(Belleville) The Laval Rocket erased a two-goal deficit to score a second victory in as many days against the Belleville Senators, this time with a score of 3-2, on Saturday.
Jared Davidson, Xavier Simoneau and Emil Heineman all scored their fifth goal of the campaign to give the Rocket a fourth straight victory. The Laval team collected at least one point in a ninth straight game, showing an 8-0-1 record during this sequence.
The Rocket thus overtook the Senators in fourth place in the North section after starting the season with seven defeats in their first eight games.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs, so we want to keep the pace. Our group is united, everyone wants to be there for each other, launched Mailloux.
“We knew we had a better team [que notre début de saison laissait croire]. »
Kasimir Kaskisuo made 45 saves. He signed a fourth victory in as many matches since joining the Rocket. He has shown an efficiency rate of .948 since his arrival.
Lassi Thompson and Matthew Highmore gave the Senators a 2-0 lead, who have lost their last three games. Quebecer Kevin Mandolese gave up three times on 32 shots.
The Rocket will return to action by hosting the Utica Comets at Place Bell on Wednesday.
A bad start
Thompson opened the scoring at 3:17 of the first period. Following a turnover by Gabriel Bourque leaving the zone, the Senators kept control of the puck and Thomson deceived Kaskisuo with a good shot into the upper part of the net.
Highmore doubled the home favorites’ lead at 7:02 of the second. He took advantage of a lifted pass from Garrett Pilon during a two-on-one run to also score his fifth of the season.
A few moments later, Riley McKay tried to revive his team by throwing down the gloves against Bokondji Imama. It was the second battle of the match after that between Logan Mailloux and Zack Ostapchuk, which occurred after only 23 seconds of play.
A major penalty by Heineman for obstruction against Jiri Smejkal midway through the previous day’s match between the two teams ignited the powder. In total, the referees awarded 85 minutes of penalties in this 5-2 victory for the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club.
“They came out strong, but we showed character, and we were able to beat them,” said defender Tobie Paquette-Bisson, speaking of the comeback that followed.
Davidson got the job started for the Rocket with 1:39 left in the second. He took advantage of a throw return after a shot from Lias Anderson to make the red light sparkle. Just 42 seconds later, Simoneau tied the game when he redirected a clever backhand pass from defenseman William Trudeau through the slot.
Heineman gave the Rocket the lead for the first time in the game after 37 seconds of play in the last period. Mailloux spotted Philippe Maillet, who found Heineman on the other side of the ice with a cross-ice pass.
Heineman made a one-timer to reach the five-goal mark. For Maillet, it was a ninth game in a row with at least one point.
Tempers flared again when Brennan Saulnier viciously tackled Kaskisuo at 4:02 of the third period. He received a major penalty for obstruction, but the Rocket was unable to take advantage.