(Laval) Egor Sokolov beat Cayden Primeau with an accurate shot into the top of the net in the shootout and gave the Belleville Senators a 2-1 victory over the Laval Rocket on Wednesday in a game of American Hockey League at Place Bell.
Posted at 10:37 p.m.
The game was of paramount importance in the race for the playoffs. North Division rivals Rocket (28-21-4, 60 points) and Senators (29-23-3, 61 points) both had 59 points before the game. The Senators ended the Rocket’s two-game winning streak.
Despite the sparkling performance of Primeau, who blocked 40 of the Rocket’s 41 shots towards the cage, the Laval team conceded fifth place in the North section to the Ontario team.
The Montreal Canadiens, however, have a handful of games in hand on the teams ahead of them in the standings. The Rocket notably played two games less than the Senators.
Late in the second period, Cédric Paquette scored his second goal in his third game with the Rocket.
In a two-on-one run with Nate Schnarr — in his first game for the Rocket since acquiring the Utica Comets — he chose a low shot that surprised goaltender Mads Sogaard.
Nicolas Mattinen was an accomplice of the goal.
The lead was short-lived as the Senators replied less than two minutes after Paquette’s goal. Clark Bishop flashed the red light behind the Rocket goaltender.
Primeau made important saves in the final moments of the extra period to extend the duration of the duel. He was, however, beaten twice in as many attempts in the shootout.
Jesse Ylönen and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard failed to rattle the ropes for the Rocket in a shootout.
Sogaard made 29 saves in the win.
Jean-François Houle’s squad will take to the ice at Place Bell for the fourth time in a row on Friday to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
She will wrap up her five-game home streak on Saturday afternoon against the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins.