After a very long week off after a disappointing trip to Pennsylvania, Laval Rocket was back within the friendly confines of Place Bell. Those losses dropped them to third in the AHL’s North Division just behind the Toronto Marlies. Even at that time, they lost Louie Belpedio to an injury, but withdrew Tory Dello from his illness.
The team also received a boost in the form of Cayden Primeau, who is back in the club with Jake Allen now healthy. With him came Jesse Ylönen and also Cedric Paquette, who cleared waivers earlier this week, with the NHL veteran hitting the central line in the second line against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The two-minute opening was a back-and-forth affair, where the visitors got a few chances, and then the rocket landed directly on the ice. Laval’s pressure could call for a trigger and send them to an early power-play opportunity. A good keeper from Ylönen kept the power play in the offensive zone and eventually the puck fell out on Xavier Ouellet. Ouellet feeds a pass over the zone to J.-S. Dea, and Rocket’s leading scorer added another as his shot was deflected off Keith Kinkaid.
The lead lasted about four minutes as a long move by Wolf Pack also drew a call, but before the rocket could touch Puck and get their penalty around the ice, the loose puck went out to Zac Jones and the defenders struck one. hannert Primeau.
The high-event period went on from there, with the Rocket using their team speed to stretch the Hartford defense on weird man rushes. Finally, they found a breakthrough with Brandon Gignac, who took a lead pass from Gabriel Bourque to start a two-on-one rush. Gignac fired a shot and Kinkaid started the rebound directly on Joël Teasdale, who covered the backhand to make it 2-1.
The home team will be cursing Ty Ronning for weeks; he finished off a great pass from the left, knocking it past the keeper without a problem.
The tie lasted a total of 56 seconds as the rocket plucked the ice again in search of a goal. Darien Kielb activated from the blue line, all the way to the Gollinn, where he shot a pass to the top of the river. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was in the right place for a backhand chance to hit through Kinkaid’s five holes to take a 3-2 Laval lead and chase Kinkaid out of the game.
The action still did not stop there. Another Rocket penalty put the Wolf Pack back on the power play. It took Hartford every eight seconds to beat Anthony Greco de Primeau and reconnect the game.
Luckily for the Netminder, that was it for goals in the period, but not without both sides trying their best, and the teams went into the break all with three goals.
The incredible offensive show also did not slow down to start in the second period, as the rocket jumped back into the lead with just under two minutes played. Ouellet fired a shot into the net, which was fired by Adam Huska. The rebound fell directly on Harvey-Pinard, who slipped a pass over the fill to bury a wide-open Kevin Roy, making it a 4-3 game.
The biggest change from the first to the second was that after Laval’s goal, they did not return it immediately. In fact, the Rocket began to dominate the game as they held Hartford deep in his zone. The constant pressure eventually disrupted the Wolf Pack defense, and Laval added their lead.
Brandon Gignac forced the puck past the backboards to Bourque, and the veteran striker shot it into the slot for Teasdale, who hit the Huska with the shot to make it 5-3 with just over 11 minutes to go in the second. the game.
Hartford took the fifth goal against as a wake-up call and started their own counterattack. Primeau took no chances, freezing every shot that came his way and giving Hartford no chance to record a rebound.
The Rockets added another goal to give it a three-goal lead late in the period, with Sami Niku directing a shot from behind the net to start. Teasdale was there to collect the pass, and then turned and shot it over the net to Gignac, who set it on fire.
The Tempers were blown up as the period came to an end after a series of dubious hits from both teams, and as the teams went into space, both Ronning and Paquette were hit for their actions with gruesome minors.
After a wild 40 minutes, the third minute’s deflection minutes were pretty much in comparison, as Wolf Pack tried to steal from their three-goal deficit. The rocket was unexpected and continued to hit Hartford repeatedly while searching for an opening.
Laval found this opening once again as the rocket made a late call and caught Hartford in its own zone. Niku took advantage of an opponent who lost his piece as he cut into the net, then pulled up and put a pass into the slot that hit Teasdale for his third goal of the night.
With four goals in hand, Rocket’s main goal was to get through the rest of the game. After a powerful penalty kick, the rocket finally conceded another goal, with Tanner Fritz going into the high slot and getting a shot through Primeau’s five holes.
The rocket pulled a late powerplay and that was all the team needed to drive themselves through with a comfortable victory over the finish line.
Final Score: Laval 7, Hartford 4
It’s a big win for a rocket team that has to get out of their funk, and more impressive to do so after a very shaky first period. It’s not long before the Rockets rest as they welcome the Hershey Bears on Saturday at 3pm for their next game.
AHL.com
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