Already having to contend with the promotion of Anthony Richard, the Laval Rocket lost the services of forward Brandon Gignac in a 2-1 loss to the Crunch in Syracuse.
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Gignac had to leave the game in the second period, hampered by an injury. The Repentignois also had his best moments of the campaign, having scored at least one point in his last five games.
Remember that the infirmary of the Laval training is already congested. Cayden Primeau, Xavier Simoneau, Nate Schnarr and Danick Martel are among the crippled.
In their absence, the irreducible Rafaël Harvey-Pinard responded by flashing the red light at the very end of the match. While the Rocket had withdrawn its goalkeeper for the benefit of a sixth skater, the Sagueneen reached the plateau of 10 goals with the help of a backhand shot.
Between the Crunch posts, Jack LaFontaine made no other missteps. He made 31 saves to earn his first victory of the season in the American League.
The hosts quickly forged a two-goal lead in the first period, scoring twice in 1:11.
Gemel Smith was the first to shake the ropes behind Kevin Poulin, taking advantage of an excellent pass from Gage Goncalves. At the same time, he blackened the score sheet in a 13th consecutive game.
Moments later, former Sherbrooke Phoenix Félix Robert set up Lucas Edmonds’ second goal of the season.
The Rocket will return to Place Bell on Friday, where they will face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.