(Syracuse) Brandon Gignac broke the tie late in the third period and the Laval Rocket defeated the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 on Saturday at Upstate Medical University Arena in Game 2 of their Divisional Semi-Final North.
Posted at 10:01 p.m.
The Rocket thus tied the series 1-1 in the best of five games. The third and fourth parts will be presented Thursday and Saturday at Place Bell.
Gignac scored the winning goal with 1:47 remaining in regulation time. He was forgotten behind the Crunch defense and scored on the backhand.
After making several defensive mistakes in Game 1, which they lost 5-3, the Rocket redeemed themselves with a much more convincing performance in their territory on Saturday. And when the Crunch knocked on the door, Cayden Primeau was solid.
Primeau made 37 saves. Veteran Kevin Poulin was preferred to him for the first meeting of the series.
Alex Belzile and Jesse Ylönen also hit the mark for the Rocket, which is making the American Hockey League playoffs for the first time in its five-year history.
Simon Ryfors and Daniel Walcott replied for the Crunch, while Maxime Lagacé stopped 25 shots.
After scoring two power play goals the day before, the Crunch was shut out five times in Game 2. For its part, the Rocket was 1-for-4 on Saturday.
Defender Mattias Norlinder and forward Devante Smith-Pelly were also added to the Rocket roster, taking over from forwards Lucas Condotta and Jean-Christophe Beaudin. This means that head coach Jean-François Houle had 11 attackers and seven defenders.
Primeau at the height
The Crunch kicked off the hostilities by scoring after 5: 37 of play. Ryfors deflected a shot from Ryan Jones behind Primeau.
The local team returned to the charge in the following minutes, but came up against Primeau.
The good shoulders were numerous thereafter, as were the scrums. Cédric Paquette went for it with a flexible back against Walcott, while Pierre-Cédric Labrie sounded Rocket defenseman Corey Schueneman.
The Rocket tied the game with 2:27 to go in the first period on a power play. Ylönen moved the strings with a powerful one-timer shot.
Walcott was then briefly sent to dreamland by taking a good shoulder shot from Louie Belpedio, but the Crunch striker stayed in the game.
The Crunch had some good times coming back from intermission, but Primeau closed the door.
The Rocket finally took the lead at 6:27, when Belzile received a perfect pass into the slot from rival Remi Elie. Belzile followed up with a nice feint, then a precise backhand shot.
Danick Martel missed an open net for the Rocket on the restart, then the visitors bombarded Lagacé’s cage.
The keeper of the Crunch, however, was intractable. Lagacé frustrated Belpedio during a Rocket power play, then made a spectacular save with his mitt at the expense of Ylönen.
The Crunch quietly regained its momentum. Primeau had to be alert to stop Anthony Richard on a shorthanded breakaway. The Rocket goaltender also stretched the right leg to make a tough save against Cole Koepke late in the second period.
The Rocket limited the Crunch’s chances in the third period until Walcott tied the game with 7:20 left in regulation. The Crunch agitator took advantage of a comeback after a push from Gabriel Fortier following a turnover in the neutral zone.
The Crunch got a great chance to close the books before extra time when Ylönen was called for high batting with less than five minutes to go, but Primeau closed the door.
Gignac then played the heroes by going about it twice to beat Lagacé with 1:47 to go in regulation time.