Bitter End to Rocket Road Trip | RECAP: LAV @ UTC

Forward lines
42 Lucas Condotta - 37 Brandon Gignac - 15 Sean Farrell
28 Lias Andersson - 61 Philippe Maillet - 19 Emil Heineman
20 Gabriel Bourque - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 34 Jacob Perreault
16 Arnaud Durandeau - 21 Riley Kidney - 68 Riley McKay

Defense pairings
84 William Trudeau - 24 Logan Mailloux
44 Olivier Galipeau - 52 Justin Barron
4 Paquette-Bisson - 64 David Reinbacher

Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
73 Kasimir Kaskisuo

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Chris Jandric, Mattias Norlinder, Filip Cederqvist

Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body), Jared Davidson, Xavier Simoneau (shoulder)

The Rocket wrapped up their latest road trip with a trip to Utica on Wednesday to take on the Comets. This game, once again, had high stakes for both teams, with Laval looking to gain more ground in the playoff standings, and Utica trying to claw their way back into contention.

Laval had good energy to start the game, spending most of the first five minutes in Utica's zone. Momentum shifted, however, when Jacob Perreault went off for tripping and put the Rocket down a man. The Rocket killed off the penalty, but then found themselves trying to survive some four-on-four time as well.

Despite all of the penalties and power play opportunities, neither team was able to get a puck into the net. Jakub Dobes and Akira Schmid both denied all shots, leaving the scoreboard stuck at 0-0 for the first intermission.

Things changed rather quickly in the next period, when Jacob Perreault opened the scoring for the Rocket just 31 seconds into the frame. Utica applied plenty of pressure throughout the rest of the period, but Dobes - despite giving up some big rebounds - stood strong in the crease and didn't let the Comets get by him.

All of that changed, however, early in the third period. One of those rebounds came out quickly and Chase Stillman picked up the puck, fired it off the post and into the Laval net to tie the game.

With less than five minutes left in regulation, Utica then scored a go-ahead goal when Emil Heineman turned the puck over in the defensive zone and Ryan Schmelzer took advantage. An empty-netter by Filip Engaras stopped Laval's win streak and allowed Utica to gain two points on their Quebec rivals.

Rocket (30-26-6-2)
Shots: 24
Power play: 0-for-6
Penalty minutes: 10

Comets (28-25-4-5)
Shots: 32
Power play: 0-for-5
Penalty minutes: 12

Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Perreault (8)
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Comets Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Stillman (14), Schmelzer (17)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 21-15-6-1
UTC: Schmid (W) 6-7-4-1

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Laval Secures Weekend Sweep | RECAP: LAV @ TOR

The Rocket now return to Quebec where they'll once again face off against the Belleville Senators for a two-game home series.

Puck drop on Friday, March 29th, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Place Bell in Laval, QC.

Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.