(Springfield) They sometimes say anything can happen in Game 7, but in the case of the Rocket on Wednesday night in Springfield, nothing good happened.
Updated yesterday at 10:54 p.m.
Errors. Turnarounds. Passes in the skates. Shots wide of the net. A dreadful start to the game set the tone for the rest of the night, which ended 4-0 in favor of the Thunderbirds.
Just like that was the end of the Rocket.
As the Thunderbirds celebrated on the ice at the end of the night, wearing caps and championship t-shirts (never a good idea, but good) in preparation for their appearance in the Grand Finals, starting Sunday in Chicago, the players from the Rocket passed silently by the team buffet, in the corner of the locker room. The atmosphere was much less festive than Monday evening at the same place.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the return by coach to Laval, in the middle of the night, was going to be long.
“I’m proud of the guys,” said forward Alex Belzile. We surprised everyone all year. We lost, but we gave it our all…”
Defeat is never easy or pleasant, because it usually comes with regrets. Rocket players will be able to think of the missed opportunities, quite numerous during this difficult evening.
Belzile, among others, found himself with a corner of the net wide open just for him in the first half. “I missed that and I have no excuse. The puck went on the outside of the post. It happens… ”
But it happened too often and, ironically, it was two former members of the Canadiens organization who sank the Montreal school club.
The first is goalkeeper Charlie Lindgren, author of some important saves, notably on a return seized by Cédric Paquette in the first period. Later, at the start of the third period, Lindgren will succeed in the steal of the evening, the mitt, against an incredulous Danick Martel. “He made some big saves,” admitted defender Xavier Ouellet. If we manage to convert our chances from the start, it’s a different game. »
The second is Matthew Peca, who scored his club’s first goal, on the power play in addition, a first in 30 occasions in these circumstances for the locals since the start of this series.
A bit on the same theme, it is also a former player of the Canadian who hurt the Rocket on the next goal, the second of the Thunderbirds, signed by Dakota Joshua. This goal was scored because Devante Smith-Pelly, out of breath, tried to send the puck deep into enemy territory, but his too weak shot was intercepted… and the puck ended up on the other butt for the goal.
The locals scored their third goal on the power play as well, and this time it was a poor clearance from Rafaël Harvey-Pinard that turned into a costly turnover, which led to the goal from Nathan Todd.
The Rocket did try to get back in the game, and Cayden Primeau did everything to allow his team to perform a miracle, he who faced a total of 40 shots, but it didn’t happen.
We expected such a match from them. They were able to seize their chances, and Charlie made some big saves for them, that’s for sure. They have a very good team… It’s not easy at the moment, but I’m extremely proud of our guys. We really gave it our all.
Xavier Ouellet
In the American League, players come and go, and teams can change quickly. Will this Rocket, so astonishing, be back? Certainly not in its current form. Players will leave, others will arrive.
Maybe that’s also what the Rocket members had a hard time digesting on Wednesday night in Springfield: there’s an end to everything, and that was the end of this chapter.
Who will be there to write the next one?
“What I’m going to remember is that our guys played with passion,” concluded head coach Jean-François Houle. That’s all we could ask of them. »