It looked like the Utica Comets were well on their way to handing the Laval Rocket a second consecutive shutout, but rookie defenseman Jayden Struble came through.
GAME RECAP | Utica Comets vs Laval Rocket
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 15 Sean Farrell
10 Joshua Roy - 37 Brandon Gignac - 28 Lias Andersson
42 Lucas Condotta - 21 Riley Kidney - 61 Philippe Maillet
86 Jakov Novak - 23 Nolan Yaremko - 17 Nathan Legare
Defense pairings
3 Jayden Struble - 84 William Trudeau
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
29 Mattias Norlinder - 25 Brady Keeper
Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Zachary Emond, Olivier Galipeau, Nicolas Beaudin, Jan Mysak, John Parker-Jones, Riley McKay
Injuries: Emil Heineman (upper body), Gabriel Bourque, Jared Davidson (upper body)
Game Report
After being outplayed by the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Jean-Francois Houle promised changes and tough practices. Houle followed through with a brand new fourth line including the additions of Nolan Yaremko and Jakov Novak and on defence, Brady Keeper returned to the lineup after being sidelined with an injury.
Laval was last in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the most goals allowed and added another four to their total, including one empty netter. Utica capitalized on defensive mistakes in the second period to score two times and take a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes.
The puck didn't bounce in the Rocket's favour on Wednesday with Lias Andersson hitting the post twice in the evening and Joshua Roy had quality scoring chances that were stopped by Isaac Poulter.
Jayden Struble had another solid match at the blue line. He was physically involved, tough on defence and offensively hit a post before scoring his first career AHL goal early in the third period. Struble received a pass from Xavier Simoneau between the two faceoff dots and beat Poulter top corner with a wrist shot.
The players were disappointed with the result but were happy with the effort on the ice. Houle feels that the defensive errors that were made against Utica are easily correctible prior to this weekend.
Game Statistics
Rocket (1-6-1-0)
Shots: 36
Power play: 0-for-4
Penalty minutes: 8
Comets (2-2-2-0)
Shots: 25
Power play: 0-for-2
Penalty minutes: 12
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Struble (1)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Comets Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Parent (2), Parent (3)
3rd period: Stillman (3), Parent (4)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 1-3-0-0
UTC: Poulter (W) 2-0-1
Rocket Players of the Game
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Video Highlights
Video highlights courtesy of the Laval Rocket
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSIowz99gFY[/embed]
Post-Game Quotes
Jean-Francois Houle
Jayden Struble
Lucas Condotta
Brandon Gignac
Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Rocket Shut Out in Syracuse | RECAP: LAV @ SYR
Up Next
The Rocket host the Toronto Marlies for two games over the weekend starting on Friday.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm ET on Friday, November 3rd at Place Bell.
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.
