After a resounding loss to the Belleville Senators on Monday to end a long road trip, the Laval Rocket returned home to Place Bell. It was already an emotional night, as the Rockets could clinch a playoff spot with a regulation-time win against the Toronto Marlies, the first in team history.
There was the added wrinkle that it was the Quebec Classic for the Rocket, as they dressed in special jerseys that were meant to be worn over two years before COVID hit the sports world. On top of that, the passing of Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur hit the organization and the Canadiens fan base hard.
For the game, J.-F. Houle had received plenty of reinforcements when Rafaël Harvey-Pinard returned from the NHL, and Corey Schueneman also returned to the lineup after being ousted earlier in the week. At the net, Kevin Poulin got the nod.
The Rocket jumped with an intensity they hadn’t channeled in a long time. They hit everything in a white sweater when they had the puck, and they harassed the Toronto defense with a relentless head-on punch. However, Tobie Paquette-Bisson was called for a hitch after being caught flat-footed, allowing the Marlies to take the first power play of the game. An impressive Rocket penalty allowed Poulin zero shots, and after taking the first penalty of the game, Paquette-Bisson got a call to send Laval to his own power play.
Both waves of the men’s advantage came close to opening the scoring when J.-S. Dea fired over the crossbar and Joël Teasdale was parried for a desperate block as Michael Hutchinson was down and out. That didn’t stop Laval’s attack, though, as a tie in the offensive end saw the Rocket take a much-deserved 1-0 lead.
The faceoff was returned by Paquette-Bisson, who left a shot into the net, and Lucas Condotta up front caught enough to deflect Hutchinson’s puck. He landed right on the post of Teasdale, who finished it off to put the Rocket on top with just over half the period played.
Another Rocket power play threatened to open the game soon after. Dea did a masterful job of distributing the puck, either to Harvey-Pinard in front of the net or to Jesse Ylönen waiting at the faceoff spot. Rocket man’s advantage racked up plenty of chances, but they couldn’t squeak another Hutchinson shot into the go-ahead.
After Rocket ran the first period, the Marlies’ legs found some juice in the second as they kept Laval mostly pinned in his zone. Poulin did well to keep Toronto off the board, but a Gabriel Bourque fumble behind the net popped up for Joey Anderson, who buried a chance to tie the game.
Another Toronto penalty sent Laval back into the power play, where they again created plenty of looks, but didn’t seize the opportunity. That bit them back in no time as Paquette-Bisson fell off, allowing a strange man to run the other way. Louie Belpedio held his own against Josh Ho-Sang, but it was Rich Clune running through Poulin that allowed the puck to leak. Despite the obvious collision, the referees signaled a good goal and Toronto was up by one.
That lead became two when Bourque was put into a spin cycle by Philippe Myers, who finished with ease to bring Toronto’s lead to two goals late in the second period. A late trip penalty from Tory Dello ensured that Laval had a difficult task to deal with as the second period drew to a close.
Laval was able to kill Dello’s minor, but it almost cost them Cédric Paquette, who seemed to be clueless and slowly skated towards the Rocket bench afterwards.
The Marlies continued to push the Rocket to the brink, with Clune trying to get between their legs for a goal and forcing Alex Belzile to clear the loose puck off the goal line to keep the deficit to just two goals.
Another Rockets power play only made the score worse when a Sami Niku turnover turned into a short-handed Nick Robertson breakaway, which the Toronto forward buried five holes in Poulin to put the Rockets down one hole. seemingly insurmountable. For good measure, the Marlies added an empty net with 5 1/2 minutes left.
Toronto easily held off Laval’s last push to clinch the win and prevent the Rocket from clinching a playoff spot.
Final score: Toronto 5, Laval 1
Rocket’s next game doesn’t get any easier as they travel to Syracuse to play a Crunch team that just decimated the Belleville Senators on Friday night. Cayden Primeau is the likely starter for Houle’s team.
Reference-www.habseyesontheprize.com