(Laval) In a duel where Quebec players were in the spotlight, the Laval Rocket offered a 6-3 victory to its supporters against the Syracuse Crunch, Wednesday night at Place Bell.
Of the nine goals that were scored on both sides, seven came from the Quebecois palette – four for the Rocket and three for the Crunch.
Among the locals, Alex Belzile and Joël Teasdale each had a goal and an assist, while William Trudeau and Olivier Galipeau took advantage of this first game since the holiday break to score their first career goal in the American Hockey League.
Rem Pitlick, with a goal and an assist, and Corey Schueneman also hit the target for the Rocket (11-15-4), which avenged their 2-1 loss to the same Crunch in Syracuse just before Christmas break.
Forward Gabriel Bourque had three assists during the duel, while Kevin Poulin made 29 saves.
On the visitors’ side, Alex Barré-Boulet scored twice, including once on the power play in the third period, and Gabriel Fortier scored his sixth of the season. Despite everything, the Crunch (13-10-4) saw its winning streak come to an end at four.
After giving up five goals on 19 shots, Quebec goalkeeper Maxime Lagacé was kicked out of his net during the second intermission. Crunch head coach Benoît Groulx instead decided to send Jack LaFontaine into the fray for the final third and he blocked 13 shots.
More than 9,000 spectators were present at Place Bell to attend this meeting. The two teams will meet again on the same rink on Friday evening.