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Laval Rocket

Rocket Capture Convincing 4-1 Victory over Senators

February 27, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Laval Rocket News Release


BELLEVILLE - In their eighth meeting against the Senators this season, the Rocket played one of their most complete games of the season and dominated their division foes with an impressive a 4-1 win on Wednesday night at the CAA Arena.

Capturing their third victory in a row, Laval's special teams produced a powerplay goal and remained perfect on the penalty kill on five occasions. First-star Cayden Primeau blocked 27 shots.

Nikita Jevpalovs notched two goals and Jesperi Kotkaniemi earned his 11th point (11 A) in as many games since joining the Rocket. Second star Charles Hudon sniped his 27th of the season, only one goal shy of his career high established in 2015-16. With a hat trick of helpers, Kevin Lynch registered his sixth point (1 G, 5 A) in his last three outings.

The Senators were up 1-0 when Joey LaBate notched his 10th of the season with three seconds left in the opening frame. The home side fell into penalty trouble, conceding four consecutive man advantages to the Rocket, who outshot the Senators 15-9 in the second stanza. On a five-on-three, Jevpalovs sent a snipe from the left faceoff circle to tie it up just past the halfway mark of the tilt. With close to four minutes to go in the middle frame, Lynch chipped the puck from his own zone over to Kotkaniemi, who picked it up near the boards at centre ice. Pressured by Morgan Klimchuk on the backcheck, the streaking Finn fell yet managed to send a backhand pass to Hudon in the slot who notched the eventual game-winning goal.

The home side desperately searched for the equalizer but couldn't find it in the final frame. Jevpalovs and Laurent Dauphin notched empty netters with Daccord on the bench for an extra attacker to give the Rocket a 4-1 victory.

"We have a great atmosphere in the locker room right now. [...] We've struggled against Belleville so it feels good to get this win. I think this game shows exactly what we're made of. We're a team that works hard and isn't going to be intimidated by anyone," said Hudon after the game.

Marqueurs/Scorers

LAV: Jevpalovs (Brook, Alain) | Hudon (Kotkaniemi, Lynch) | Jevpalovs (Lynch) | Dauphin (Lynch)

BEL: LaBate (Klimchuk, Archibald)

Unités spéciales/Special teams

LAV | AN/PP: 1/4 | IN/PK: 5/5

BEL | AN/PP: 0/5 | IN/PK: 3/4

Gardiens/Goaltenders

LAV: Primeau (27/28) | BEL: Daccord (30/32)

Trois étoiles/Three stars

1. Primeau - LAV 2. Hudon - LAV 3. LaBate - BEL

Check out the Laval Rocket Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2020


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