After starting the season in Manitoba, the Rocket returned home with a 1-1-0 record, having split their series with the Moose last weekend. While it was a slightly uneven start, expected for a team that was so young, the Rocket looked to be in strong shape as they welcomed the defending Calder Cup champions, the Abbotsford Canucks, to Place Bell.

The Rocket kept their forward lines intact as expected with all 12 forwards lining up in the same spots as last week. On defence, the shuffle continued as the newly signed Josiah Didier slid into the top-pairing spot with Adam Engström. Ryan O’Rourke was scratched and Marc Del Gaizo slotted on the third pair with Wyatte Wylie. In net, Jacob Fowler got the nod for the Rocket home-opener, with Kaapo Kähhkönen likely getting the nod on Saturday.

In front of a hyped home crowd, the Rocket shot out of the gate, with Nate Clurman managing to draw a penalty in the opening 41 seconds, giving Laval a very early power play. While the man advantage got a few looks on net, the Rocket weren’t able to push one beyond Ty Young in net. The fast start did allow the Rocket to control the early flow of the game, opening up an 8-2 shot advantage quickly and allowing next to nothing in terms of zone time for the Canucks.

The Rocket continued to control the puck, giving the Canucks zero time to make breakouts or get shots in on Fowler as they tried to grind away at a goal. While they had a few net-front scrambles, the Rocket attack itself was also lacking a bit of bite. A high stick by Chase Wouters on Wylie put the Rocket power play back on the ice with a chance to finally open the scoring. This time the man advantage made its time count, with Jared Davidson breaking the deadlock.

Filip Mesar sent Florian Xhekaj into the zone with speed, and Xhekaj flung a perfect feed across the zone to Davidson, who was unattended. Davidson had no problem burying the one-time feed for his first goal of the year and open the scoring at Place Bell.

Laval was coasting right into the first intermission, but a net-side kerfuffle saw Xhekaj pulled out of the pile with a roughing penalty, forcing the Rocket to start the second period on the penalty kill.

The Canucks’ man advantage moved the puck well around the Rocket zone to kick off the second period, but the quick and steady glove of Fowler stymied any potential opportunities and the Rocket escaped Xhekaj’s penalty unscathed.

The Rocket then went back to work on dominating the puck and drew another call as Danila Klimovich took a seat for tripping. Before the Rocket could score, and before Abbotsford could kill the penalty, Laval drew another call giving them a brief five-on-three advantage.

While the short two-man advantage wasn’t able to yield a goal, the Rocket first power-play unit continued to pound chances on Young in net, testing him repeatedly inside the slot and from the side of the net. The Canucks’ penalty-killers held the line against a strong Rocket push, and despite the shot gap continuing to widen, it remained just a one-goal lead halfway through the game.

Things then got a bit ugly as the period wore on and frustrations boiled over on both sides. Chase Stillman and Didier threw down behind the play, with Stillman flipping Didier to the ice. While the Rocket defenceman was lying on the ice defenceless, Stillman threw another punch, prompting an immediate call for medical staff on the ice. Stillman was issued a game misconduct for continuing an altercation, while Didier was able to skate to the locker room under his own power.

Laval’s frustrations at being unable to break this game open further, along with Stillman’s attack on their teammate, led to the Rocket leaning back into their penalty issues from last year. Tyler Thorpe and Xavier Simoneau both got into it after a Fowler save, sending the Rocket to a late second-period penalty kill. While the Rocket easily killed off 90 seconds of the power play, they had to spend the last 30 seconds without Alex Belzile who came to the defence of Fowler as Joseph LaBate took an extra swing at the netminder after the whistle.

While he didn’t have much to do in the first half of the game, Fowler slammed the door shut in the final minute of the second period, using a stretching toe save to deny the Canucks and send Laval to the intermission still leading.

It was a strong start to the third period as the Rocket finally broke down the stout Canucks defence to find a second goal and give themselves a bit of breathing room. Davidson dumped a puck in and won the race to it to keep the play alive. Owen Beck grabbed the loose puck, turning and picking out a wide-open Filip Mesar in the slot, and the Slovak forward ripped it by Young to double the lead.

Just a few minutes later, the Rocket were the beneficiaries of some lucky bounces as the Canucks handed them a third goal on a platter. An Abbotsford defender, with the Rocket bearing down, hurled a puck right at the pads of Young in his crease. Simoneau stuck with the play and jammed the puck over the line, which stood after a brief discussion among the officials, to make it 3-0 Laval.

With a comfortable three-goal cushion the Rocket switched into their defensive structure to try to see out the rest of the game on home ice. Pucks were cleared out of the zone quickly, passes were stretched to streaking forwards, and the home side was content to slowly strangle the offensive willpower of the Canucks on every single shift.

Abbotsford opted to not even pull Young to push for a comeback, allowing the Rocket to close out their home-opener and secure a shutout victory for Fowler.

Final Score: Laval 3, Abbotsford 0

These two sides will have what is sure to be a hotly contested rematch on this afternoon. Puck drop is set for 3 PM ET.