SENATORS SCORE THREE UNANSWERED GOALS IN THE FINAL PERIOD TO SINK ROCKET 5-3

BELLEVILLE (November 27, 2019) – A pair of quick goals early in the third period wasn’t enough to propel the Laval Rocket past the Belleville Senators, who scored three unanswered goals en route to a 5-3 victory Wednesday night at the CAA Arena in Belleville. Jake Evans earned two assists in the loss. 

The Senators dominated the opening frame with a 12-7 shot advantage and a handful of high-danger chances. Drake Batherson notched his eighth goal of the season, defeating netminder Cayden Primeau in the slot on the powerplay. With less than 30 seconds left in the first period, Alex Formenton doubled the Senators’ lead. The Rocket were down 2-0 after 20 minutes of play. 

Earning a trio of powerplays, the visitors narrowed the gap by one goal when Joe Cox unleashed a wrist shot outside the right faceoff circle for his third tally of the season. Josh Brook and Jake Evans earned assists on the goal. The series of consecutive man advantages and the goal changed the momentum in favour of the Rocket, who edged the Senators in shots (16-15) after two periods. 

The Rocket were off to a spectacular start to the final frame, scoring two goals in 58 seconds. Jake Evans fed a nifty backhand pass to Antoine Waked, who was parked in the slot and made no mistake to earn his second tally of the season. Shortly after, Matthew Peca carried the puck from zone-to-zone and defeated Gustavsson with a sharp-angled shot to earn his fifth point in four games. Michael McCarron and Karl Alzner were credited with helpers. The Rocket conceded a second powerplay goal to their opponent when Norris sent a laser past Primeau. Formenton restored Belleville’s lead on a two-on-one, notching his second goal of the night. The Rocket upped the ante in the final minutes of the game to score the equalizer, but Cole Cassels netted the Senators’ fifth goal of the night to give Belleville a 5-3 win — their third over Laval this season. 

“I thought we had a couple of five-minute spans where we lost our focus, weren’t playing the way we know how to play, and gave up some chances because of that. Credit to them for executing the chances that we gave them. […] When we play a complete 60-minute game, it’s really hard to beat us,” said Cox after the game. 

Marqueurs/Scorers 

LAV: Cox (Brook, Evans) | Waked (Evans) | Peca (McCarron, Alzner) 

BEL: Batherson (Norris, Corrado) | Formenton (Balcers, Szwarz) | Norris (Szwarz, Corrado) | Formenton | Cassels (Balcers, Jaros) 

Unités spéciales/Special teams 

LAV | AN/PP: (1/4) | IN/PK: (2/4) 

BEL | AN/PP: (2/4) | IN/PK: (3/4) 

Gardiens/Goaltenders 

LAV: Primeau (15/20) | BEL: Gustavsson (21/24) 

Trois étoiles/Three stars 

1. Formenton – BEL 2. Norris — BEL 3. Szwarz – BEL