Rocket Start Strong, Can't Close Gap| LAV @ ROC
The Rochester Americans made the most of their special teams units on Friday night, helping propel them to victory over the Laval Rocket.
GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket vs Rochester Americans
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 28 Lias Andersson
10 Joshua Roy - 42 Lucas Condotta - 15 Sean Farrell
61 Philippe Maillet - 37 Brandon Gignac - 17 Nathan Legare
14 Jan Mysak - 21 Riley Kidney - 68 Riley McKay
Defense pairings
3 Jayden Struble - 84 William Trudeau
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 24 Logan Mailloux
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau
Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Zachary Emond, Nicolas Beaudin
Injuries: Emil Heineman (upper body), Gabriel Bourque, Jared Davidson (upper body), Brady Keeper
Game Report
With no midweek game to play, Jean-Francois Houle's team had a good amount of time back at home to practice and rest up. After a loss in their first road game last Saturday night, coupled with personnel losses like Brady Keeper coming up with an injury and Gustav Lindstrom recalled to Montreal, the team needed that time to regroup and refocus.
Jakub Dobes earned his first professional win against the Americans exactly a week ago, and he was tapped to guard the crease for the first time on the road.
The Rocket were gifted a power play less than a minute after the opening faceoff, but the result could be interpreted as an early omen, in hindsight. Despite a very physical effort by defenseman Mattias Norlinder, Rochester managed to score on a shorthanded breakaway. To his credit, Norlinder rectified that about two minutes later when he got the puck through traffic to even the score at 1-1.
Logan Mailloux then scored his second goal of the year with a point shot that found the back of the net. The lead continued to switch back and forth as both teams exchanged goals through the end of the first period and into the second. Lias Andersson tied the game for Laval when he drove hard to the net and managed to get his leg in the way of the puck to deflect it into the net.
Special teams turned out to be the weakest portion of the Rocket's game on this night, allowing a shorthanded goal and two power play goals against. On the man-advantage, Laval scored just once out of six opportunities.
For Dobes, it was likely a disappointing game, but many of the goals against couldn't necessarily be blamed on the young netminder. At least two goals were deflected into the net, one got through thanks to a solid screen, and one was an empty-netter. It's only the second full game that Dobes has played in the AHL, and he did make some admirable saves throughout the game when Rochester was swarming.
The last time these two teams met, it was Joshua Roy scoring a hat trick. This time it was on the other team, with Mason Jobst scoring three goals and Matt Savoie, Buffalo's ninth-overall draft pick from 2022, scoring his first pro goal.
The Rocket have to put this game behind them now, as they head down the road for their first matchup of the season against another tough division rival, the Syracuse Crunch - and their new head coach, Joel Bouchard.
Game Statistics
Rocket (1-4-1-0)
Shots: 40
Power play: 1-for-6
Penalty minutes: 10
Americans (4-1-1-0)
Shots: 41
Power play: 2-for-4
Penalty minutes: 14
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: Norlinder (1), Mailloux (2)
2nd period: Andersson (6)
3rd period: Andersson (7)-PPG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Americans Scorers
1st period: Rousek (1)-SHG, Jobst (1), Jobst (2)-PPG
2nd period: Biro (2)-PPG, Rosen (4)
3rd period: Savoie (1), Jobst (3)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 1-2-0-0
ROC: Cooley (W) 3-0-1-0
Rocket Players of the Game
- Lias Andersson: Scored two goals, including one on the power play, eight shots on goal, and leads the team in goals scored (7).
- Mattias Norlinder: Scored one goal, even rating for the night.
- Olivier Galipeau: Two assists, plus-1 for the night.
Video Highlights
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsJMca0HBVA[/embed]
Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Logan Mailloux Scores First Pro Goal | RECAP: LAV @ BEL
Up Next
The Rocket continue their weekend road trip with a journey to central New York on Saturday night to visit the Syracuse Crunch and their new bench boss, Joel Bouchard.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, October 28th at Upstate Medical University Arena in Syracuse, NY.
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.
