(Laval) Talent can take a team to a higher level, but it’s effort that will allow it to stay there. The Laval Rocket hopes to have learned their lesson.
The Belleville Senators were not played the same trick at Place Bell and they defeated the Rocket 5-2 on Wednesday evening.
During its last victory, on November 15 against the same Senators, the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club showed character, intensity and a sustained effort to erase a 4-0 deficit in the first period.
One would have thought that the recipe had been stuck in the notebook, but Jean-François Houle’s team was not inspired by it during the second clash in less than a month between these section rivals.
I really didn’t like our effort tonight. We played catch-up hockey and the execution was really poor. You’re going to lose matches, but not showing up… I think it’s important that the players know that the effort must be there.
Jean-François Houle, head coach of the Rocket
The contrast with the previous duel pierced the screen. The Senators (9-8-3) got off to a good start again, but this time they were simply hungrier than their opponents from start to finish.
The Laval residents have not had the habit of giving up this season, even in defeat. On Wednesday, however, the players quickly gave up after goals from Egor Sokolov and Garrett Pilon.
“We had shown this desire to come back in almost every match, we suffered some close defeats recently, but tonight we had no legs and emotions were low. We were skating in the mud. The two quick goals were difficult for our mentality,” observed Houle.
In addition to having to play catch-up hockey, the Rocket (5-12-4) didn’t help themselves by receiving several penalties. The players somehow fell into the trap set by Bokondji Imama and the Senators, who did not hesitate to disturb the crowd favorites.
“We received several penalties. We did well on the penalty kill, but you lose momentum and you don’t play five on five. There were too many penalties again this evening,” said captain Gabriel Bourque.
In addition to Sokolov and Pilon, who also scored in an empty net, defensemen Tyler Kleven and Lassi Thomson made the red light shine for the Senators, who signed a second victory in a row. Kevin Mandolese finished the game with 28 saves.
Riley McKay and Lucas Condotta responded for the Rocket, who suffered an eighth consecutive defeat. Strauss Mann surrendered four times in 27 shots.
It was Arber Xhekaj’s first career game in the American Hockey League. The big defender was demoted Monday, after returning from an upper-body injury. Known for his physical play and his ability to throw down the gloves, Xhekaj kept things rather quiet on Wednesday.
“He had a decent match. He committed a few turnovers, but it wasn’t just him, Houle analyzed. He arrived during a game which was not easy for everyone and during which we were trailing. It’s his first game and he wants to evaluate what’s happening on the ice. »
The Rocket will return to action at home Friday night, in the first of two clashes against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
More quick goals
On November 15, the Senators took 5:06 to take a 2-0 lead. On Wednesday, they needed 5:24.
Forgotten in the left circle after accepting a pass from Thomson, Sokolov fired a one-timer that hit the post to Mann’s right before finally finding its way behind the Rocket goaltender.
Just 99 seconds later, Jiri Smejkal did some good work behind Mann’s net and brought the puck forward. Pilon won his battle and pushed the disc behind the red line.
The game came alive following a check from Xhekaj and the two teams began to get out of hand. Imama, in particular, was looking for a client and invited Xhekaj to fight, but the latter wisely refused.
While Laval focused their efforts on Imama and physical play, the Senators hit the scoreboard early in the second period. As a penalty on Brady Keeper was about to be called, Kleven fired a shot from the point that broke Joshua Roy’s stick before deceiving Mann’s vigilance between the pads.
Imama’s indiscipline opened the door for the home team, who had three consecutive power play chances, including one complete, to close the gap. Unable to really establish themselves in enemy territory, Jean-François Houle’s men even received a cold shower before the end of the engagement.
After Condotta abruptly ended the Rocket’s power play, Thomson fired a point shot that weaved through traffic to shake things up.
While the Rocket had removed Mann in favor of a sixth player during a power play, Pilon threaded the needle to increase the Senators’ lead to 5-0.
McKay and Condotta scored within 95 seconds to reignite the fans’ flames, but it wasn’t enough.