The promising forward was one of three players to return to the Laval Rocket's lineup Friday night after missing time due to injury.
The promising forward was one of three players to return to the Laval Rocket's lineup Friday night after missing time due to injury.
GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket vs Abbotsford Canucks
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
21 Riley Kidney - 42 Lucas Condotta - 19 Emil Heineman
81 Xavier Simoneau - 37 Brandon Gignac - 10 Joshua Roy
61 Philippe Maillet - 49 Jared Davidson - 20 Gabriel Bourque
68 Riley McKay - 14 Jan Mysak - 17 Nathan Legare
Defense pairings
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
84 William Trudeau - 44 Olivier Galipeau
13 Nicolas Beaudin - 25 Brady Keeper
Goaltenders
38 Strauss Mann
71 Jakub Dobes
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: none
Injuries: Lias Andersson, Sean Farrell
Game Report
Riding a five-game loss streak, the Laval Rocket found themselves back on the road this weekend, this time in Abbotsford, BC to take on the Canucks. Vancouver's AHL affiliate handed the Rocket their first two losses of the season in the team's home season-opening series in October.
For Laval, they found themselves with exactly enough skaters to ice a full roster. Forward Mitchell Stephens was recalled to Montreal earlier in the day, but Emil Heineman, Philippe Maillet, and captain Gabriel Bourque all returned to the lineup from injury.
After the Canucks found the post behind Strauss Mann twice in the opening four minutes, it was Laval who found the back of the net first. Brady Keeper scored on a faceoff in the offensive zone.
Although Abbotsford continue to pressure the Rocket, and peppered Mann with pucks, they were able to find enough open space to get one through early on. At the other end, Maillet scored off of a Jared Davidson feed in close to extend the Laval lead to 2-0.
The Canucks got on the board before the end of the first period, though, when Mann was beaten up high by a puck flipped up under the crossbar. Moments later the game was tied 2-2 when the Laval netminder gotten beaten cleanly glove side by Sheldon Dries.
Abbotsford's goal scoring continued in an unanswered fashion when Vasily Podkolzin shook off Lucas Condotta and got close to the crease to score the go-ahead goal.
Laval wasn't able to solve Arturs Silovs again on this night, and even with a heavy-pressure scramble in the final couple of minutes, the only puck to cross the line again was an empty-netter by Abbotsford with two seconds left on the clock.
Game Statistics
Rocket (5-10-3-1)
Shots: 32
Power play: 0-for-3
Penalty minutes: 8
Canucks (12-5-1-0)
Shots: 39
Power play: 0-for-3
Penalty minutes: 8
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: Keeper (1), Maillet (3)
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Canucks Scorers
1st period: Stevens (3), Dries (9)
2nd period: Podkolzin (6)
3rd period: Stevens (4)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Goaltenders
LAV: Mann (L) 2-5-2-0
ABB: Silovs (W) 8-2-1-2
Rocket Players of the Game
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Video Highlights
Video highlights will be added when available, courtesy of the Abbotsford Canucks
Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Kidney, Mysak Dobes Shine in Syracuse | RECAP: LAV @ SYR
Up Next
The Rocket turn right around for a rematch against the Canucks on Saturday night to round out this road trip.
Puck drop on Saturday, December 2, 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.
