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Rocket defeat: Jacob Fowler couldn’t help it
Michaël Petit
Rocket defeat: Jacob Fowler couldn’t help it
Credit: The Laval Rocket began their second game of the series against the Rochester Americans. In the first game, Pascal Vincent’s team did well, winning by a score of 5-4. Cayden Primeau was the starter for the game and wasn’t exceptional, though he wasn’t necessarily bad. He may have allowed four goals, but he made some […]
The Laval Rocket began their second game of the series against the Rochester Americans.

In the first game, Pascal Vincent’s team did well, winning by a score of 5-4.

Cayden Primeau was the starter for the game and wasn’t exceptional, though he wasn’t necessarily bad. He may have allowed four goals, but he made some big saves late in a tight game.

For this second game, it was Jacob Fowler who had the task of stopping the Americans.

The rotation between the two goalkeepers is likely to continue for some time to come.

And that makes sense, since even if Fowler performs better than Primeau, it was Primeau who took the club to the playoffs with a historic season. We mustn’t forget that.

On the other hand, Primeau will have to bounce back strongly when he next leaves, because as it is, Fowler risks officially stealing the club’s #1 goaltender spot for the playoffs.

In short, Pascal Vincent’s line-up featured a number of changes, including the reinsertion of Luke Tuch at the expense of Xavier Simoneau.

Owen Beck was also promoted to the third line.

Interestingly, the national anthems were performed in both languages in Rochester.

Nice touch.

The Americans quickly set the tone for the match, scoring within the first six minutes. Former Montreal Canadiens Kale Clague broke the ice in this game. It was his fifth goal in as many playoff games for the defenseman.

There wasn’t much Jacob Fowler could do about the shot. A powerful, veiled shot from the point is unforgiving.

However, the first half of the first period can be summed up as a success in Fowler’s case, even if the club was trailing. He was repeatedly tested on quality opportunities.

Fowler was very good and kept his team in the game with some great saves, including this one:

The Rocket defense looked a lot more porous than it’s been accustomed to this season and in the playoffs.

At least the Rocket were able to tie the game a few minutes later, thanks to Laurent Dauphin.

Unfortunately, the tie didn’t last long, as the Americans struck back less than a minute after Dauphin’s goal.

A shot from the point deflected just wide of Fowler’s goal.

Definitely, the first period was largely in the Americans’ favor, and it’s a good thing Fowler was there, because it could have been a lot worse than 2-1 after 20 minutes.

The Rocket seemed to get the message during the first intermission, as he was far more convincing in the first half of the second period than in the first 20 minutes of play.

And it paid off for the Rocket, who came from behind to take the lead with back-to-back goals.

Lucas Condotta tied the game and Jared Davidson gave the Rocket the lead a few minutes later.

David Reinbacher picked up an assist on his team’s 3rd goal.

But with 40 seconds left in the second twenty, Lukas Rousek brought everyone back to square one.

Fowler faced 23 shots in the first 40 minutes of play and the Americans had several golden chances to score. Fowler was on hand to limit the damage.

While the third period was very evenly split on both sides, Jacob Fowler was unable to stop the shooting of young Jiri Kulich, who has played 62 games with the Buffalo Sabres this season.

Kulich gave his team the lead with just under eight minutes to play in regulation time with a powerful shot on the powerplay.

Once again, Fowler had nothing to do with the goal.

It’s a shame Fowler has allowed four goals so far, because he was playing some excellent hockey. He was solid in front of the net all game, controlled his rebounds well and greatly helped the Rocket stay in the game until the end.

We tried everything at the end of the 3rd period, pulling Fowler with less than a minute left, but the Rocket couldn’t get into the offensive zone and send the game into overtime.

Rochester finally scored in an empty net to seal the deal.

The game ended 5-3 to the Americans, with Fowler stopping 31 shots.

The next game in the series takes place next Wednesday, with the remainder of the series to be played in Laval.


In Overtime

– La Victoire lost to the Ottawa Charge and is out of the playoffs.

– Auston Matthews also left the game briefly before re-entering after receiving Barkov’s stick in the eye.

– Oufff…

– A beautiful slap from Bo Bichette.

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