Rochester Americans stave off elimination with 5-1 win over Rocket

Montreal Gazette

24-05-2025

Laval Rocket
By
If Jacob Fowler didn't realize it before, he certainly does now.
The Laval Rocket rookie goaltender no longer is at Boston College, playing against boys. Fowler now is in professional hockey, and the 20-year-old received his baptism by fire Friday night against the Rochester Americans.
Fowler allowed four goals on 14 shots in barely more than 39 minutes and was replaced by veteran Cayden Primeau. But the damage was already done and the hole too precipitous for the Rocket to overcome.
Rochester breezed to a 5-1 victory before 10,243 Place Bell spectators to stave off elimination. The best-of-five North Division final is tied 2-2 heading into Sunday afternoon's (4:30 p.m.) fifth and deciding game.
One-game, winner-take-all with both teams' seasons on the line. What more could one expect, or hope for, from the top two clubs in the division.
'They come into our barn and put on that kind of performance against us in front of our fans,' forward Owen Beck said. 'We're both in the same position with our backs against the wall. We have to come back and remember tonight and use that to fuel us for Sunday.'
Josh Dunne scored two goals for Rochester while adding two assists. Isak Rosen, Tyson Kozak and Konsta Helenius also scored. Two of the Americans' goals came on the power play while the visitors' final goal, by Helenius, came with the team shorthanded.
Joshua Roy scored Laval's only goal — his second in as many games — at 7:45 of the second period, narrowing the deficit to 3-1. But Dunne's second goal came only 1:37 later, defusing any momentum the Rocket might have gained.
This was the eighth time in two seasons Rochester has faced an elimination game, and it improved to 6-2. The Americans now have won their last four road elimination contests.
Rochester goalie Devon Levi uncharacteristically had allowed 12 goals in the series' opening three games. This marked the first time the Dollard-des-Ormeaux native had allowed three or more goals in three successive AHL contests. And while Levi was 1-6 with an .841 save percentage against Laval heading into the match, he was virtually flawless on this night while stopping 22 shots.
The same couldn't be said about Fowler, who has now lost both of his starts against Rochester in this series.
Laval head coach Pascal Vincent walks a fine line in his position. The AHL is a development league and there are many who believe Fowler, the Canadiens' third-round (69th overall) draft choice in 2023 is the organization's goalie of the future. Primeau, conversely, is eligible to become a restricted free agent this summer and likely will be with another organization next season.
While Vincent has been rotating his goalies — and it was Fowler's turn to start — the coach must decide if winning, especially in a short series, trumps immediate development, especially since Fowler will get plenty of playing time next season, when he's expected to be Laval's No. 1 netminder.
While Vincent denied the moment was too big for Fowler, he didn't look good on two of the four goals he allowed — one on a low shot between his legs and the other to his glove side. Those were the first and last scores he surrendered. Vincent, of course, now has no choice but to stick with Primeau on Sunday.
'I think (Fowler) is wired to play those games,' Vincent said. 'That's what he has done in the past. I don't care in what league you've done it. He has done it in the past. We didn't play well in front of him. I'm not going to spend too much time evaluating his game. I don't think he deserves the kind of game we played in front of him.'
The absence of injured defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon, 32, was obvious, as Laval struggled in its own end. It was a particularly rough night for former first-round draft choice Logan Mailloux, who went minus-3. Mailloux started the game paired with William Trudeau, but Vincent shuffled the deck in the second period, teaming Mailloux with Noel Hoefenmayer, who replaced Wotherspoon. Vincent said more changes could be forthcoming on Sunday.
Meanwhile, referees Morgan MacPhee and Stephen Hiff totally lost control of the game, coincidentally with AHL president Scott Howson in attendance. The teams combined for 154 penalty minutes — 96 against Laval — and 25 penalties, including 13 misconducts alone. By game's end, the Rocket had only four skaters on its bench.
Laval didn't have its first power play until the third period. When asked whether this surprised him, Beck had a short and succinct answer: 'Yes.'