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Laval Rocket

Special Teams and Great Goaltending Can't Lead Rocket past Belleville Senators in a 3-2 Loss

October 23, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Laval Rocket News Release


BELLEVILLE - The Laval Rocket opened their three-game road trip Wednesday night in Belleville against the Senators. Two powerplay goals and 29 saves by goaltender Cayden Primeau couldn't lift the Rocket past their division rivals as they lost 3-2. Riley Barber was credited with two assists.

The Senators were dominant in the opening frame, creating the majority of the scoring chances in the period. Josh Norris gave the Senators an early lead less than three minutes into the game. Soon after, Primeau followed up with two incredible saves on Filip Chlapik. The Rocket's division rival doubled their tally when Parker Kelly accepted a crisp pass from Joseph LaBate and defeated the Laval netminder. The Rocket killed two penalties midway through the frame but the Senators continued to gain steam. Primeau, who made 16 saves in 20 minutes, continued to be the difference for the Rocket. He made another brilliant pad save on Jonathan Davidsson near the end of the period. Less than two minutes left in the frame, the Rocket earned their first powerplay. Less than two minutes left in the frame, the Rocket earned their first powerplay. Captain Xavier Ouellet killed a two-on-one opportunity for the Senators, which allowed Laval to set up in the Senators zone on the man-advantage but the away team finished the period down by two.

Off to another strong start, Chlapik gave the Senators a 3-0 lead. However, that goal seemed to give the Rocket the wake-up call they needed. The Rocket were hungry to get on the scoreboard, playing with intensity and a strong forecheck in the offensive zone. Special teams played a big a role in this period. The Rocket capitalized on a 5-on-3 powerplay when Ouellet sent a bullet from the point past Hogberg. Riley Barber and Alex Belzile earned assists on the captain's first goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Lukas Vejdemo buried a rebound past the Belleville netminder to reduce their lead to one goal. With 19 shots on net, the momentum shifted in the Rocket's favour, as the away team closed the period on the powerplay. Primeau stopped 12 of 13 shots faced this period. After 40 minutes of play, the Senators maintained a 29-23 shot advantage.

Starting the period on the powerplay, the Rocket picked up where they left off in the final frame as they sustained pressure in Belleville's zone. However, Hogberg repeatedly shut the door as he faced 18 shots in the period. Drawing another penalty, the Rocket's powerplay units remained sharp and generated several scoring chances as Barber hit the post on the man-advantage. Hogberg continued to be the difference in this period, making several saves on Ryan Poehling and Jake Evans, to name a few. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, the Rocket earned another golden opportunity on the powerplay when Charles Hudon's shot from inside the blueline hit the post. Pulling Primeau for an extra forward, the Rocket couldn't solve Hogberg with a 6-on-4 and a 6-on-5 man-advantage. Dominating the shot counter 41 to 32, the Rocket left Belleville with a 3-2 loss.

"We created a lot of chances in the second and third periods and those are positives [that we can take away]. I think we are going to regroup as a team just as we did after the first period. [...] We have a lot of leadership and a lot of veterans in the locker room so that helps a lot. Everyone was in the same boat in the second [period]. We know the first period wasn't our best but we know we can do better," said forward Charles Hudon after the game.

Scorers

LAV: Ouellet (Barber, Belzile), Vejdemo (Olofsson, Barber)

BEL: Norris (Abramov) | Kelly (LaBate, Davidsson) | Chlapik (Klimchuk, Murray)

Goaltenders

LAV: Primeau (29/32) | BEL: Hogberg (39/41)

Three stars:

Hogberg - BEL 2. Chlapik - BEL 3. Barber - LAV

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