The players were unanimous after Thursday’s match: the Laval Rocket had played well despite the final score.
“In general, I think we had the advantage in the match,” said defender Tobie Paquette-Bisson. We played really well. »
The Montreal Canadiens’ farm club started the game well, but did not hold up well against the Belleville Senators, who won 4-1.
Jacob Larsson, Matthew Highmore, Josh Currie and Roby Jarventie scored for the Senators. Maxence Guénette collected two assists.
Mads Sogaard stopped 30 shots for the Senators.
Emil Heineman scored for the Rocket and Jakub Dobes blocked 22 of 25 shots.
While the Rocket led 10-3 in shots, in addition to having obtained the majority of scoring chances, defender Larsson fired a fourth shot for the Senators and the puck ended up in the back of the net, at 15:03 of the first commitment.
Larsson took advantage of traffic in front of the net to beat Dobes, who never really seemed to see the puck. Highmore and Jarventie had the assists on Larsson’s net.
Shortly after, on the power play, a shot from the right from Dobes found itself in the goalkeeper’s semi-circle and Highmore took advantage of it to double his team’s lead.
The goal was not immediately awarded, as Highmore appeared to have touched the puck with his skate and the net had left its position. After consultation, the goal was awarded to the Senators, with 1:43 remaining in the first period.
After just 26 seconds of play in the second period, the Rocket obtained their second power play of the game. Jean-François Houle’s troop, however, did not manage to establish themselves in the territory of the Senators, who had no difficulty in collecting the penalty.
This missed chance hurt the Rocket, while a little over two minutes later, Currie made it 3-0 for the home team.
Heineman gave the Rocket hope by scoring his team’s first goal of the game, with 1:03 remaining in the second period. It was a first goal in six power plays for the Rocket.
“I think we worked hard,” Heineman said. We dominated them and led in shots in the first period. Our power play goal helped us and we need to build around that. »
Trailing 3-1, the Rocket led 25-14 in shots after 40 minutes.
The Rocket pulled Dobes in favor of an extra player with more than two minutes remaining in regulation. Jarventie, however, ended the debate with an empty-net goal at 18:13 of play.
Despite the defeat, the Rocket head coach did not hate his team’s performance.
“I think we played a good match,” Houle said. We controlled the puck well, but we have to find a way to score more goals. We quickly fell behind 2-0 and it’s never fun playing catch-up hockey. »
At the end of the match, the animosity escalated and the two teams exchanged a few words. The Rocket often seems to struggle against the Senators, a team against whom emotions can dictate the course of the game.
“I think it’s important for us to score the first goal against a team like the Senators,” Houle said. This is a team that talks a lot. It’s part of the game.”