(Laval) Who, in life, dreams of going to Syracuse? Probably not Rocket players, but they’ll have to go back anyway.
Posted at 6:32 p.m.
Updated at 6:50 p.m.
So decided the gods of hockey, who certainly did not favor local players, Saturday afternoon at Place Bell, in Laval. The Rocket skaters had the opportunity to end it, but instead, they will have to hit the road again in order to play a fifth and final game in this series.
This proves necessary as the Crunch picked up a resounding 3-0 win in Game 4 of the series, now tied at 2-2. The decisive game will take place Tuesday night in Syracuse.
Cheered on by 10,043 cheering fans, the Rocket players took to the ice with energy…but it didn’t last long. Too often caught in their own territory, the locals were never really able to get going and, above all, they were unable to carry out sustained attacks.
On the other side, the Crunch presented himself with a better filled reservoir of energy, and the stunner came at the start of the third period, during a penalty to Cédric Paquette, who had just argued with Daniel Walcott in goal.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The visitors took advantage of this numerical advantage to score a goal, that of Remi Elie, while goalkeeper Cayden Primeau had been jostled in front of his net. The referees, however, ruled that the game was legal.
This did not suit Jean-François Houle so much.
“It was the final decision, and we can’t help it,” replied the Rocket coach. In the American League, we can’t demand the video replay… But anyway, they played a better game than us. They played with more desperation, and we should have been able to match their level of energy. »
The Rocket, which had chosen to start this game with a formation of 7 defenders and 11 attackers, could not take advantage of the hasty departure of goalkeeper Maxime Lagacé, injured at the start of the game. His replacement, Hugo Alnefelt, was not particularly threatened by the Laval players.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Cayden Primeau made 34 saves in net for the Rocket.
“We’re going to swallow this one and forget about it,” noted forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. We’re going to Syracuse to win that game. We didn’t play so well in our zone, we had a hard time getting out.
“It is certain and certain, when a goalkeeper arrives in the same way cold in a match, you have to challenge him a little more than that. They played well, and we played less well, it’s a mix of the two. Their goalkeeper had it a little easy, we didn’t throw enough pucks at the net. Towards the end of the match, we managed to throw more, but you still have to throw more than that. »
The match was played under the sign of emotion, and on both sides there were spectacular checks and players who had their bones shaken, as it should be.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Gabriel Bourque
“There are no easy games in the playoffs,” noted forward Alex Belzile. You have to start the games strong and want more than that. They started out stronger than us… All the matches are physical, it’s the playoffs and that’s what we play for. This defeat is not the end of the world, but we must forget everything and get back on Tuesday. »
By the way, don’t we say that everything is possible in the ultimate matches? That’s kind of what Alex Belzile also believes.
“We hit two posts starting on the same power play…we didn’t play badly, but in the playoffs, it’s so close. It will take us more goals which are not so beautiful… But I am not worried. I think we will bounce back. »