If Arber Xhekaj making his Laval Rocket debut and their first home game since mid-November was supposed to motivate the Rocket, it failed. Laval returned to Place Bell with a 5-2 loss to the Belleville Senators on Wednesday night, and truth be told, the final scoreline was more kind to the Rocket than it should have been.
Laval trailed 5-0, including an empty-net goal, and went 0/8 on the power play in the loss. They outshot the Senators 30-28 in the game. On a more positive note, the penalty kill went 7/7.
It was another slow start for the Rocket in the first period. The team only had four shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, and fell behind 2-0 on two goals in 1:39. It also happened to be their first two shots on goal.
Egor Sokolov scored on a one-timer from the left side on a one-timer that just happened to sneak through Strauss Mann, who was getting the start for the Rocket. The goal came 3:45 into the game.
Garrett Pilon doubled the lead when he pounced on a loose puck in front of the net to make it 2-0.
Laval took four penalties in the first period, giving Belleville three different power plays, which didn’t help them to get any momentum. On a positive note, the penalty killing didn’t allow the Senators to extend their lead any further.
The Rocket power play had one opportunity, but were not able to score on it either.
Early in the second period, Belleville extended their lead. On a delayed penalty, Tyler Kleven’s point shot deflected off of Joshua Roy’s stick (and broke it) before bouncing through Mann’s five-hole and making the score 3-0. It was Kleven’s first professional goal.
Laval responded well after the goal, but were unable to generate a goal, or even any clear scoring chances. They had parts of two power plays, and had zone time and shots, but were unable to beat Kevin Mandolese, who started the game after expected starter Mads Sogaard was scratched.
Senators forward Angus Crookshank collided with Olivier Galipeau, and Crookshank’s knee took the brunt of it. There was no penalty on Galipeau, but Sokolov took a penalty for standing up for his teammate. Crookshank did not return to the game, and needed assistance to get to the locker room.
Their best chance was on a delayed penalty with around six minutes left in the second period. Nathan Légaré led a two-on-one, but his shot was saved by Mandolese. On the ensuing power play, the Rocket failed to generate much of anything yet again, letting another opportunity slip away. To make matters worse, Lucas Condotta took a penalty with 35 seconds remaining in the advantage.
It went from worse to worse. On the faceoff following the penalty, Lassi Thomson fired a shot right off of the faceoff that beat Mann to make it 4-0 Senators.
To end the second period, the Rocket had another power play and had perhaps their best chance of the game when Mandolese had to move across his crease to stop a one-timer from Xavier Simoneau, but that was as close as Laval came.
To open the third period, Riley Kidney had a breakaway three minutes in but was unable to score and no penalty was called on him being… hampered by the Senators defender.
Midway through the third period, the Rocket power play had another opportunity, and head coach Jean-François Houle decided to pull the goaltender. On the six-on-four, the Senators took a second penalty, a double minor for high sticking. That gave the Rocket a 48 second six-on-three advantage.
The best chance on the advantage came off the stick of Emil Heineman on a one-timer, but the shot rang off the post. Shortly after, Pilon scored his second of the game into the empty net to make it 5-0.
Laval made the final score somewhat more respectable. With 4:23 remaining, Brandon Gignac intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and found Riley McKay at the side of the net to get the Rocket on the board. Unfortunately, it was only to make the score 5-1. Less than two minutes later, Lucas Condotta pounced on a loose puck after Gabriel Bourque hit the post to make it 5-2.
The Rocket now have back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday against former captain Alex Belzile and the Hartford Wolfpack.
