The Rocket returned to the rink in Belleville on Saturday night, looking to run their winning streak to a lucky seven games as they squared off with the Senators for the second time in 24 hours. Laval battled hard on Friday, with a pair of empty-net goals helping them en route to a 5-2 win that ensured Laval would end the weekend in first place in the North Division.
The Rocket entered the rematch on Saturday without captain Lucas Condotta. He was travelling in anticipation of the birth of his next child. Luckily for the Rocket, the Canadiens did not make any recalls which meant Florian Xhekaj, Sammy Blais, and Joshua Roy were all still ready to play. Owen Beck slid into Condotta’s centre spot alongside Xavier Simoneau and Filip Mešár, while Tyler Thorpe was inserted on the fourth line. There was just one change on defence as Nate Clurman drew in for Josiah Didier, while Kaapo Kähkönen got the start.
It was not an ideal start for the Rocket who looked a step slow as the game got under way, while the Senators, after a stretch of losses to Laval, looked like they had a point to prove. The Sens moved the puck in deep behind the net, drawing the Rocket away from the upper offensive zone. Xavier Bourgault took advantage of this, running a pass back to Scott Harrington in the faceoff circles, and Harrington blew his shot by Kähkönen who was trying to see around a screen in front.
The Rocket did not make it easy on themselves following the opening goal of the game, with William Trudeau being called for interference as he ran into Jan Jenik at the blue line. The Rocket penalty-killers did well to dispatch the Senators’ first power-play opportunity, allowing just a few looks on goal. The issue arose on the next few shifts when the Rocket were again about to be called for a minor penalty, and with the extra attacker the Senators’ Jorian Donovan beat Kähkönen through another screen to make it 2-0.
Things did not improve from there as the Rocket struggled to thread together dangerous passes inside the offensive zone, while the Senators cut through the defensive zone with relative ease. While typically reliable, Kähkönen wasn’t on his game to help stem the Rocket issues as Philippe Daoust rifled a third goal by the Finnish netminder in just over 11 minutes played. The third goal ended Kähkönen’s night, with Jacob Fowler being called upon to play the rest of the game.
A pair of late power plays did not help the Rocket claw their way back into the contest, however. They managed a few looks on Jackson Parsons, but nothing that found its way by the young goalie. For the first time in a long time, the Rocket headed into the intermission being thoroughly outplayed and behind by multiple goals.
It is likely that Pascal Vincent laid into the team during the intermission, because the Rocket shot out of the gate quickly in the second period. Roy picked off a pass and just narrowly missed opening the scoring for Laval as he broke in. Sammy Blais grabbed the loose puck behind the net and returned it to Roy who blistered his second chance by Parsons to put Laval on the scoreboard.
Instead of following up Roy’s goal and riding the wave of momentum, the Rocket found themselves on a crucial penalty kill as Florian Xhekaj was sent to the box for slashing. Laval aggressively attacked the Belleville power play, refusing to allow them to cycle uncontested in the offensive zone which created a few short-handed rushes. As Xhekaj exited the box he nearly made amends for his penalty as his shot went over Parsons’ shoulder, but not over the line as Laval looked to cut into their deficit.
The Rocket continued to battle on every shift as they tried to claw their way back into the contest, and they received a huge boost as Wyatt Bongiovanni was called for cross-checking behind the play. After a couple of tough showings in the first period, the Rocket power play was dialed in as its cut further into the Belleville lead. Roy was able to find a wide-open Laurent Dauphin in the circle, with Dauphin pausing long enough to draw Parsons out of position. The AHL’s leading scorer then turned quickly to feed Alex Belzile in the slot and Belzile remained red-hot as he notched his 10th goal of the year.
The Rocket continued to hound the Senators at every turn as the second period wore on, with their top line being unstoppable inside the offensive zone. Dauphin again drove the play as he put a puck through the slot that bounced away from the net. Belzile was there to settle the puck down and then fire a low shot past Parsons to tie the game up late in the second period.
Belzile’s two goals helped right the Rocket ship after a disastrous first period in Belleville. With momentum on their side Laval had every chance to steal a pair of points from their rival and seal an impressive week of games with a win.
Both sides came in to the third period a bit tentative as they tried to maintain control of the game with a big two points on the line. Laval defended well, but as they were maintaining control of the Senators’ top line in their own zone, David Reinbacher was called for a hold and put the Rocket back on the penalty kill. The aggressive Rocket penalty kill continued from the second period as Xhekaj sent Beck in on a short-handed breakaway, but Beck’s deke and forehand chance couldn’t find a way through Parsons.
On the next clearing attempt it was Roy who was sent in all alone on Parsons, and despite a great move to his backhand Roy was also denied by the Senators’ netminder. The short-handed pressure allowed Reinbacher to exit the box and continue a perfect night for the Rocket penalty-killers.
Laval’s offence kept up the pressure on the Sens defence, and thanks to that, Mešár managed to draw a hooking call and sent the power play back on the ice. After a strong showing in the second period, the Rocket tried too hard to make a perfect play instead of taking the opportunities given to them by the penalty-killers. While the Rocket created a few looks, they were not able to find a second power-play tally to take the lead midway through the third period.
The Rocket didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity to try to break the game open on the power play as Keean Washkaruk was called for high-sticking. The Rocket power play threw everything they had on goal, but Parsons had regained his early-game form as he fended off multiple looks from Belzile and Blais. With Washkaruk out of the box, it set up an intense sprint to the end of regulation in a 3-3 game.
While the officials were mostly content to let the physical play go, a shove by Luke Tuch on Bongiovanni was a step too far and the Rocket had another crucial penalty to kill off. After a perfect start to the game, the Rocket finally broke just enough for the Senators’ power play to score. Lassi Thomson had a clean lane to the net and put a heavy shot on goal, and in front it was Garret Pilon who deflected it by Fowler.
With just a minute left the Rocket got Fowler to the bench and tried to pull off a miracle comeback once again. It wasn’t for a lack of trying as Sean Farrell and Dauphin both came within inches of tying the game, but there was no beating Parsons in the final seconds.
Final Score: Belleville 4, Laval 3
Laval has a few days off as they had back to Place Bell for their next set of games, starting with the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night.