The Laval Rocket were in Belleville on Friday night facing the Senators in a North Division showdown.

GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket: 3 vs Belleville Senators: 2 (FINAL-OT)

Rocket Lineup

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

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, Riley Kidney, Mattias Norlinder

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

Game Report

In their final three-in-three series of the season, the Laval Rocket continued their road trip with a two-night stop in Belleville for a back-to-back weekend series against the Senators. Besides being a crucial matchup for two teams battling for a secure spot in the playoffs, with Belleville sitting three points ahead of Laval in the standings, Friday night also marked the AHL debut of defenseman David Reinbacher.

After joining the Rocket earlier this week after the conclusion of his Swiss hockey season, the Montreal Canadiens' 2023 fifth-overall pick finally made his North American debut. Reinbacher was placed on the third pairing, with Tobie Paquette-Bisson.

The young blueliner found his first shift of the game cut a bit short after Brandon Gignac was whistled for tripping, and the Rocket found themselves shorthanded less than 90 seconds into the game. Despite Laval pushing a lot of the pace in the opening 20 minutes, they also couldn't stay out of the penalty box. The Rocket found themselves shorthanded three times in the period, all due to stick infractions.

Laval managed to get out of the period unscathed, with the score still at 0-0, but they suffered the loss of another player. During intermission, the team announced that top-pair defenseman William Trudeau had suffered an upper-body injury and would not return to the game.

The Senators eventually opened the scoring just over two minutes into the middle frame when Tarun Fizer skated around Logan Mailloux and got a shot off for his first AHL goal.

Both teams continued to struggle to get any kind of consistent offensive zone time in the second period, as shots for both teams through 40 minutes were just 13-12 in favor of Belleville.

Laval quickly found themselves down by two goals early in the third period when Wyatt Bongiovanni drove the net and put his own rebound behind Jakub Dobes.

Finally, with about 10 minutes left in the third, the Rocket got on the board thanks to a power play goal by Lias Andersson. Then, just over a minute later, Reinbacher took advantage of an odd-man rush and fired a wrister that found the back of the net. His first AHL goal tied the game at 2-2.

There were a flurry of shots in the final minutes of regulation, but neither team could break the tie and overtime ensued. In a strong showing by defensive prospects, Logan Mailloux fired a laser into the net to win the game for Laval and secure an important two points in the standings.

New Video: David Reinbacher Joins the Laval Rocket

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il_ivJDNpXc[/embed]

Game Statistics

Rocket (28-25-6-2)
Shots: 19
Power play: 1-for-2
Penalty minutes: 10

Senators (30-24-3-3)
Shots: 27
Power play: 0-for-4
Penalty minutes: 6

Scoring Summary

Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Andersson (18)-PPG, Reinbacher (1)
OT: Mailloux (14)
SO: n/a

Senators Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Fizer (1)
3rd period: Bongiovanni (9)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (W) 20-14-6-1
BEL: Sogaard (L) 14-8-3-2

Players of the Game

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Looking Back

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Rocket Come Undone Against Marlies | RECAP: LAV @ TOR

Up Next

The Rocket remain in Belleville for a second matchup against the Senators in as many days.

Puck drop on Saturday, March 23rd, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at CAA Arena in Belleville, ON.

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.