(Laval) His players did not offer great performances this weekend, but the head coach of the Laval Rocket, Jean-François Houle, did not completely throw stones at them.
“The players won’t say it, but personally as head coach, I may have managed the week poorly. »
That’s what Houle had to say after the Rocket’s embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies on Saturday afternoon. It was then a second setback in as many days against the Marlies, who took advantage of it to distance themselves in the race for the North section series.
Obviously, the head coach of Laval did not hesitate to mention that his men had not provided the desired effort, but he stressed that fatigue had probably had a say in these two failures.
During the last weekend, the Rocket played three matches in as many days and in as many cities, collecting three points out of a possible six. After a bye on Monday, the team held an optional practice on Tuesday before signing a courageous shootout victory at the expense of the Hershey Bears, the best team in the American League, on Wednesday evening. Only a handful of players trained on Thursday.
Although Houle would perhaps like to review his plan for the week, his players still left two full houses hungry this weekend, against a direct rival.
Friday night, they lacked opportunism on the power play and were robbed by goaltender Joseph Woll. During the second clash, however, the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club had only itself to blame.
“It’s very rare that you have to play six games in nine days, with travel. The fatigue was really there this evening. Still, you have to show more character than that. Our team was young today and there were a lot of mistakes. Not scoring on our chances on Friday may have been difficult on the players’ minds. It may have continued today,” Houle said.
The American League being what it is, it is normal to see young people make mistakes. It’s part of their development. What was concerning this weekend, however, was the lack of urgency in the play of some veterans.
A few of them had the opportunity to showcase themselves in the NHL, with the Canadian, while others perhaps would have liked to get this chance. The trade deadline is also fast approaching, which may distract some players.
The challenge for Houle and his staff will be to ensure that the players’ focus remains on the task at hand in the American League, so as not to relive the streaks of failure that raged at the start of the season.
“It’s not easy at this time of year. Some may be angry or uncertain about their place in training. And when you lose a match like that, it’s even worse because it exposes several things. This will be part of our meetings this week. We have to deal with that every day in the American League,” said the head coach.
The Laval squad has seen some of its young players stand out positively recently and Houle did not hesitate to use them. He has not ruled out giving them more chances in future matches, but he believes that it is no longer the time to punish veterans who give less.
At this point in the season, it’s no longer the time to pass messages. We have gone elsewhere.
Jean-François Houle, head coach of the Laval Rocket
“I’m sure the players will have a little meeting behind closed doors to talk about it, but I think we’re past that,” he argued.
The Rocket has a day off on Sunday, and he should theoretically train on Monday, before heading to Bridgeport. He will cross swords with the Islanders on Wednesday evening.