Rocket Shut Out in Syracuse | RECAP: LAV @ SYR

GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket vs Syracuse Crunch

Forward lines
37 Brandon Gignac - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 28 Lias Andersson
10 Joshua Roy - 42 Lucas Condotta - 15 Sean Farrell
81 Xavier Simoneau - 61 Philippe Maillet - 17 Nathan Legare
68 Riley McKay - 14 Jan Mysak - 85 John Parker-Jones

Defense pairings
3 Jayden Struble - 13 Nicolas Beaudin
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
29 Mattias Norlinder - 84 William Trudeau

Goaltenders
38 Strauss Mann
71 Jakub Dobes

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Zachary Emond, Riley Kidney, Olivier Galipeau

Injuries: Emil Heineman (upper body), Gabriel Bourque, Jared Davidson (upper body), Brady Keeper

In the course of two games played, exactly one week apart, the Laval Rocket and Rochester Americans scored a total of 23 goals. On Friday night, however, in the second of those two games, the Rocket were the ones to fall short after the final horn sounded. Fast forward 24 hours, and the team found themselves just over an hour's drive east in Syracuse, NY for the first of their 2023-24 series against the Crunch.

Jean-Francois Houle's line combinations didn't change much from the previous night, mostly due to the fact that there aren't many healthy scratches left to move in and out of the lineup. Strauss Mann started in net, since Jakub Dobes played on Friday, and Riley Kidney came out of the lineup in exchange for John Parker-Jones. Nicolas Beaudin also drew back into the lineup, with Olivier Galipeau a healthy scratch.

Some new familiar faces could be found behind the opposing bench, as former Laval head coach Joel Bouchard, and his assistant Daniel Jacob, have taken up those same positions for the Syracuse Crunch this season.

After Bouchard and Jacob departed the Canadiens organization in the summer of 2021, their next AHL coaching positions took them to the west coast and the San Diego Gulls. The Gulls and the Rocket didn't meet at all that season, and with Bouchard not coaching in the league at all last year, tonight's game marked the first time the pair would face off against their former team.

This was not a pretty game for the Rocket. Syracuse put this young Laval team through their paces, and pretty much controlled the puck for the a majority of the game. It took over eight minutes for the Rocket to even register a first shot on goal, and only accrued a total of 12 shots through 40 minutes of play.

To make matters worse, they couldn't stay out of the penalty box. Riley McKay alone took three minor penalties in the first two periods, out of Laval's total of seven infractions. Granted, the Crunch had six penalties of their own, but the difference was that Syracuse scored twice on the power play.

In net, Mann seemed to struggle, allowing some goals that seemed stoppable. At one point in the second frame, he deflected the puck through his legs with his stick and got lucky when the goal post stopped it from going into the net.

From start to finish, Syracuse outworked and outplayed the Rocket, who seemed to desperately chase the game all night. There were some good things, though, like Logan Mailloux's relentless aggressiveness on the puck and a team-high seven shots on the night, or Jan Mysak sacrificing the body to block shots.

For the most part, however, it's probably best for Laval to put this game in their rear-view mirror and focus on a fresh start next week.

Rocket (1-5-1-0)
Shots: 19
Power play: 0-for-5
Penalty minutes: 14

Crunch (4-2-0-0)
Shots: 28
Power play: 2-for-6
Penalty minutes: 12

Rocket Scorers
1st period: no scoring
2nd period: no scoring
3rd period: no scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Crunch Scorers
1st period: Usau (2), Walcott (3)
2nd period: Chafee (1)-PPG
3rd period: Carlile (1)-PPG, Robert (5)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Mann (L) 0-3-1-0
SYR: Kochetkov (W) 2-0-0-1

Video highlights courtesy of the Syracuse Crunch

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Rocket Start Strong, Can't Close Gap| LAV @ ROC

The Rocket return home to Quebec to prepare for next week's games, when they'll welcome the Utica Comets and Toronto Marlies to Laval.

The three-game homestand kicks off on Wednesday, November 1st. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET 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.