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AHL Laval Rocket

Blackwood Shines with 40-Save Performance in 2-1 Win over the Rocket

October 14, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Laval Rocket News Release


LAVAL - The Laval Rocket fell just short of completing a weekend sweep of the Binghamton Devils when they lost to the divisional rival 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Place Bell, despite a strong effort that saw Joël Bouchard's troops send 41 shots on goal.

Seventeen of those 41 shots went on Binghamton goaltender and the game's first star Mackenzie Blackwood in the opening period, but it was the Devils who scored first when Marian Studenic whacked a loose puck in the slot behind Michael McNiven, who was in goal for the home team. Laval's special teams continued to impress as they did last night, which allowed them to keep pressuring the Devils even while shorthanded - most notably with a 2-on-1 that beat Blackwood but not the crossbar.

By the end of the second period Laval had put 33 shots on Blackwood, and he was unable to maintain his shutout. Jake Evans netted the first professional goal of his career by sending the puck up and over Blackwood's glove to tie the game for his team heading into the third, finally rewarding them for their efforts.

The game-winning goal for Binghamton came from Nick Lappin a little more than halfway through the third with a one-timer that snuck by McNiven, who Laval later pulled in favour of a sixth attacker in the final minutes of the game. The Rocket pressured the Devils in attempt to tie the game, but were ultimately unable to find the back of the net.

"You have to give credit to the players for the effort that they made," said Bouchard after the game, who emphasized that he was very happy with his players. "They did what we asked, and [games like these] will happen from time to time. It won't happen often, but I'm sure this year we'll win a game that we didn't deserve, and I'll remind you of this game against Binghamton."

Goalscorers:

LAV: Evans (Lamarche)

BNG: Studenic (Yakovlev, Rooney) | Lappin (Kapla, Yakovlev)

Goaltenders:

LAV: McNiven (13/15) | BNG: Blackwood (40/41)

Rocket Powerplay: 0/5 | Rocket Penalty Kill: 2/2

Three Stars :

1. Mackenzie Blackwood - BEL | 2. Jake Evans - LAV | 3. Alex Belzile - LAV

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American Hockey League Stories from October 14, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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