Laval – Losing is boring. But sometimes it may be necessary. Especially for a young club still learning.
While his merits were being praised in all the stands for his resounding start to the season, the best in its history (9-2-0), the Laval Rocket finally saw its winning streak stop at eight Saturday evening in Belleville , during the second game of a doubleheader against the Senators.
Beyond the result, it was above all the way in which his young team lost that tickled head coach Pascal Vincent after the match, and again on Monday morning, as the team returned to training. at Place Bell.
After snatching a 4-3 shootout victory the day before, without even leading once on the scoreboard during the match, the Laval team the next day squandered a two-goal lead that they held after 39 minutes of play. , losing 3-2.
“Two points out of four and a .500 record on the road, we could say we’re satisfied, but I don’t think we are,” Vincent commented. Because the second match, we were in control until we lost control a little bit. focus about our identity.
“We had that match, but we didn’t have it for 60 minutes. And we cannot accept that. The players don’t accept it. It’s a great lesson for our team. »
This call to order, formulated by a tough division rival, could not have come at a better time, believes veteran Alex Barré-Boulet, who returned to play at the end of the week after having treated an upper body injury.
“It’s not a bad deal. There is no one who wants to lose, but at the same time, it proves that if we don’t play our best, we are capable of being beaten. It’s a little slap in the face that reminds everyone that if we don’t play at our best, anyone can beat anyone in this league. It’s learning. »
“We were talking about it with the players this morning: how are we going to use this to learn? It does not guarantee that we will win the next match, far from it, but it is an opportunity to understand why it happened and to determine how we are going to fix everything,” added the coach.
Still on the road
Having just returned to Laval, the Rocket will board his bus again on Tuesday in preparation for another week spent on the roads of New York State.
The Canadian’s farm club will first stop in Rochester for a duel on Wednesday evening against the Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ farm club, after which it will head to Syracuse to face the Crunch and the hopes of the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday. Then, the next day, the Rocket will stop again in Rochester to challenge the Americans for victory.
“Rochester, I must have punched them 60 times in the last two years…” feels Barré-Boulet, who made more than one visit to the Blue Cross Arena during his six-campaign stay with the Crunch.
“It’s going to be good matches. [Rochester]it’s a team that has a lot of skill and a lot of speed, so we’ll have to be physical against them. And at Syracuse, I know they have some players that have returned to the game, so it’s going to be a different team than the one we faced here at the beginning of the year. »
One thing is certain, Barré-Boulet and his teammates will have to demonstrate discipline to maintain their winning percentage which currently stands at .818, the best on the circuit tied with that of the Milwaukee Admirals. Over the two games against the Senators, the Rocket offered 10 power plays to the opponent, giving in on three occasions.
Pascal Vincent will never criticize his flock for being intense, as long as they do it intelligently and don’t let themselves be tempted by a double-check or a superfluous blow with the stick. Of the ten power plays allocated to the Senators this weekend, six were the direct consequence of inadequate use of the work tool.
“Referees are human beings too, they make good and bad decisions. But there are calls where we put the referee on the spot. They had no choice [de sévir] », admitted Vincent.
“I think we can learn to better control our emotions. »
Next class, Wednesday.
