The Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate drop in North Division Standings
by Chris G, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens blogger
The Laval Rocket returned to Place Bell to host a double header against the Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets) on Wednesday and Friday, before travelling to face the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) on Saturday.
Wednesday: Manitoba Moose 5 - Laval Rocket 4
The Moose opened the scoring while Noel Hoefenmayer was serving a minor penalty. During this time, David Reinbacher slid on the ice to block a pass, but the puck returned to the attacker's stick, allowing him to score. Logan Mailloux tied the game before the first intermission by beating the goalie from the slot.
Manitoba struck twice early in the second period before Sean Farrell found Alex Barre-Boulet in the slot for a goal. Later, Mailloux equalized again, using Florian Xhekaj as a screen to get the puck behind the goal line. The visitors scored two goals in the first three minutes of the third period to take the lead, maintaining a two-goal advantage until the final minute when Hoefenmayer scored with Connor Hughes on the bench for the extra attacker.
“We created enough to score more goals but we had defensive breakdowns that we normally don’t see. Their was a lot of momentum switches during the game. It wasn’t my favourite game,” Pascal Vincent said.
Friday: Manitoba Moose 1 - Laval Rocket 5
The Rocket got on the board early into the game on a sequence that began with Logan Nijhoff forecheck that led to Alex Beaucage at the faceoff circle for a shot passed the goalie. Manitoba answered back 1:13 later, when Adam Engstrom lost a battle in the corner that resulted into a shot from the slot for the goal.
Joshua Roy gave Laval the lead before the intermission when he accepted a pass from Sean Farrell for a power goal. A great individual effort by Farrell in the third period added to the lead, as he created a turnover and used his speed to win a foot race and beat the goalie between the pads on a breakaway. Less than two minutes later, a bouncing puck ended up in the blue paint where Florian Xhekaj was waiting to knock it in the net. Laurent Dauphin added an empty netter in his first game after missing four matches with a lower body injury.
“[Manitoba] is a team that works hard and on Wednesday, they worked harder than us. The message before the game was to bring our 100% and win our battles and I think we did that well,” William Trudeau said.
Saturday: Laval Rocket 2 - Syracuse Crunch 3
Florian Xhekaj opened the scoring midway through the first period with a shot from a bad angle that found itself at the perfect spot to get in the net. The Crunch got on the board moments later while Alex Beaucage was in the penalty box. Following a scoreless middle frame, Syracuse got two passed Connor Hughes in a span of 4:19 for the lead. Laurent Dauphin cut the lead to one with a goal with less than a second remaining in regulation.
Reinbacher Impressive Debut
David Reinbacher was cleared on Wednesday and was assigned to the Rocket, where he made his season debut that night. Reinbacher had surgery in September following a left knee injury that occurred in the pre-season.
"I feel pretty good. I got a lot of trust from the coaches, that was really nice. I tried to give it back. I pretty good. It was a good pace,” noted the defenseman following his first game where he finished with minus-2 rating.
"I thought he was our best defenseman in the first half of the game. He was really good. His reads, killing plays, first pass, his ability to anticipate what was happening in front of him. I'm very impressed with him,” Vincent evaluated the 20-year old’s season debut.
The following night, he obtained two shots on goal and plus-3 rating in the rematch versus the Moose. As part of his return to play protocol set by the Canadiens doctors, the fifth overall pick of the 2023 Entry draft was not dressed for the contest against the Crunch.
Up Next
Vincent’s troops have lost four of their last six games and dropped to second place of the North Division. They head on the road to face the Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) on Wednesday and then return to Place Bell to begin a five-game homestand on Saturday against the Belleville Senators (Ottawa Senators).
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