Rocket Weekly: Three More Games, Three More Wins
While getting to the victories wasn’t necessarily easy, Laval was able to continue their strong run as of late, picking up three more wins. All three came from Cayden Primeau who is now 7-0 since being sent down.
The Week That Was
Jan. 22: Laval 3, Hershey 2 (OT) – Laval has had to pull off some comebacks as of late and this was no exception. After allowing two in the first period, they shut the door defensively from there. Sean Farrell and Laurent Dauphin scored just 1:05 apart in the third to tie the game near the midway mark, setting the stage for Adam Engstrom to bury the winner just past the one-minute mark of overtime.
Jan. 24: Laval 4, Hartford 3 – This time, it was the Rocket who got the early lead but couldn’t hold on. Laval took a 3-1 lead into the third but goals from Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann (the latter coming with 1:50 left) tied it up and appeared to have the two sides heading for overtime. But in the last minute of play, Logan Mailloux took a pass from Alex Barre-Boulet and beat Louis Domingue to give Laval the win.
Jan. 26: Laval 3, Providence 2 (OT) – Laval led for good chunks of this game thanks to goals from Noel Hoefenmayer and Barre-Boulet. But once again, the Rocket couldn’t hold the lead in the third (apparently the lead isn’t safe no matter who has it lately) so this one also went to the extra session where Mailloux was the hero once again.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 2 | Noel Hoefenmayer | 3 | 1 | 3 | +3 | 9 | 0 |
| 3 | Jayden Struble | 2 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Gustav Lindstrom | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 2 |
| 11 | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 2 | 0 | 1 | E | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Alex Barre-Boulet | 3 | 1 | 4 | +4 | 9 | 0 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | Luke Tuch | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | Vincent Arseneau | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 8 | 7 |
| 21 | Riley Kidney | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon | 3 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | 3 | 3 | 1 | +6 | 7 | 2 |
| 27 | Laurent Dauphin | 3 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 15 | 2 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 3 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 8 | 0 |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 5 | 2 |
| 49 | Jared Davidson | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 | 0 |
| 56 | Adam Engstrom | 3 | 1 | 0 | E | 7 | 2 |
| 62 | Owen Beck | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 5 | 4 |
| 63 | Florian Xhekaj | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 4 |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 3 | 4 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 30 | Cayden Primeau | 3-0-0 | 2.29 | .907 | 0 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Davidson/Roy (14)
Assists: Alex Barre-Boulet (23)
Points: Alex Barre-Boulet (32)
+/-: Jared Davidson (+17)
PIMS: Florian Xhekaj (82)
Shots: Joshua Roy (126)
News and Notes
– Laval got Owen Beck back from Montreal in time for the Hershey game but lost Rafael Harvey-Pinard to a late-week recall.
– Speaking of Beck, he was named as Joshua Roy’s replacement for the upcoming All-Star Game. He joins Logan Mailloux as the representatives from Laval.
– Jayden Struble’s conditioning assignment can last for up to two weeks. That’s about as long as William Trudeau’s injury is supposed to keep him out for so it’s possible they timed the assignment to cover for Trudeau.
Last Game’s Lines
Kidney – Dauphin – Barre-Boulet
Farrell – Condotta – Simoneau
Davidson – Beck – Mesar
Arseneau – Xhekaj – Tuch
Wotherspoon – Lindstrom
Hoefenmayer – Mailloux
Struble – Engstrom
The Week Ahead
Friday/Saturday vs Hartford – After beating the Wolf Pack on Friday, Hartford won’t have to wait too long for their shot at revenge. Not much has changed since last week’s matchup although they did swap AHL forwards with Ryder Korczak being sent to Tampa Bay for Lucas Edmonds. Benoit-Olivier Groulx is in his first season with them after leaving Anaheim’s organization and he has turned into more of an offensive player, checking in just shy of a point per game, a mark he didn’t come close to with the Ducks’ affiliate.
Final Thought
Riley Kidney’s freshman year with Laval last season wasn’t terrible but it would be fair to say that it was underwhelming. For a player who dominated in the QMJHL, 20 points in 65 games isn’t what many people had in mind.
Unfortunately, the first half of his second season has been even worse. Through 26 games, he has a goal and seven assists and has been healthy scratched for more games than he has points. Now, this isn’t to disparage him (although he’s not playing well enough to lock down a full-time spot) but rather how the Habs have handled him.
I know the ECHL isn’t necessarily the greatest league for more finesse players but part of the advantage of having a team in Trois-Rivieres is so that players can stay sharp. Sitting Kidney this often isn’t helping his development very much. Perhaps going down there and getting top-line minutes for a couple of games here and there would help the cause. At a minimum, he wouldn’t be rusty when called upon and if he got some confidence going, perhaps that helps propel him forward a bit in his development. But right now, this play a game or two, sit for a bit, and rinse and repeat isn’t working too well for either side.