The Laval Rocket’s seven-game winning streak ended Saturday afternoon at Place Bell, where the Hamilton Hammers won 2-1. The Rocket needed one more win to tie the franchise record of eight in a row, and they outshot Hamilton 34-28, but Josh Kotai made 33 saves and the only goal Laval could get came from Dillan Bentley, his first in the AHL. Hamilton, the new Islanders affiliate, had lost seven straight (0-6-1) and had not won since the season opener on Oct. 2. Laval is now 7-2-0-0.
Bear Scores Within 30 Seconds
Hamilton had the lead before the crowd had settled in. At 0:30 of the first period, Ethan Bear took a shot from the point that deflected off Alex Belzile and went under Kaapo Kähkönen. Liam Foudy and Matthew Highmore had the assists. It was a point shot with a deflection, the kind of goal a team cannot do much about, and the Rocket spent the rest of the period chasing: Hamilton outshot Laval 13-8.
The period also had its share of penalties. Brandon Scanlin went off for cross-checking at 4:35 and gave the Rocket the first power play, which produced nothing. Braden Haché took a cross-checking minor of his own at 9:45, and at 12:04 Haché and Hunter Drew dropped the gloves for a fighting major each. Calle Odelius also hit a post for Hamilton in the first.
A Short-Handed Goal Makes It 2-0
The second period was where the game turned. Cole Eiserman took a slashing penalty at 3:37 and the Rocket went to the power play, but 23 seconds later, at 4:00, Highmore scored short-handed on a pass from Foudy to make it 2-0. It turned out to be the game-winning goal. Foudy was involved in both Hamilton goals and Highmore finished with a goal and an assist.
A short-handed goal against is the most expensive thing that can happen on a power play, because the team that was supposed to be pushing the game is the one that has to chase it. The Rocket did respond. They took over the rest of the second period and outshot Hamilton 15-8 in it, even though they were down two goals.
Bentley Cuts the Lead to 2-1 With His First AHL Goal
The goal that got Laval back into the game came at 14:45 of the second period, and it belonged to Dillan Bentley. It was his first goal in the AHL. Braden Haché intercepted a clearing attempt by Kashawn Aitcheson and fired the puck at the net, and Bentley was there to push it behind Josh Kotai for the 2-1 score. Haché got the assist, his second of the season. Simple goals like that are how a team gets back into a game: the puck goes to the net and a forward is there to finish it. Bentley, a center, finished the game with 5 shots on goal and also hit a post.
That cut the lead to one with more than five minutes left in the period and put the pressure on Hamilton for the whole third. The Rocket needed one more goal to tie it and keep the streak alive, and they never found it.
No Goal in the Third
Laval did everything but score in the third period. The Rocket outshot Hamilton 11-7, and Luke Mittelstadt, Sasha Pastujov and Belzile all kept shooting, but Kotai never gave them the second goal. A power play after Drew tripped at 9:41 also went nowhere, and Kähkönen came out for the extra attacker at 18:24. The Rocket kept the pressure on in the last minute with shots from Tyler Thorpe and Brett Berard, and it still was not enough.
Goaltending and the Numbers
Kähkönen stopped 26 of 28 shots (.929) for the Rocket. Kotai stopped 33 of 34 (.971) and picked up the first AHL win of his career, and he was named first star of the game. Kevin Mandolese, who was in net for the Friday win, was the backup. Neither team scored on the power play: Laval was 0 for 3 and Hamilton 0 for 3. Each side finished with 11 penalty minutes.
| Team stats | Laval Rocket | Hamilton Hammers |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 1 | 2 |
| Shots on goal | 34 | 28 |
| Shots by period | 8-15-11 | 13-8-7 |
| Power play | 0 for 3 | 0 for 3 |
| Penalty minutes | 11 | 11 |
| Goalie | Kähkönen 26 saves on 28 | Kotai 33 saves on 34 |
Mittelstadt led the Rocket with 6 shots on goal but finished -2. Bentley had 5 shots, Belzile and Pastujov had 4 each, and David Reinbacher had 2. Mittelstadt still leads the team with 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists) and Reilly Walsh has 12 (5 goals, 7 assists). You can follow every number on the Rocket stats page.
What the Loss Means
One bad result does not take anything away from what the Rocket did over the last three weeks: seven straight wins and a power play that was clicking at 33% coming into the weekend. A streak always ends, and it ended against the team that was last in the North Division, on a day when the goaltender at the other end was very good. The real test is how they respond. The next two games are in Alberta against the Calgary Wranglers.
Next: Two in Calgary
The Rocket play at Calgary on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 9:00 PM ET and again on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:00 PM ET. Our earlier recaps cover the streak: Rocket Beat Hammers for Seventh Straight Win and Walsh’s Double Lifts Rocket Past Crunch.
Sources: AHL game summary and box score (game 1029195) and RDS.
Get the Habs week in your inbox
Free weekly newsletter from HABSHQ.
Leave a Reply