The Laval Rocket goaltender stopped 42 of 45 shots, while other young prospects helped propel the team to a second consecutive win.
GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket vs Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
10 Joshua Roy - 37 Brandon Gignac - 61 Philippe Maillet
21 Riley Kidney - 42 Lucas Condotta - 20 Gabriel Bourque
68 Riley McKay - 49 Jared Davidson - 17 Nathan Legare
14 Jan Mysak - 23 Nolan Yaremko - 43 Alex-Olivier Voyer
Defense pairings
72 Arber Xhekaj - 24 Logan Mailloux
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau
84 William Trudeau - 4 Paquette-Bisson
Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Nicolas Beaudin, Brady Keeper, Jakov Novak
Injuries: Lias Andersson, Sean Farrell, Xavier Simoneau
Game Report
After snapping a nine-game losing skid last Saturday with a decisive 5-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Laval Rocket took to the road this week. The first stop on the trip came on Friday night with a visit Allentown, PA and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Coming into the game, Xavier Simoneau was added to the injury list, prompting a couple of recalls from the ECHL in Alex-Olivier Voyer and Jakov Novak. On the blue line, Mattias Norlinder returned from his stint in the NHL and resumed his second-pairing position with Olivier Galipeau.
The Rocket started the game with aggressive forechecking, but an early penalty by William Trudeau led to a Phantoms power play goal. Forward Samu Tuomaala, who was tied in the league's rookie scoring race with Joshua Roy coming into tonight's game, blasted a one-timer past Jakub Dobes.
After the heavy amount of penalties in the first meeting between these two team this season, the opening frame had surprisingly few penalties. But all of that changed in the second period, after Wade Allison put the Phantoms up 2-0 just 13 seconds into the period.
Riley McKay then got an elbow up high on a Lehigh Valley player in open ice, and that began a steady sequence of players from both benches visiting the penalty box. It could have been disastrous for the Rocket, but they added to their league-leading shorthanded goal tally when Brandon Gignac scored on the penalty kill.
Lucas Condotta followed that up just over a minute later when Joshua Roy fed him the puck in the neutral zone and Condotta skated in easily to find the back of the net.
The game remained tied until late in the period, when Emil Andrae got open in the high slot and fired a shot that made it through traffic into Laval's net.
Even though Lehigh Valley dominated for most of the game, putting over 40 shots on Dobes, who was terrific all night, it was two forward prospects who made the difference for the remainder of the game.
Jan Mysak got open in front of the net to tie the game once again, and then Riley Kidney scored a power play goal through traffic with just 1:07 left in regulation to give the Rocket their first lead of the night. It was the only lead they would need to win this game, and pocket back-to-back victories.
Game Statistics
Rocket (7-12-3-2)
Shots: 24
Power play: 1-for-4
Penalty minutes: 19
Phantoms (11-10-4-0)
Shots: 45
Power play: 2-for-6
Penalty minutes: 15
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Gignac (8)-SHG, Condotta (4)
3rd period: Mysak (4), Kidney (6)-PPG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Phantoms Scorers
1st period: Tuomaala (7)-PPG
2nd period: Allison (5), Andrae (3)-PPG
3rd period:
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (W) 5-5-3-0
LV: Peterson (L) 4-6-1-0
Rocket Players of the Game
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Video Highlights
Video highlights courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdFhhRrU2_M[/embed]
Post-Game Interviews
Jakub Dobes
Riley Kidney
Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Rocket Welcome A Regulation Win | RECAP: HFD @ LAV
Up Next
The Laval Rocket will travel after the game just an hour west into central Pennsylvania, getting ready for a Saturday night matchup against the defending Calder Cup champions, the Hershey Bears.
Puck drop on Saturday, December 16, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Giant Center in Hershey, PA.
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.
