Laval Rocket beat Americans 4-1 after third period wake-up

ARCHIVES - Rocket goaltender Cayden Primeau makes a save on February 27, 2021 in Laval, Quebec. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

With Florian Xhekaj kickstarting a three-goal surge in the third period, the Laval Rocket came out on top to defeat the Rochester Americans 4-1 at Place Bell on Wednesday night.

After being carried by goalie Cayden Primeau throughout the second period, the Montreal Canadiens’ club-school got the spark it needed when Xhekaj broke the deadlock in the fifth minute of the third period.

The Rocket took a 2-1 lead in this Northern Section final and could finish it off on Friday night, again at home. The winner of this series will join the Charlotte Checkers, who just swept aside the Hershey Bears, the two-time defending Calder Cup champions.

Xhekaj may have scored the winning goal, but the real hero of the game was undoubtedly Primeau, who turned aside 32 of the 33 pucks thrown his way.

Luke Tuch, Laurent Dauphin and Joshua Roy hit the target for Laval, who each got a puck in. However, they lost the services of defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon, who did not return to start the second period.

Lukas Rousek scored the only goal for the Americans, who perhaps deserved a better fate before their opponents’ three-goal thrust. Devon Levi made 16 saves in a losing cause.

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The poor fans stuck in the Place Bell car park missed the best start the Rocket could have had.

On the break, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Lucas Condotta and Tuch caused the Americans problems. David Reinbacher collected the puck and his shot was deflected by Tuch, who opened the scoring after just 15 seconds of play.

The Laval defence was able to protect Primeau by blocking several shots, but could do nothing about Zachary Metsa’s point shot. Luckily for them, the puck hit the post to the left of the goalkeeper without damage.

Pascal Vincent’s men were also buzzing in enemy territory, and they fired a lot of shots in Levi’s direction. This time, it was the visitors’ defence that held firm, and they went into the break trailing by just one goal.

The Americans played with intensity and energy for the first few minutes of the second period, and Primeau had to show his worth by stopping Tyson Kozak and Anton Wahlberg in quick succession.

The Rocket rallied and came within inches of doubling their lead, twice. First Roy tried to catch Levi off guard, but he was able to close the gap in time. Then Gustav Lindstrom spun around, but the Quebec goalkeeper spread himself wide to protect his net.

The rest of the period was all about Primeau, who saved his team-mates on several occasions after turnovers. Josh Dunne and Konsta Helenius also got a taste of the American’s medicine on short-range shots.

Primeau could not do everything, however. After a defensive miscommunication, Rousek accepted Jack Rathbone’s pass to level the score at 2:46 of the final period.

But the goal whipped the Rocket into life, and they responded with two more in just 65 seconds. Following a fine individual play, Xhekaj backhanded the disc over Levi’s shoulder to put the Rocket back in front. Then Dauphin completed William Trudeau’s set-up to send Place Bell into hysterics.

After that, the nerves left the Laval team and they regained some momentum to increase their lead, thanks to Roy in front of goal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French May 21, 2025.