Laval Rocket beat Americans 4-1 after third period wake-up
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.
Attack unlocks
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Nunavut bodybuilder winning medals and hoping to lift Inuit in the process
Social Sharing Diane Marin has always been determined. From a young age, the Inuk competed in sports in high school and university before finding bodybuilding in her late twenties. "I've always had such a passion for health and fitness, especially weightlifting," Marin said. Marin, 31, was raised in Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife before moving to Alberta for school. She has a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and now is studying massage therapy. She said she found bodybuilding a couple of years ago "and fell in love with it." Preparing for a bodybuilding competition takes anywhere from 16 to 20 weeks, Marin said. That means weighing and measuring all of her food, making sure she's doing a certain amount of cardio everyday, along with specific workouts. It also means no cheat meals — Marin says she went 16 weeks without one during this last competition. "It's almost like a job," she said. She competed in Red Deer, Alta. at the end of May, coming in third in the bikini category of the competition. "I really tested myself and improved a lot," she said. 'I love pushing myself' Even in her off season the rest of the year, Marin doesn't slow down. She's still training and eating well before she throws herself into another multi-month preparation phase. "I love it. It takes a lot of discipline and determination," she said. "I love challenging myself, I love pushing myself." "I find it very satisfying when I'm capable of hitting every check mark in a book of what I need to do every day, day after day for 16 weeks." Marin's mom and her best friend also flew in to watch her compete. Both sat in the front row. Marin's mother, Rachel Aliyak, wipes away tears as she talks about her daughter. "I'm very proud of her. She's really good. I wish you could all see her," Aliyak said. She said her daughter has always been focused. "Diane was very determined. She was very helpful," Aliyak said. She said she watched in awe over the last few months as her daughter followed a strict diet and training regimen. "It was hard to say 'oh, I'm going for a large plate of fries or a pizza,'" Aliyak said. This was also her first time watching the competition in-person. "There's a lot of muscle. A lot of muscular people in one room," she said. "You can't be shy to do this kind of event … but it also shows how much work these athletes put into it." Marin said she hopes other young Inuit get excited about working out and living a healthy lifestyle. "Just try your best, have fun doing it. Work out, get moving and enjoy what you do," Marin said. "Only good things come from health and fitness. You feel better, you have better days." Marin said she's seen few Indigenous athletes compete in bodybuilding, let alone Inuit. "I don't know any Inuit other than me who's a bodybuilder," she said. "With these Inuit genetics, you can build muscle really quick. We're pretty strong." And for her post-competition meal?
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
What happens when athletes' dreams of going pro are crushed? Filmmaker studying UVic team aims to find out
Raymond Dimmitt arrived in B.C. in 2019 with big dreams. Having just turned 18, he'd moved away from the United Arab Emirates, where he grew up, to Vancouver Island. He was poised to study at the University of Victoria, an eager freshman with a history of playing high level basketball back home. He planned to play for the University of Victoria's men's basketball team, where he figured he'd train and prepare for a career with the national team in Thailand, where he was born. But Dimmitt said he was "quickly humbled" when he didn't make the team. "It was a very eye-opening experience to realize how much better the level of basketball is here in Canada," he said. "It was hard for me that I had to go back to the drawing board and figure out what I'm going to do with my life." Now, five years later, with a degree in philosophy and environmental studies and some film directing credits on his resume, Dimmitts is using his lived experience to make a documentary about the fallout when athletes, in particular, find out life might not work out the way they'd planned. "My focus in school was philosophy, and I feel like now it's my chance to kind of tell the story that's not being told enough in this existential nature of what it means to be an athlete," he said. Dimmitt and a small film crew will follow the University of Victoria men's soccer team for the next two seasons, culminating in their journey to the U Sports Men's Soccer Championship in 2027, which the university is hosting. "Soccer especially, it is an incredibly challenging sport to make it professional," Dimmitt said. Dimmitt made it clear he doesn't want or expect the team to fail but, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), very few student athletes go on to professional sports careers. "I think some of them will have to grapple with this nature, that this reality may not be in the books for them, but also some will," he said. "But maybe in this process, if we succeed properly, we're able to exemplify how it's OK for the next generation of athletes to watch this and be feeling a little bit less worried about a future that doesn't involve sport." Coming to terms with that reality is completely normal, according to performance psychology consultant Roger Friesen. Friesen, who works with some of Canada's top athletes, including national teams qualifying for the Olympics, said how people react and come to terms with that feeling varies. "Disappointment and confusion is probably going to be a very real thing," he said from his home on B.C.'s Quadra Island. "Often people's identities are wrapped up in that dream." Universal experience It's something that can be applied to anything in life, Friesen said: sports, music, getting a certain job, having a family, living a certain way — life doesn't always work out the way we plan. Learning how to be "mentally robust" and manage change are important parts of what he does when working with athletes. Friesen said course correction is another area he focuses on. When one thing doesn't work out, such as athletics, for example, it's important to know what our other abilities and interests are to help us move forward, he said. It's that common experience of coming to terms with not succeeding in the way we had planned that Dimmitt hopes will get people watching the film and talking about it. "If this isn't the most relatable topic, I don't know what it is," he said. Dimmitt said he doesn't yet know when the film will be finished, but that he hopes people who view it feel seen. "If someone in the audience watching, whether an ex-athlete or an ex-musician who wanted to go pro or be very famous or whatever, if they're able to watch this documentary and feel a little bit more understood that a dream they once had was not able to fulfill itself, and that's OK, if you're seen through it, I'd be on top of the world."
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Toronto muralist straddles 2 male-dominated industries in 1 weekend
Kirsten McCrea doesn't mind being the only woman in the room, but it does get old sometimes. That's why the opportunity to design the livery for a female race car driver in a series meant to accelerate the careers of women in motorsports is so exciting. "When I started out in murals and street art it was 16 years ago. It was very male-dominated," she said. The Toronto muralist designed the wrap for the car that 18-year-old British driver Alisha Palmowski will race in F1 Academy, which will compete in support of Formula 1 during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend in Montreal. F1 Academy was launched in 2023 as a female-only, single-seater racing series that is part of the ladder to Formula 1. All of the drivers are women and many of the team executives and mechanics are women, too. McCrea has been active as a muralist in Toronto for more than a decade. Her many works can be seen throughout the city: in underpasses in the Riverdale community, on downtown patios on King Street and even in Meta's main Canadian office hub. Working on unique surfaces is something she looks for in new projects. "This is the coolest canvas I've ever had an opportunity to be a part of and the fact that it's going to be in motion has been really incredible. I'm just happy to be a part of it," McCrea said. McCrea says her work in designing the look of this race car felt deeply personal. "I really wanted to create a design that would smash the stereotypes of what women can achieve in motorsports and put all eyes on Alisha," she said. "It's inspired by the Expo 67 logo because the race track in Montreal is right next to that site," McCrea said. "I just loved this logo and how it looks like a dandelion. I thought about dandelion seeds, how they spread out, totally unfettered, and they really represent ambition to me." Palmowski said McCrea did "an incredible job" in designing the race car's livery, adding she feels privileged to race it in front of the fans in Montreal. "It's a really bold design. Lots of bright, vibrant colours, which I absolutely love," she said. Breaking barriers in art and motorsport McCrea and Palmowski have both broken barriers in male-dominated industries. While women are more accepted in motorsport now, Palmowski has faced her share of ups and downs. "Rising through the ranks being a female within the male-dominated sport of motorsport has been difficult," she said. "It's got its challenges, but I think F1 Academy has really changed the landscape of motorsport. I think it's doing an amazing job at inspiring the next generation." Palmowski's financial backers are breaking their own kind of barriers, too. 1Password, a Toronto-based cybersecurity company, sponsors Palmowski. Its chief operating officer is a woman in another male-dominated industry. "When we think of 15 years ago, when you think about motorsport, when you think about artists, when you think about cybersecurity, you don't think it's women-dominated." said Jeannie De Guzman, COO of 1Password. "It's a testament to show the progress we've made." Palmowski is part of the Red Bull Academy, a talent pipeline that has produced drivers such as four-time Formula 1 champions Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. She's one of only a handful of women who have ever belonged to the program, bringing a sense of pressure and privilege. "Nobody wants me to succeed more than me. If anything it just gives me more motivation and more determination to put the hard work in behind the scenes," Palmowski said. She has already won once this year and sits fourth in the points standings. Palmowski hopes she can win again in Montreal in one of the series' three races this weekend and stand on the top step of the podium, this time with McCrea's special livery.
