Laval Rocket | A victory which left Pascal Vincent with good feelings

The Laval Rocket won a game they had no right to lose on Sunday afternoon against the Bridgeport Islanders, one of the worst teams not only in the American League Eastern Conference, but in all of the circuit.

After some heartbreaking defeats in recent weeks, the Laval team deserved a comforting victory which, according to head coach Pascal Vincent, carried lessons and which arrived at a time when good news seems to be emerging at the moment. ‘horizon.

Powered by a spectacular performance from Florian 6-2 at Total Mortgage Arena.

The Islanders presented themselves in front of their fans after seven consecutive defeats, including six regular losses. But with his record of 3-6-1 in his 10 previous outings, the Rocket’s machine was barely better oiled than that of his opponent.

Also, after the 4-2 loss against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday evening, the Rocket had slipped a notch in the North section standings, to third place.

However, Sunday’s victory allowed the Rocket (16-8-2, 34 points) to move up to the second level, one point behind the Cleveland Monsters. Also, she came to confirm facts that may escape the average fan, but not the discerning eye of a coach as experienced as Vincent.

“Yesterday (Saturday), we had 36 shots against 21. They had three goals after 11 shots. I’m not just talking about the goalkeeper. That’s not my point, really not. But we don’t give much. It’s just that yesterday it came back. It was a match like that. We gave ourselves a chance to get back into the match,” Vincent said on Sunday about the match his club played the day before.

“There were a lot of games where we put ourselves in a position to win and we just didn’t finish them. We miss them, or for whatever reason, we can’t finish. I often talk to the team about the process. If we focus on that, we will continue to grow. The process is relatively good. I’m not too worried about the way we play. Even though I would say that in the last 10 matches, the process has been good. It wasn’t perfect, obviously, but overall we played good hockey, enough to win. We have a young team and we have to get through that. And at the same time, it gives us a good assessment of the character of the players and the character of the team. So far the guys are responding really well. »

The Rocket defeated the Islanders on Sunday with a group made up of 11 forwards and seven defensemen. One of those defensemen was Noel Hoefenmayer, recently acquired from the Bakersfield Condors, a club affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers, and who had not yet worn a Rocket uniform.

“Several factors went into this decision. On Saturday, (defender Joshua) Jacobs was injured during the match. We finished with five and we overtaxed our defensive players a little. At the same time, we wanted to see Hoefenmayer,” Vincent explained first.

“At the same time, there are certain players that we could use on two lines. It allowed me to see different players with Florian and (Luke) Tuch. It was a day where we learned a lot,” noted Vincent.

The Rocket head coach also appeared reassured by the work of goalkeeper Luke Cavallin over the weekend.

Inserted in the middle of the match on Saturday, Cavallin blocked all nine pucks aimed at him against the Wolf Pack. On Sunday, he made 16 saves against the Islanders, with both of their goals coming on the power play.

“We had planned to play him today. (Saturday) it happened a little faster, but he did well and today he did well again. I’m happy for him and it’s good for the team too. It gives us a little depth. It’s interesting. »

After a Monday off, the Rocket will benefit from three full days of training before facing the Belleville Senators next Friday at Place Bell. This will be the first of six straight home games.

This meeting could mark the return in net of goaltender Jakub Dobes, who has not played since an injury sustained during the December 6 game against the Toronto Marlies. In fact, Vincent indicated that if the Rocket had a game on the schedule on Monday, Dobes could have taken part.

Also, Vincent indicated that Filip Mesar (lower body), sidelined since October 25, is approaching a return to play, as are Vincent Arseneau (ill) and Brandon Gignac (lower body), inactive since November 22.