In their first meeting of the season, the Laval Rocket and Lehigh Valley Phantoms treated fans to an unfriendly grudge match.
GAME RECAP | Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs Laval Rocket
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 61 Philippe Maillet
10 Joshua Roy - 37 Brandon Gignac - 15 Sean Farrell
49 Jared Davidson - 42 Lucas Condotta - 40 Joel Armia
21 Riley Kidney - 14 Jan Mysak - 17 Nathan Legare
Defense pairings
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
84 William Trudeau - 13 Nicolas Beaudin
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau
Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Jayden Struble (suspended)
Injuries: Emil Heineman (upper body), Gabriel Bourque, John Parker-Jones, Lias Andersson, Riley McKay
Game Report
The Laval Rocket's win streak was snapped on Friday with a 3-2 loss against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Place Bell.
Jean-Francois Houle made no changes to the lineup and sent Jakub Dobes between the pipes after he was pulled after 20 minutes on Wednesday.
Laval was playing their fourth game in six days and fatigue was apparent on the ice.
After a scoreless opening period, the Phantoms got on the board first in the final moments of their second power play when Tanner Laczynski's pass attempt towards the slot hit William Trudeau's skate and crossed the red line. The Phantoms outshot the Rocket 12-1 in the middle frame.
Olle Lycksell scored early in the third period before adding an empty net goal with under four minutes to go.
With 3:38 remaining in regulation, Rhett Gardner made a severe contact with Dobes behind the net that led to a melee involving the 10 skaters on the ice. That sequence resulted into a five-minute power play for Laval, that allowed Brandon Gignac and Riley Kidney to score to make it a one-goal game.
The score did not represent the match on the ice. Lehigh Valley dominated the final two periods up until Laval's power play in the final minutes.
Mitchell Stephens (lower body) and Philippe Maillet (upper body) left the game during the first period due to injury. Houle said that their absence destabilized the bench as players had to play bigger roles than they're used to in addition to the fatigue from all the action.
Houle noted that both players are doubtful for Saturday's game and that recalls will be made from Trois-Rivieres to dress in Utica.
Game Statistics
Rocket (5-8-1-0)
Shots: 26
Power play: 2-for-8
Penalty minutes: 16
Phantoms (6-6-2-0)
Shots: 32
Power play: 1-for-3
Penalty minutes: 57
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Gignac (5)-PPG, Kidney (1)-PPG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Phantoms Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Laczynski (2)-PPG
3rd period: Lycksell (9), Lycksell (10)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 3-5-0-0
LV: Petersen (W) 2-3-0-0
Rocket Players of the Game
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Video Highlights
Video highlights will be added when available
Post-Game Quotes
Jean-Francois Houle
Jakub Dobes
Tobie Paquette-Bisson
Logan Mailloux
Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Rocket Mount Electrifying Comeback | RECAP: BEL @ LAV
Up Next
The Rocket jumped on the bus following the game to head to Utica overnight for their tilt against the Utica Comets.
Puck drop on Saturday, November 18, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, NY.
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.
