THE ROCKET FALL 6-3 TO THE THUNDERBIRDS
SPRINGFIELD, MASS (November 30, 2019)—The Laval Rocket concluded a three-game road trip with a 6-3 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds at the MassMutual Center on Saturday night. After scoring the first goal of the game, the visitors rallied from a 3-1 deficit early in the third period. That didn’t stop the home team from scoring three consecutive goals for the win. The Rocket edged the Thunderbirds in shots (41-39), sending 20 on netminder Samuel Montembeault in the final frame.
Owen Tippett, who leads Springfield in points (10 G, 10 A), recorded the game-winner and two assists. He has nine points in his last 10 outings. Otto Leskinen earned two helpers and registered a team-leading 11th assist. He also leads all Rocket defensemen in points (1 G, 11 A). With an assist, Riley Barber has registered 10 points (4 G, 6 A) in nine games. Matthew Peca added his name to the scoresheet for a sixth consecutive game with a goal.
Michael McCarron notched his third tally of the season after tipping in Leskinen’s shot from the point on the powerplay.
The Thunderbirds scored three unanswered goals, twice. After 40 minutes of play, Ryan Stillman, Tommy Cross, and former Montreal Canadiens prospect Daniel Audette gave their team a 3-1 advantage. The Rocket erased the two-goal deficit with tallies from Ryan Poehling and Peca. The home team restored their three-goal advantage off the sticks of Tippett, Stillman, and Aleksi Saarela.
The Rocket scored two of their three goals on the powerplay, while the Thunderbirds struck three times on the man advantage.
“It’s tough. […] We got the first goal […]. We came into the third period two goals behind and we knew we had to push […]. They got two lucky bounces. That’s the way hockey is. We have to learn to win those games. We know we had a heck of an effort in the third […]. It just didn’t go our way,” said McCarron after the game.
Marqueurs/Scorers
LAV: McCarron (Barber, Leskinen) | Poehling (Brook, Pezzetta) | Peca (Leskinen)
SPR: Stillman (Borgstrom, Lowry) | Cross (Tippett, Saarela) | Audette (Borgstrom, Roy) | Tippett (Saarela, Cross) | Stillman (Heponiemi, Ang) | Saarela (Tippett, Roy) (EN)
Unités spéciales/Special teams
LAV | AN/PP: (2/5) | IN/PK: (2/5)
SPR | AN/PP: (3/5) | IN/PK: (3/5)
Gardiens/Goaltenders
LAV: Primeau (33/38) | SPR: Montembeault (38/41)
Trois étoiles/Three stars
1. Stillman – SPR 2. Tippett – SPR 3. Saarela – SPR
