American League | The Rocket defeats the Canucks 6-2

(Laval) The Laval Rocket got attack from all of its lines, en route to a 6-2 victory at the expense of the Abbotsford Canucks, Saturday evening, at Place Bell.

In a slightly more complete performance than that of Friday evening, when it triumphed 2-1 in overtime against the Canucks (14-15-2), the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club seemed in good shape despite a second confrontation in as many days.

Thanks to this second consecutive victory, the Rocket (20-10-2) kept pace with the Rochester Americans and the Cleveland Monsters for the top of the North section. He is three points behind the Americans, who are in first place.

Sean Farrell, Filip Mesar, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Vincent Arseneau, Joshua Roy and Gustav Lindstrom, in an empty net, all threaded the needle for Laval. Laurent Dauphin prepared three goals for his team.

After seeing Cayden Primeau shine on Friday, Connor Hughes gave him the answer thanks to 24 saves in the victory.

Tristen Nielsen and Ty Mueller found the back of the net for the Canucks, who suffered a sixth straight loss. Nikita Tolopilo gave up five times in 25 shots.

The Rocket will return to action next weekend, when they begin an important two-game series against the Monsters in Cleveland.

More convincing

Things started off with a bang for the Canucks, as they gained a two-man power play in the first minute of the game.

The Rocket, who was perfect the day before and who only allowed two goals in 24 shorthanded games in his previous five games, was however very tenacious on the ice. So much so that their opponents only managed to land a single shot on goal.

The Laval residents showed the visitors how to do it with an extra player, as they opened the scoring a few minutes later. Installed in the faceoff circle to the right of Tolopilo, Farrell took advantage of Dauphin’s passage to move the ropes.

Pascal Vincent’s team was able to maintain their momentum after this first goal and managed to double their lead after a few good attempts. Lindstrom, with a solid check at his blue line, and Dauphin, who won his battle against Danila Klimovich, set the table for Mesar’s first goal since his return to play on December 20.

The Abbotsford team, however, was not bothered by this goal and came out hungrier in the second period. After only 97 seconds, Jonathan Lekkerimaki recovered a puck lost by Jacobs and passed it to Nielsen, who deceived Hughes’ vigilance.

For a few minutes, the Rocket had to resist several pushes from the Canucks and that seemed to give him a little more momentum. Following a zone entry from Dauphin, William Trudeau made a routine throw towards the net, but Harvey-Pinard managed to deflect it into the top corner while trying to gain his position in front of Cole McWard.

With a second duel in 24 hours, it was probably normal to see the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club experience a little slump in the second game, but the players were much more insistent in the third. They were also rewarded with two goals to put the match out of reach.

Arseneau first got the crowd celebrating when he redirected a Jared Davidson shot past the Canucks goaltender. Then, midway through the third period, Lucas Condotta’s work along the boards helped the cause of Roy, who had been left alone in the slot.

Mueller reduced the lead for the visitors late in the match, but Lindstrom hammered the final nail into an empty cage.