Samuel Poulin scored twice, including the power-play goal that broke a 1-1 tie in the third period, and the Laval Rocket beat the Rochester Americans 3-1 on Friday night at Blue Cross Arena. It is the Rocket’s fourth straight win, and it moves them to 12-3-1.
A Scoreless First Period
Laval had the first period and could not cash in. The Rocket outshot Rochester 14-3 and went 0 for 2 on the power play, with penalties to Radim Mrtka (interference, 5:16) and Jack Rathbone (slashing, 8:10). Matthew Villalta stopped all 14 shots, and it was 0-0 after 20 minutes.
Mandolese Holds the Line
The game turned in the second period, when Rochester started to push. Laval took three penalties in the period, and Kevin Mandolese had to be the best player on the ice. During the kill after Braden Haché’s interference penalty at 1:54, he stopped Conor Sheary twice and Dennis Gilbert twice inside 30 seconds.
Rochester broke through at 13:26. Poulin had just come out of the box after a tripping penalty, and Vsevolod Komarov scored three seconds after the penalty expired. The goal was officially even strength, so Rochester finished 0 for 6 on the power play. Villalta and Mandolese each faced 11 shots in the period, and the Americans led 1-0 after two.
Three Goals in the Third
Laval answered at 6:08. Jared Davidson tied the game, his second of the season, with no assist on the play. Four minutes later the Rocket got the power play they had been waiting for, after a Ryan Sandelin interference penalty at 10:12, and it took them 62 seconds. At 11:14 Poulin scored his fourth of the season from Luke Mittelstadt and Alex Belzile, and it stood as the game winner.
Rochester pulled Villalta at 17:30 and kept pushing, and Mandolese stopped Aidan McDonough and Sheary twice to keep it a one-goal game. Late in the period Haché and Rochester’s Gavin McCarthy fought, and Haché took an instigating penalty and a misconduct. At 18:46 Poulin put the puck in the empty net for his fifth of the year. Mandolese got the assist, his first of the season, and finished with 25 saves on 26 shots.
The Numbers
| Team | Shots by period | Total | Power play | Penalty minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laval Rocket | 14 – 11 – 7 | 32 | 1 for 3 | 27 |
| Rochester Americans | 3 – 11 – 12 | 26 | 0 for 6 | 11 |
Laval outshot Rochester 32-26, and Rochester outshot Laval 23-18 over the last two periods, so the Rocket won this one with goaltending and a penalty kill. Mandolese stopped 25 of 26, and Villalta stopped 29 of 31. The Rocket killed all six Rochester power plays, and they took 27 penalty minutes to do it, 19 of them Haché’s.
Who Stood Out
Poulin was the first star with two goals, four shots and a plus-1, and he has now scored in three straight games. Mandolese was the second star, and Mittelstadt was the third star with an assist. He now has 20 points, five goals and 15 assists, to lead the team. Davidson had the tying goal and three shots, and Belzile had an assist and three shots.
Rocket Next: Back at Rochester on Saturday
The Rocket are first in the North Division at 12-3-1 with 25 points in 16 games (.781), and the Americans fall to 7-6-0-1. Laval has the road rematch on Saturday, November 14 at 5:05 p.m. ET, which is 5:05 a.m. Sunday, November 15 in Vietnam.
Sources: official AHL game data and RDS.
Get the HABSHQ Newsletter in Your Inbox
Every Monday, the HABSHQ newsletter brings you the full Canadiens, Rocket, Lions and prospects report, our takes, the stats of the week and the preview of the week ahead, straight to your inbox. It is free.
Get the Habs week in your inbox
Free weekly newsletter from HABSHQ.
Leave a Reply