(Laval) Beyond the two points it gave it in the standings in the North section of the American Hockey League, the 6-4 victory of the Laval Rocket on Wednesday against the Belleville Senators could be beneficial to many respect for the young troupe of Jean-François Houle.
In the locker room, after the Laval team erased a 0-4 deficit after about 18 minutes of play, you could feel the relief and satisfaction among the players.
This was particularly the case for Sean Farrell, the author of the Rocket’s fourth goal, at the very start of the third period.
“It’s big. We dug ourselves a really deep hole. Then we started playing better. “Manner” (goalkeeper Strauss Mann) came into the game and did a great job, and the rest of the club took over. It was a great team effort. It’s good to go for victories coming from behind like that. »
This is the second time this season that the Rocket (5-7-1) has erased a significant setback in a match late.
On November 3, against the Toronto Marlies, the Rocket scored four unanswered goals in the second half of the third period to win 5-3.
Wednesday, against the Senators, the comeback began in the final moments of the first period when Brandon Gignac rattled the strings during a power play.
“Mentally, for a young team, it’s a very good thing to come from behind like that, because if we’re in that situation again, at least we know we’re capable of doing it. do,” noted Houle.
However, even if victories like Wednesday’s can be beneficial for morale, in the long run, they can also be physically tiring.
During his meeting with the media after Wednesday’s match, Houle said a word on this subject while returning to the two previous games.
Facing the Manitoba Moose, Sunday and Monday, the Rocket quickly took control, en route to so many great victories that were never really in doubt.
“If we had to come from behind once or twice against Manitoba, it would have been almost impossible to come back tonight (Wednesday), said Houle. It’s normal. It’s the human body. You spend so much energy when you have to come from behind. »
Wednesday’s victory also held several other lessons, Houle said. In particular that of being able to leave on time.
When asked about the poor start to the match, Houle was unable to give an answer. To the point where he took some of the blame himself.
“We warned them (Wednesday morning) during pre-match training. There are certain things we can do. Maybe I need to raise my voice a little earlier as an instructor. I can learn from this too. Maybe it’s our fault, the instructors, for not having prepared them properly,” he first emphasized.
“But they also hold the stick,” he immediately continued about his players. You have to be ready from the start. I really didn’t like our effort in the first (period). »
The Rocket head coach also recognized, in response to a question from a journalist, that his players perhaps wanted to complete too many beautiful plays, instead of opting for simplicity.
This is a phenomenon that tends to occur perhaps more often at Place Bell where, perhaps unconsciously, the players try to please their fans.
“During our power play in the first period, I found that we were trying, four, five, six passes before throwing to the net. We were trying to make “cute” plays and that’s not how you win in hockey. You have to work, you have to send pucks to the net, you have to be in front of the goalie,” Houle recalled.
“So we have to put our work boots on, right from the start. When we put on our work boots like we did in the second and third period, it’s difficult to play against us. It’s consistency. It’s a young team and we hope they will learn from all the lessons we had (Wednesday). »
No matter what lessons were learned from Wednesday’s game, the Rocket players would try to assimilate them off the ice on Thursday. Only the players who were not in uniform against the Senators were going to jump on the ice.
The Laval team has just completed a sequence of three games in four days, and will play two other games this week, Friday at home against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Saturday in Utica, against the Comets
“I don’t think it’s ever happened to me in the pros to have so many matches in so few days,” Houle said.
“(The players) are going to come to the arena, we’re going to have a little meeting, a couple of videos, maybe from the first period,” Houle said, with a smirk.
“They need to manage their energies right now,” he concluded.
