(Laval) If ever the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens – who is also that of the Laval Rocket -, Kent Hughes, wants to help the Habs’ farm club, perhaps he should try to compromise to obtain the services of Brian Halonen. Because the Utica Comets striker is real poison against the Laval team.
The Rocket let leads of 2-0 and 3-1 slip away and suffered a third loss in a row, by a score of 4-3 in front of 7,745 spectators at Place Bell on Wednesday evening.
Halonen had two goals and an assist, including the winning goal with 38.6 seconds on the clock during a Lucas Condotta penalty.
In five games against the Rocket this season, Halonen has six goals and two assists. Against the rest of the American League, Halonen had three goals and an assist in nine games.
After the game, Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle described Halonen as a player who wins his battles along the boards, who is good on the forecheck and who creates turnovers.
The rest of his analysis couldn’t be clearer: the Rocket forgot to play for 60 minutes, and that’s what sank him.
“When you don’t respect the game, that’s what happens. You can’t show up and just play a period,” said Houle.
“We took a 2-0 lead, we thought it would be easy and we got what we deserved. It is important to respect the game and play for three periods if you want to win hockey games. »
The number of throws supports Houle’s words. The Rocket got 30, including 19 in the first period, but only three in the third period.
Graeme Clarke (1-2) and Robbie Russo (0-3) also contributed to this victory for the visitors. Santeri Hatakka also beat Jakub Dobes, who made 37 saves.
Emil Heineman, Brandon Gignac and Jan Mysak found the back of the net against Isaac Poulter.
According to Houle, the Rocket’s fourth line, made up of Mysak, Filip Cederqvist and Riley McKay, was the best on the team.
“If your fourth line is your best line, you might be in trouble. We are looking for other players. We would like to see them a little more now,” Houle also declared.
Friday and Saturday, the Rocket will try to get back up when they will each face the Rochester Americans, another rival from the North section.
Good first, not so good second
The Rocket exercised almost total domination in the first twenty, only weakening slightly during the last five minutes of play. However, the Laval team had time to give themselves a 2-0 lead.
By insisting with Lias Andersson in front of Poulter’s net, Heineman opened the scoring with his eighth of the season at 4:42.
Some eight minutes later, Gignac collected his 13e in 2023-24, following a nice pass from Xavier Simoneau.
The Rocket had a great opportunity to add to their lead early in the second period during a power play, their second of the evening.
As on the first occasion, the Laval team generated absolutely nothing. And suddenly, the tide turned to the point where the visitors, after 40 minutes of play, had caught up with the Rocket in terms of shots on goal, and almost in the score.
Even for almost eight minutes in the first half of the middle period, the Comets directed 13 straight shots at Dobes.
“We stopped playing and every time there was a timeout — the ones that allow the attendants to scrape off the excess snow that accumulates on the ice — we tried to rally the players. But it didn’t work tonight,” Houle said.
Dobes was generally solid during this stretch, except in front of Hatakka.
At 4:41, or 11 seconds after leaving the penalty box, the Comets defenseman beat Dobes with a glove-side shot that the Rocket goaltender would no doubt have liked to see again.
Mysak gave the Rocket a two-goal lead again at 11:27 when his attempted pass to the front of the net went against Topias Vilen before surprising Poulter.
Mysak’s goal was his 10e of the season.
Clarke, however, brought the Comets within a goal of the Rocket thanks to a one-timer that gave Dobes no chance, with just over four minutes remaining in the period.
Clarke then contributed to the Comets’ tying goal, scored by Halonen with another one-timer, just 93 seconds into the third period, and 24 seconds after the start of a William Trudeau penalty.
Halonen had not said his last word.