American League | The Rocket wins 3-2 in overtime against the Bears

(Laval) The Laval Rocket should never be counted as defeated this season.

Sean Farrell and Laurent Dauphin scored 65 seconds apart to erase a two-goal deficit in the third period, Adam Engstrom scored the decisive goal in overtime and the Laval team defeated the Hershey Bears 3-2 on Wednesday at the Bell Square.

The Montreal Canadiens’ farm club came from behind for the third time in four games to take first place in the North section of the American Hockey League (AHL) with a record of 24 -11-3.

“In an ideal world, we take the lead and we keep it, we close the game and we are correct,” said head coach Pascal Vincent, who praised the work of his team to improve each period against one of the best teams on the circuit.

“I’m quite impressed with the resilience. We have no doubt, but at the same time, that they continue to do it in important matches is impressive. »

Cayden Primeau gave in on the second shot aimed at him in the game, but looked good on a few occasions. Author of 17 saves, he has won his five matches since his return with the Rocket.

Defenseman Jake Massie of Montreal opened the scoring at 6:57 of the first period, then Chase Priskie doubled the Bears’ lead before the end of the period. Hunter Shepard stopped 28 pucks and the two-time defending Calder Cup champions suffered their first loss in five games.

Demoted by the Montreal Canadiens in the morning, Owen Beck played a sixth game in eight days, four of which were with the Rocket. The return of the attacker was beneficial for the Rocket, deprived of injured forward Joshua Roy and defender William Trudeau.

Beck, who reunited with his linemates Jared Davidson and Filip Mesar, was nevertheless cleared from the scoresheet.

“Six in eight for him, and a lot of emotion there, obviously, it’s draining too,” Vincent commented. I found it good. He moved his feet. I tried to manage his playing time a little, but I thought he performed well. »

The Rocket will begin a short two-game road trip on Friday when they take on the Hartford Wolf Pack. He will continue with a duel against the Providence Bruins before returning to Place Bell to host the Wolf Pack on January 31.

A costly first

After a few minutes during which the two teams observed and studied each other, Lucas Condotta made the first shot of the match at 4:02. Well placed to recover the return, Xavier Simoneau was hooked by Aaron Ness, who was hunting. The Rocket was unable to take advantage.

A few seconds later, Massie opened the scoring by bypassing Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to break away from Primeau, whom he beat between the pads. It was his second goal of the campaign.

Harvey-Pinard opened the door for the Bears again at 14:01, this time being penalized for a high stick. Placed in front of the net, Chase Priskie deflected a pass shot from Ethan Bear. Primeau blocked this first attempt, but Priskie quickly placed the return into the top corner to make it 2-0.

Determined to come from behind, the Rocket started the second period strong. Condotta had two excellent scoring chances, but each time Shepard said no. Simoneau, however, slowed down his team’s momentum by receiving a penalty.

Condotta got the best chance to score on the Bears’ power play by going alone in front of Shepard. This time, it was an excellent retreat from Hendrix Lapierre which deprived him of his first goal of the season.

Condotta still finished the game with two assists.

“The Condotta trio was good, very good,” underlined Vincent. They created momentum, they were good on the forecheck. Condotta will score at some point. He’s doing everything right now. »

A few good shoulder shots from both sides, including a check in the middle of the ice from Vincent Arseneau, increased the intensity a notch at the start of the third period. Both teams avoided overflows.

“He told us at the start of the season that he was going to be the fans’ favorite. Mission accomplished, Vincent said of Arseneau. You can feel the crowd getting into the match. It brings energy. When he is in training, he brings us a lot. »

After the tumult, Farrell reduced the gap with a shot from the slot thanks to a feed from Noel Hoefenmayer from the corner of the ice. Before the fans could even catch their breath, Dauphin created the tie by recovering the return of Alex Barré-Boulet.

“After the second period, we felt we deserved better,” said Dauphin. We spoke to each other properly and we know that we are capable [de remonter]. Of course we will try to take the lead, but it shows that we are resilient and that we have hope that we can come back. »

Engstrom then broke the deadlock at 1:03 of the overtime period with a great individual effort. It was his fourth goal of the season.

The end of the game was marked by a worrying moment as Bears forward Michael Sgarbossa remained lying on the ice for a long time after a fall on the sequence that led to Engstrom’s goal. However, he was able to get up and leave the ice with the help of his teammates.