(Laval) Rafaël Harvey-Pinard scored two goals and added an assist, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Laval Rocket to victory, which was defeated 5-4 in overtime by the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday. in an American Hockey League duel.
Posted at 10:27 p.m.
The Rocket suffered a fourth straight loss (0-3-1) on the eve of the playoffs. They conceded 19 goals during this streak.
Despite a guaranteed qualification for the playoffs, the Rocket’s string of defeats put it on a tightrope.
The Rocket (.578 point average) narrowly edge the Belleville Senators (.577) for third place in the North Division. Teams that finish fourth and fifth in the division play off in a two-on-three format to advance to the first round of the playoffs. The clubs of top-3 will go directly to the first round.
However, the Laval team still has its destiny in its hands. If they win their last two duels, they will finish among the top three ranked teams.
An advance that did not last long.
Jean-François Houle’s men were the first to score for a third game in a row. A lead that they will let go for a third successive meeting.
Louie Belpedio took advantage of poor puck control by the Marlies player to draw from close range and give the Rocket the lead halfway through the first period.
Barely two minutes later, the Rocket’s first line stunned the Marlies defense. The audacious pass from Alex Belzile ended up on the stick of Jean-Sébastien Dea who gave the disc to Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. The latter only had to drop the puck in a gaping cage. It was a 20and goal this season for the tenacious Rocket winger.
The Marlies then hit the mark at the end of the first period and then at the start of the middle period to level the mark. Alex Steeves and Marc Michaelis were the other nets writers.
Rocket captain Xavier Ouellet’s shot found the back of the net to restore the lead to the Laval squad. Harvey-Pinard and Joël Teasdale were accomplices.
The second half of the second period belonged to the visitors, who scored twice in quick succession to take the lead for the first time in the game. Mikhail Abramov and Joseph Blandisi were the scorers.
The Harvey-Pinard trio once again sounded the charge for the Rocket. Belzile’s shot was redirected by Harvey-Pinard before slowly working its way under Michael Hutchinson and behind the goal line. Dea and Belzile picked up their second assist of the night on the streak.
The Marlies took advantage of a two-on-one run in overtime to beat Kevin Poulin. Joey Anderson accepted caviar from Brett Seney to hit the target and thus allow the Marlies to get the extra point.
Poulin stopped 17 shots.
Hutchinson stopped 23 shots in the win.
Belzile found himself on the first line to make up for the absence of Jesse Ylönen, who contracted a virus.
The two teams will meet again on Thursday, still at Place Bell. The Rocket will then enjoy a day off and conclude its season on Saturday, in Syracuse, against the Crunch.