Rocket Weekly: Two Straight Wins Over Abbotsford

The home portion of the 2025-26 season got underway for Laval last week with a pair of games against the defending Calder Cup champs.  The Rocket put forth a pair of strong efforts to take both games from Abbotsford to extend their early winning streak to three games.

The Week That Was

Oct. 17: Laval 3, Abbotsford 0 – Not surprisingly, the Rocket came out quickly in their home opener, putting a lot of pressure on the Canucks but it took until late in the opening period to get on the board when Jared Davidson potted a power play marker.  They added a pair in the third on goals from Filip Mesar and Xavier Simoneau to give Jacob Fowler some breathing room and he took care of business from there, pitching a 19-save shutout.

Oct. 18: Laval 5, Abbotsford 2 – For the second straight game, Laval came out with 15 shots in the opening period and this time, they were able to score early with Laurent Dauphin scoring before the three-minute mark and Davidson adding one eight minutes later.  The Canucks then potted a pair of power play goals after the Rocket had four minutes in extra penalties from an early-period fight.  But they were able to rebound nicely in the third with Lucas Condotta scoring the winner before they added a pair of empty-netters.

StatPack

Skaters:

Goalies:

Team Leaders:

Goals: Joshua Roy (3)
Assists: Alex Belzile (3)
Points: Belzile/Dauphin/Roy (4)
+/-: Tobie Paquette-Bisson (+5)
PIMS: Condotta/Davidson (9)
Shots: Adam Engstrom (15)

News and Notes

– With their back end still pretty thin due to injuries, Laval signed Josiah Didier to a PTO.  Yes, the same Didier who the Habs drafted back in 2011 who played for both the Hamilton Bulldogs and St. John IceCaps.  However, he was injured in a fight in the home opener and is listed as day-to-day.

– Laval sent forwards Joe Dunlap and Riley Kidney along with defenceman Darick Louis-Jean to Trois-Rivieres of the ECHL, effectively finalizing their opening roster.

– However, two of those players have been brought back already.  Louis-Jean was recalled to cover in Didier’s absence while Kidney is back following Owen Beck’s recall to the Habs (subsequently flipped for Joshua Roy).

Last Game’s Lines:

Farrell – Dauphin – Roy
Davidson – Belzile – Mesar
Simoneau – Condotta – Thorpe
Arseneau – Xhekaj – Tuch

Del Gaizo – Engstrom
Paquette-Bisson – Clurman
Dion  – Wylie

The Week Ahead

Wednesday at Belleville – The Senators are off to a tough start this season, allowing 18 goals in just four games.  However, it’ll be a different goalie for this one with Ottawa sending down Leevi Merilainen to get some game action in; he’s expected to be recalled after this one.  Stephen Halliday is their leading point-getter, averaging an assist per game thus far while no Sens player has scored more than once.

Friday at Rochester – The injury situation in Buffalo could help Laval out here as two of their top three scorers, Noah Ostlund and Zac Jones, were recalled to the Sabres while their top offensive threat from the back end last season (Zach Metsa) is already up with the Sabres.  Still, they’re off to a .500 start in the early going and feature a goalie setup similar to Laval’s with one youngster (Devon Levi) and one veteran (Alexandar Georgiev).

Saturday at Utica – The Comets have struggled out of the gate this season and are tied with Belleville with just one point through four games.  They’re without their starting goalie with Nico Daws up in New Jersey due to Jacob Markstrom’s injury.  Rookie Matyas Melovsky is off to a strong start with three points in his first four games but he is the only one out of seven rookies to score so far; five have yet to record a point.

Final Thought

Getting off to a strong start is always important but for some players, it matters just a bit more.  One of those is winger Filip Mesar.  This is actually the fourth straight season he has started with the Rocket but he was quickly cut and sent to junior in the first two, a disappointment for him considering he played professionally in Slovakia but something that was probably best for his development in the long run.

Then, he started off well last season before an injury derailed that momentum and upon returning, he struggled.  It got to the point where he fell well down the depth chart to the point where multiple injuries were needed for him to get into a game in the playoffs; he suited up for their final contest against Charlotte.  As a result, it’s fair to say that his stock was down coming into the season.

A good start would be great for his confidence and, assuming he stays healthy this time and can keep it up, also his overall value.  Can he play well enough to move back up the depth chart and give him a chance at a spot in Montreal down the road?  That’s the long-term goal but if nothing else, he’s off to a good enough start to give him a shot at making the first thing happen.  And right now, that’s something he is doing.  It’s early, but so far, so good.