad we showed it tonight,” Pastujov said. “Last night it was obviously not ideal. I’m so proud of the group, the way we responded today, to show that this isn’t going to be an easy place to come and beat us.”
“I’m proud because it was a good team win. Everyone contributed,” said head coach Daniel Jacob, who earned his first AHL win as a head coach. “We talked about adjustments, we talked about details, we talked about identity and the guys applied it. It’s a process, but it is their team… They set the standard and I’m proud at how they bounced back.”
Laval started the game off well, outshooting Syracuse 5-0 to start the game, but the Crunch once again opened the scoring. Vincent Arseneau took an interference penalty for a hit away from the play, and on the ensuing advantage Maxim Groshev’s wrister from the point made its way through traffic and past Fowler.
Jacob said that he spoke to Arseneau – who took another minor penalty in the first period – at the intermission and see how he would respond, rather than just simply benching him.
The Rocket finally got on the board early in the second period. Reilly Walsh skated the puck in on the right wing and fired a shot over the shoulder of Olivier Rodrigue. It was the first goal of the season for Laval after 80:47 of play.
“Honestly, I got it and was looking to pass right away,” said Walsh. “Then I just kind of panicked and shot it, and it ended up being a pretty good shot.”
Shortly after the goal, on a Laval power play, Brendan Furry had a breakaway after getting a loose puck behind the Rocket defence, but Fowler made a toe save to keep the puck out.
Shortly after the save, the Rocket came back the other way. Alex Belzile made a backhand pass to a wide open Pastujov at the right circle who made no mistake on the snap shot, beating Rodrigue to give Laval their first lead.
Brett Berard extended the Rocket lead five minutes later taking a pass at the blueline and driving to the net before firing a shot from the slot.
“Yesterday we had the chances and it wasn’t going in,” said Berard. “Seeing it go in, it just feels like everyone can take a deep breath. Scoring’s fun, you want to score, you want to hear the crowd.”
Fowler wasn’t tested as much as he was on Friday, but still made some solid saves throughout the second and third periods to allow the Rocket to hold their two-goal advantage.
Pastujov scored his second power play goal of the game with 4:50 remaining in the third period when he got a pass in the slot and put the backhand past Rodrigue. It was his third point of the game. Walsh picked up his second assist of the game on the goal, giving him three points as well.
Belzile added an empty netter with 3:19 remaining, leading to a scrum with all 10 skaters on the ice and 60 minutes of penalties. On the ensuing power play, Poulin scored the team’s third power play goal of the game.
Notes
- Owen Beck just makes smart plays. His play away from the puck is as strong as ever, and made several elite plays on the penalty kill.
- I mentioned Filip Mešár killing penalties after Friday’s game. On Saturday, I noticed his speed in transition carrying the puck. There’s a long, long road for Mešár but he’s still showing some of the abilities that made him a first-round pick.
Lineup
The only change was Vincent Arseneau for Jared Davidson.
Daniel Jacob: “I think we needed a bit more physicality, and a little mental reset for Davy. He will play Saturday.”
