The Laval Rocket took two games to overtime earlier this week, but Saturday's game in Syracuse required a shootout to determine a winner.
The Laval Rocket took two games to overtime earlier this week, but Saturday's game in Syracuse required a shootout to determine a winner.
GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket vs Syracuse Crunch
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
42 Lucas Condotta - 37 Brandon Gignac - 10 Joshua Roy
21 Riley Kidney - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 15 Sean Farrell
68 Riley McKay - 14 Jan Mysak - 17 Nathan Legare
85 John Parker-Jones - 23 Nolan Yaremko - 43 Alex-Olivier Voyer
Defense pairings
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
84 William Trudeau - 44 Olivier Galipeau
13 Nicolas Beaudin - 25 Brady Keeper
Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Jared Davidson
Injuries: Emil Heineman (upper body), Gabriel Bourque, Lias Andersson, Philippe Maillet
Game Report
After back-to-back overtime losses to the Rochester Americans this week, the Laval Rocket faced a new challenge on Saturday night. They found themselves back in Syracuse with a rematch against the Crunch, after finding themselves on the wrong end of a 5-0 shutout the last time these teams met.
Behind the benches it was another test between current and former Laval Rocket coaches. For Jean-Francois Houle, his lineup gained the services of John Parker-Jones and Riley McKay, with Jakub Dobes taking up goaltending duties. Joel Bouchard's club has seen plenty of success this season, with Syracuse sitting near the top of the AHL's Eastern Conference.
Things did not start off well for Laval, after Tobie Paquette-Bisson took a penalty just 32 seconds into the game. The Crunch didn't waste time lighting the lamp on the ensuing power play to take an early lead.
That put Laval on their heels, and they struggled for a while to get out of their own zone. Dobes, meanwhile, did his best to keep out the pucks which were shelling him.
Riley Kidney, who has been on quite a point streak in the past few games, turned the tide for Laval when he buried a snap shot from the circle to tie the game. Brandon Gignac put the Rocket ahead when he found the back of the net during four-on-four play and Jan Mysak scored a nice goal from the slot.
Both teams exchanged goals throughout the next two periods, with Syracuse finding an answer every time Laval potted a go-ahead goal.
As is typical in games with these two teams, things got physical as the game wore on, and penalties were plenty in the third period. What was missing were additional goals, both in the remainder of regulation time and in the overtime minutes that followed.
In the shootout, Laval wasn't able to beat Matt Tomkins, who was making his season debut with the Crunch after being sent down from Tampa Bay where he played in three NHL games. At the other end of the ice, Mitchell Chaffee scored the only goal to put the game away for Syracuse.
Game Statistics
Rocket (5-9-3-1)
Shots: 24
Power play: 0-for-4
Penalty minutes: 14
Crunch (10-5-0-2)
Shots: 36
Power play: 2-for-5
Penalty minutes: 12
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: Kidney (3), Gignac (6)
2nd period: Mysak (3)
3rd period: No scoring
OT: No scoring
SO: No scoring
Crunch Scorers
1st period: Robert (7)-PPG
2nd period: Chaffee (5)
3rd period: Goncalves (3)-PPG
OT: No scoring
SO: Chaffee
Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 3-5-2-0
SYR: Tomkins (W) 1-0-0-0
Rocket Players of the Game
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Video Highlights
Video highlights will be added when available, courtesy of the Syracuse Crunch
Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Riley Kidney Forces Overtime | RECAP: LAV @ ROC
Up Next
The Rocket return home to Quebec now for a stretch, not playing any mid-week games in the last week of November. They'll gear up for another road trip next weekend, to British Columbia.
Puck drop on Friday, December 1, is scheduled for 10:00 pm ET at the Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, BC.
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.
