The Laval Rocket were down 4-0 in the second period on Friday night, and they still won. They scored four unanswered goals to tie the game in the third period, then Luke Mittelstadt won it on the power play with 15 seconds left in overtime. Final score: Rocket 5, Belleville Senators 4 (OT) at CIBC Place.
It was Laval’s fourth straight win, and it improved the Rocket’s record to 4-1.
Belleville Builds a 4-0 Lead
The Rocket were the better team early on, outshooting Belleville 11-6 in the first period, but they went to the dressing room trailing. Kasper Halttunen scored on the power play at 13:25, and Shane Bowers made it 2-0 just 66 seconds later.
Halttunen added two more goals early in the second period, at 2:07 and 5:15, for a hat trick. Xavier Bourgault assisted on all three. By then Belleville led 4-0, even though the Rocket had put 28 shots on net to the Senators’ 16 through two periods.
The Rocket Turn It Around
The comeback started on the power play. Sasha Pastujov scored at 11:26 of the second period, with Mittelstadt getting the assist, to make it 4-1. Brett Berard scored on another power play at 3:50 of the third, set up by Jared Davidson and Mittelstadt, and it was 4-2.
Then Hunter McKown scored his first goal of the season at 15:20, with assists from Filip Mešár and Davidson. Just 2:15 later, Mešár tied the game at 4-4 at 17:35, with Dillan Bentley and Reilly Walsh getting the helpers.
In overtime, Halttunen took a tripping penalty at 4:31. Fourteen seconds later, Mittelstadt shot the puck past Jonas Johansson on the power play, with assists from Walsh and Pastujov, for the winner at 4:45 of the five-minute overtime.
The Numbers
The Rocket outshot the Senators 46-25 (11-17-15-3 by period against 6-10-5-4). Kaapo Kähkönen stopped 21 of 25 shots for the win, a .840 save percentage. Johansson made 41 saves on 46 shots for Belleville, a .891 save percentage.
The power play was the difference. Laval scored on three of five chances, including the overtime winner, while Belleville went one for three. The Rocket took four penalties for eight minutes, and the Senators took six for twelve.
Who Stood Out
Mittelstadt had a goal and two assists. He now has three goals and seven assists for 10 points in five games, and according to La Presse Canadienne he is the first Rocket player to reach 10 points this season and the AHL’s leading scorer. Walsh and Davidson each had two assists, and Pastujov and Mešár each had a goal and an assist. Halttunen, who scored a hat trick for Belleville in the loss, was named the game’s first star.
Next Up
The Rocket play at the Utica Comets on Saturday, October 17, with a chance to make it five wins in a row. For more on the Rocket’s recent run, read our recap of the two 5-2 road wins and the Rocket Stats of the Week. Game details come from the official AHL game summary.
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