Despite jumping out to a four-goal lead in the first period, the Belleville Senators suffered a 6-4 defeat to the Rocket, in their first visit of the season to Laval on Wednesday.
Boko Imama scored his first as a Senator early in the first period, taking a down low pass from Matt Boucher and beating Jakub Dobes, top blocker-side corner. That was followed by Graham McPhee’s second of the season less than a minute later, along with markers from Angus Crookshank (shorthanded) and Zack Ostapchuk (power play) later in the frame. Brandon Gignac got one back late in the period on the power play, batting a rebound past Leevi Merilainen.
The Rocket made a goaltending change at the start of the second, replacing Dobes with Strauss Mann. Laval would round out the scoring in the game as well, coming back with second period goals from Olivier Galipeau and William Trudeau, and then third period strikes from Sean Farrell, Mitchell Stephens (power play), and Tobie Bisson.
Fast Facts:
- #12 Boko Imama, who hails from nearby Montreal, scored his first goal as a Senator and the 27th of his AHL career.
- #19 Matthew Boucher recorded his first two points of the year with a pair of assists.
- #22 Garrett Pilon had two assists in the game.
- #21 Max Guenette, #23 Cole Reinhardt and #52 Nikolas Matinpalo each had an assist.
- #35 Leevi Merilainen stopped 34/40 shots he faced.
Highlights: