OTTAWA, ON – The Laval Rocket and Belleville Senators squared off Wednesday evening at Canadian Tire Centre. The Rocket were looking to redeem themselves with a victory following Monday’s shutout loss. They did just that, winning 3-1. 

FIRST PERIOD  

Both teams came out of the gates strong to start the period – Belleville riding the momentum of a 3-0 victory Monday evening, Laval looking for redemption. The Rocket set the game’s tone and pace early, keeping the Senators hemmed in the defensive zone and testing goalie Filip Gustavsson with some quick shots. Three minutes into the frame, Finnish defenseman Otto Leskinen gave the Senators their first crack at the man advantage with a slashing penalty. The home team’s power-play units all but caught up to the visitors in shots on goal but could not figure out Rocket goaltender Cayden Primeau and returned to even strength with nothing else to show for it.  

The game’s pace stayed strong through the middle half of the period – strong hits and fast play from both sides with some pushback when necessary and a healthy dose of chippiness. That hard style of play led to the second penalty of the night when Cody Goloubef took a cross-checking penalty and gave Laval their first power play of the game. Laval came up short on the man advantage as well but did manage to start frustrating the Senators. Attempting to build upon the momentum they gained from killing the penalty, Belleville started pushing for control of the game and was met by Laval disrupting their plays as soon as they got started.  

The period came to an end in a scoreless tie, but Laval had a slight edge over Belleville in shots on goal. 

Malgré plusieurs chances de marquer du Rocket, c'est toujours 0-0 après 1 période.

Despite some great chances by the Rocket it is 0-0 after 1 period. #GoRocket pic.twitter.com/C2od71fgsk

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) March 11, 2021

SECOND PERIOD

The Senators started the second stuck in the defensive zone while the Rocket pushed for the game’s first goal. Defenseman Cale Fleury laid a massive hit on forward Egor Sokolov at the Senators’ blue line to force him off the puck and the pace once again picked up. The Rocket continued to dial up the pressure, forcing the Senators to take another penalty – a minor for slashing by Mark Kastelic. The Rocket, once again, came up empty-handed a man up but found what they were looking for just a few minutes later when Lukas Vejdemo broke the tie. Alex Belzile and Yannick Veilleux worked the puck past a gaggle of Senators. They got the puck to Vejdemo, who was brought down by a defender, and tapped the puck into the net behind a sprawling Gustavsson, who was brought down by an attacking Rocket.  

The Rocket came back with more pressure to end the period and ride that momentum into the intermission with a one-goal lead.  

https://t.co/YY50ODqWcE pic.twitter.com/xvHmbMhf3x

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) March 11, 2021

THIRD PERIOD  

The Rocket took over the pace of the game and forced the Senators to play at the pace they wanted. The Rocket extended their lead around the five-minute mark when rookie Jan Myšák scored his first goal of the season on a sharp feed from Brandon Baddock and Josh Brook. Play continued much as it had across the first two periods until Vejdemo was assessed a high-sticking minor in the 15th minute. This time, however, the Senators capitalized on their chances. They found themselves on the board courtesy of a pass from Logan Shaw that Vitaly Abramov buried to break Primeau’s shutout bid. One second later, the Rocket broke back into the offensive zone. Belzile took advantage of a pass that Vejdemo laid perfectly on his stick to add another goal to the Rocket’s lead.  

The final buzzer sounded. The Rocket took a 3-1 win down the tunnel, heavily outshooting the Senators all game.  

On aime ça de même! Prochain arrêt -> Toronto

That’s how we like it! Next stop -> Toronto!#GoRocket pic.twitter.com/hmG7PBHLFH

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) March 11, 2021

The Rocket play their next game on Friday, March 12 (7 pm EST) at the Coca-Cola Coliseum for the first game of the season against the Toronto Marlies.