Rocket burn Manitoba

The Manitoba Moose (8-9-2-0) were defeated 5-3 by the Laval Rocket (14-4-1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Bell MTS Iceplex. At 8:44 of the first period, on a Manitoba power play, Cole Perfetti displayed some fancy footwork and set up Kristian Vesalainen for a one-timer. Vesalainen made no mistake and gave the Moose the 1-0 advantage. With 2:32 remaining in the first frame, Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored for Laval to even the score at 1-1.

At 3:34 of the second period, Jordan Weal found a breakaway opportunity, but Mikhail Berdin denied his chance. With 4:52 left in the second frame, David Gustafsson stole the puck from Laval and found Kristian Reichel who patiently skated cross crease and flipped a backhand past Rocket netminder Cayden Primeau.

At 8:43 of the third frame, Leon Gawanke ripped a shot from the blueline to give the Moose the 3-1 lead. With 5:59 left in the third, Ryan Poehling scored on a power play to get the Rocket within one. Just 11 seconds later, Hayden Verbeek stole the puck and scored to tie the game. With 3:46 left in regulation, Jordan Weal found a loose puck, spun and fired home the eventual game-winning goal for the Rocket. With 23 seconds left in the third, Joseph Blandisi found Manitoba’s empty net and stamped Laval’s 5-3 win.

Statbook

• Kristian Vesalainen and Leon Gawanke recorded their first goals of the 2020-21 season.
• With his assist during this afternoon’s matchup, Jeff Malott reached 10 points (8G, 2A) on the campaign.