Latest news with #LavalRocket
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nelly Korda reflects on opening round at Erin Hills during U.S. Women's Open
Canadiens Farm Team Drops Game One The AHL Eastern Conference Final got underway Wednesday night at Place Bell, and the Charlotte Checkers dominated the Laval Rocket, at least on the scoreboard, winning 5-1. The Montreal Canadiens' farm team had not played the Florida Panthers' farm team since 2018, and they'll need to adapt in a hurry if they don't want to see the series slip between their fingers. 2:46 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mitrović bags stoppage time winner for Al-Hilal
Amerks Eliminated By Laval In Five Games The Rochester Americans hoped to build off the momentum of a 5-1 victory in Game 4 against the Laval Rocket on Friday in a fifth and deciding game, but the Amerks fell behind early and could not catch up to the North Division champs, losing 5-0 at Place Bell on Sunday. 2:06 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Watch: Jackson high jumper Taylor Brownsword competes at the Hoover district meet
Amerks Eliminated By Laval In Five Games The Rochester Americans hoped to build off the momentum of a 5-1 victory in Game 4 against the Laval Rocket on Friday in a fifth and deciding game, but the Amerks fell behind early and could not catch up to the North Division champs, losing 5-0 at Place Bell on Sunday. 2:06 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Laval Rocket down 0-2 in Eastern Association final after loss to Charlotte Checkers
Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent watches play during third period AHL hockey action in Laval, Que., on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) Trevor Carrick had a goal and two assists, leading the Charlotte Checkers to an easy 5-2 victory over the Laval Rocket on Thursday night at Place Bell. For the second game in a row, the Montreal Canadiens' farm team was unable to battle what a much more experienced and structured team had to offer. The Checkers scored one power-play goal, one shorthanded goal and three even-strength goals, and they physically dominated the Laval team without any real consequences. The best example came when Marek Alscher knocked Laurent Dauphin out with a late check about six feet from the Rocket bench. Dauphin did not return to the game. The Checkers did their job by taking a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Association final. They will return home for at least the next two games -- three if they suffer a setback. John Leonard, Michael Benning, Will Lockwood, and Riley Bezeau found the back of the net for the visitors. Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 22 shots. Noel Hoefenmayer and David Reinbacher replied for the Rocket, who seem to be learning the hard way the basics of the game in the American Hockey League's final four. Cayden Primeau allowed four goals on 18 shots and was replaced by Jacob Fowler in the second period. The 20-year-old goaltender allowed one goal on 12 shots. Talk is cheap Hostilities began well before the opening face-off. During warm-ups, several players from both teams exchanged heated words in the middle of the rink, and a few minor stick checks were exchanged. When the game got underway, the Rocket didn't miss a chance to throw checks, each time raising the decibel level in the arena. However, indiscipline crept into the conversation, and the Checkers didn't need much more to seize the momentum. The Laval team killed off the first two minutes of a four-minute penalty to Joshua Roy for high sticking, but Primeau couldn't see anything when Carrick's point shot changed direction off Dauphin's stick. Both teams exchanged golden scoring opportunities early in the second period. Kahkonen stood tall against Jared Davidson, while Primeau shut the door on MacKenzie Entwistle. The Rocket had a chance to tie the game on the power play, but as was the case the night before, the five-on-five attack did more harm than good. Logan Mailloux attempted a deke at the point of entry, but ended up turning the puck over, sending Leonard on a breakaway. Leonard made a deke to beat Primeau and score his second shorthanded goal in 24 hours. That's when it felt like the Checkers had lost all respect for their opponents. Benning dealt a heavy blow to Laval by playing around in the enemy zone before beating Primeau. Just 44 seconds later, Lockwood fired a shot from the right circle and found the back of the net, sending the Rocket goalie out of the game. The North Carolina squad also continued to impose themselves physically, notably with a check on Alscher. Tempers flared and several skirmishes broke out before the end of the second period. The Rocket had a glimmer of hope in the final period when Hoefenmayer fired a shot from the point that slipped past Kahkonen, but Bezeau completed the humiliation by beating Fowler on the blocker side with less than seven minutes remaining. Reinbacher sparked the final celebrations with 59.3 seconds left on the clock. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 30, 2025.
Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Rocket no match for Checkers in Game 1
Laval Rocket By They say a team's never in trouble until it loses at home. While there's still plenty of life remaining in the Laval Rocket, it has dug itself a potentially significant hole following its resounding 5-1 loss to the Charlotte Checkers Wednesday night at Place Bell in the opening game of the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference final before 9,230 spectators. While the Rocket won't be facing elimination when the teams meet again Thursday night at the same venue (7 p.m., RDS), Laval can hardly afford to trail by two games knowing the next three will be played on the road when the series shifts to Charlotte on Sunday afternoon. 'You can't go down 2-0 going back to their rink for three,' forward Owen Beck said in the quiet Rocket dressing room. 'It's an odd format in that sense. We need to give ourselves some life, some momentum going into their barn for three straight games. 'If we're not on our game, our season can turn around pretty quickly,' added Beck, who won a Memorial Cup with Saginaw last season and was the tournament's most valuable player. 'At this stage of the year every team's top quality, top-notch. We built so much over this year ... with the regular season that we had. We've been generating momentum and trying to have our game at our best at this point of the year. There's so much that has gone into it, you don't want to throw it away with a few poor efforts.' Sandis Vilmanis, Justin Sourdif, Oliver Okuliar, John Leonard and Jesse Puljujarvi, into an empty net, scored for the visitors — who reached this round by sweeping the two-time defending Calder Cup-champion Hershey Bears in a best-of-five series. While Charlotte was playing for the first time in a week, it hardly appeared rusty, scoring early goals in each period. The Checkers are on a five-game winning streak. And while the Rocket should have been on an emotional high after dispatching Rochester in the fifth and deciding game last Sunday on home ice, the team appeared out of sync frequently. Oliver Kapanen scored Laval's only goal, nearly six minutes into the second period, narrowing the deficit to 3-1. While the Rocket enjoyed a 31-20 shots advantage, it couldn't solve goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen frequently enough. The 6-foot-2, 214 pounder played four full seasons in the NHL, between 2020-24, with Minnesota and San Jose, and has started each of the Checkers' nine playoff games, winning seven while recording one shutout. Laval goalie Cayden Primeau, conversely, struggled after shutting out the Americans last Sunday. He was beaten twice on the first three shots he faced, then surrendered a second-period score on Charlotte's opening shot. That scenario was duplicated in the third period, Leonard scoring while the Checkers were short-handed. Not only did Leonard score 36 regular-season goals, that was Charlotte's fourth short-handed playoff tally. The team has scored only twice with the man advantage in the post-season. Laval went 0-for-6 on the power play. The Rocket did have some opportunities. In the eighth minute of the second period, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was alone in front but couldn't bury his shot. Then in the third, Sean Farrell set up Joshua Roy, who failed to execute. Roy had another opportunity on the power play two minutes later, while Brandon Gignac was denied on a short-handed breakaway. While the Rocket went 24-9-3 at home this season, finishing first overall in the AHL, it has struggled in the playoffs, going 3-3. 'It's focus. It's being prepared mentally to execute and knowing what's coming at you,' Laval head coach Pascal Vincent said. 'It can happen and does happen once in a while. We have to find a way to take that away from the other teams.' These teams were meeting for the first time this season. Laval hasn't played Charlotte since the 2018-19 campaign. And the Checkers aren't like any AHL team the Rocket has faced. Eleven of 20 players have suited up for at least one NHL games, including six that have more than 50 games' experience. Charlotte, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, doesn't relinquish many scoring chances and, at least through one game, experience clearly has trumped youth. 'Their hockey sense as a team is really good,' Vincent said. 'They anticipate really well some plays. You think (a Laval player) is open. Then at the last minute he's not because they close quick. They box out and block a lot of shots, and they play a fast transition game. It's playoff hockey and there's a reason why they're in the top four as well. That's a good hockey team. 'We had some looks ... but it wasn't consistent. We had good moments and not-so-good moments. Our style of play is really aggressive, on top of people, no time to breathe. When we do it we're fine. We give ourselves a chance to win. Are we gonna win? I don't know, but we give ourselves a chance.'
