For a second game in a row, the Laval Rocket can say mission accomplished, as they smothered the Rochester Americans and won 3-1 at Place Bell on Monday.
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Under the watchful eye of his colleague Samuel Montembeault, who watched the game from the front row at Place Bell, Cayden Primeau continued to shine in front of the Laval net. The American keeper has only allowed three or more goals once since the start of the playoffs.
He also reserved the best of his 31 saves for Arttu Ruotsalainen, the American League’s leading scorer since the start of the playoffs, in the second period. The Finn, however, knew how to take his revenge by becoming the only scorer of his team.
The Americans had sent a clear message to the Rocket at the end of the meeting, Sunday, in a losing cause: if they were to fall, they would try to drag their rivals in their fall. By dealing him a vicious blow to the head, striker Ben Holmstrom also prevented the young Mattias Norlinder from playing on Monday.
In addition to responding to the “Amerks” with violent checks throughout the game, the Rocket showed discipline and dominated their opponent in scoring. Every head coach’s dream!
Reinforcing Norlinder, forward Lucas Condotta was sent into the fray on the fourth line. Houle’s gamble paid off big, as he nailed the coffin for the Rochester team in the third period.
A good start
Despite crushing their rivals 6-1 in Game 1 of the series, the Rocket failed to open the scoring.
He made sure to start the hostilities in the best way by keeping the backs of the “Amerks” on the heels, applying the sustained forecheck. The hard work of the trio of Alex Belzile, Cédric Paquette and Brandon Gignac finally paid off when the latter shook the ropes by jumping on a return throw.
And although Dell seemed totter on several sequences, he managed to limit the damage by repelling 16 of the 17 assaults of the Rocket in the first period.
The Paquette trio, however, added some at the start of the middle period. In a well-orchestrated four-player counterattack, the Gaspé native set the table for Louie Belpedio, who seemed to have surprised himself by lodging a major league shot in the top corner.
The Rocket will visit Rochester on Wednesday with a 2-0 series lead.