The Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate split the weekend in Belleville.
by Chris G, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens blogger
The Laval Rocket began a five-game road trip with a weekend visit to the Belleville Senators at the CAA Arena.
Friday: Laval Rocket 4 - Belleville Senators 3 (shootout)
The Senators had a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes when Alex Barre-Boulet tied it 26 seconds into the middle frame. The home team answered back with a power play goal less than two minutes later and held onto it heading to the second intermission. For the second time of the evening, Laval tied it in the first minute, as Brandon Gignac recorded his first of the year, 33 seconds into the third period. Belleville’s power play unit converted for the second time on a two-man advantage with Xavier Simoneau and Laurent Dauphin in the penalty box for the lead. Luke Tuch forced overtime by scoring with 1:40 remaining in regulation and Connor Hughes on the bench for the extra attacker. The contest was decided in a shootout with Barre-Boulet and Logan Mailloux scored to extend the winning streak to eight games.
"[Laval] is a team that never quits. I didn't like our first period, but it was things that we could correct relatively easy. It was our decisions with the puck. We had a good start to the second and third periods,” Pascal Vincent said about the squad’s ability to bounce back from three one-goal deficits.
"It wasn't our best game but at the end of the day, it's important to win those games even when we don't have our best games. We had a tough start, but we didn't quit, showed character and we were clutch at the end,” added Barre-Boulet.
The forward celebrated his return to the lineup after missing two games due to an injury by obtaining three points, and was named the AHL’s second star of the night.
“He was looking forward to returning. He worked hard during practices. He's completely involved with the team, emotionally and physically. He wants to win. He wants to play well. He wants to do things the right way. He's an important player for us,” noted the coach.
Saturday: Laval Rocket 2 - Belleville Senators 3
After a scoreless first period, the Rocket got on the board with goals by Xavier Simoneau and Owen Beck in a span of 2:55 during the middle frame. Ottawa’s AHL affiliate made it a game with goals in the final minute before the intermission and a power play goal in the first minute of the third period. The contest was decided midway through the final frame when the Senators broke the tie and held on to the lead to snap Laval’s franchise record winning streak at eight.
"We had full control of the game. We started to be too cute. We started to make decisions that don't reflect the team's identity with the puck and it gave momentum to the other team,” Vincent noted. “When you start being too cute, there's never good things that happen."
Roster News
On Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens recalled Lucas Condotta to replace the roster spot vacated by Oliver Kapanen’s loan to Timra in the SHL. The captain had collected four points in nine games at the time of the move.
The club announced that Jared Davidson will be evaluated week-to-week with a lower body injury. The forward missed a couple of shifts during the second period of the November 1st game against the Utica Comets but finished the contest. The Canadiens 130th overall pick in the 2022 entry draft has six points in eight games primarily playing on a line centered by Owen Beck.
Laval recalled Jacob Perreault from the Trois-Rivieres Lions. The forward obtained five points in five games as he was given the opportunity to get a lot of ice time as he returned to game action for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury in April that required surgery.
Jakub Dobes returned between the pipes on Saturday after missing two games with a lower body injury and made 28 saves. Dobes acted as the backup to Connor Hughes on Friday.
Up Next
The road trip resumes on Wednesday with a visit to Rochester to face the Americans (Buffalo Sabres), and then head to Syracuse to square off against the Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) at the Upstate Medical Arena on Friday, and a rematch against Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena on Saturday.
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