LAVAL – The 3-2 score should not be relied upon to assess this other loss for the Laval Rocket. It was much more relevant to consider the erosion of the patience of coach Jean-François Houle.
At the time of crossing the quarter of the season, the Rocket finds itself at 31e rank out of 32 teams with a 5-10-3 record.
It was therefore not surprising to see Houle modify his lines and reduce the presence of a few players during the unconvincing part – apart from the end – of his protégés.
Even Rafaël Harvey-Pinard suffered in one of his less inspired performances. The coach also expects much more from Jesse Ylönen.
“Guys have to be ready to play from the start. We have reached this point, if some guys don’t play up to it, others will take their place. That’s why we changed the lines to generate more attack. The strategy worked a bit in the third period, but it was too late,” explained Houle.
“They have to make adjustments. They are our best players so they have to play accordingly. If we want to chain victories, we need the production of our best elements, ”added the coach, speaking more specifically of RHP and Ylönen.
Speaking of which, the Rocket has yet to enjoy back-to-back wins this year. A difficult reality for coaches to digest.
“It is sure that patience is decreasing, it is starting to be tough at this level. But, in the American League, you can never look too far ahead. You don’t have to get frustrated either. Except it takes more consistency and a little more luck. We’re going to try to put the boat back in place,” reacted Houle to describe his current state of mind.
The Rocket pilot did not want to justify the whole thing by the absence of a few pillars in attack like Alex Belzile, Gabriel Bourque and Nate Schnarr. That said, he could only see that his attackers were no match for the size.
It was talked about in the game observations, but a scout insisted that only two Rocket forwards were six feet or taller. An observation that Houle made sure to remember when he was given the information.
“It’s more difficult, we are a small team. We saw it in this game, they played tough and we got pushed back,” agreed Houle.
Memories of the Rocket’s beautiful playoff run make this performance hard to take. Goaltender Cayden Primeau explained the slow period with realism.
“We are deprived of a few players and, when there are several changes to the formation, we have to develop a chemistry. We have not yet managed to do it and each player must contribute more, ”he targeted.
Can Trudeau help the recovery?
The return to action of defenseman William Trudeau could provide a boost. Except that Wednesday’s game proved that he will need time to play at the desired level.
“Okay, he did some great things in the first half. It was more difficult in the second, he was on the ice for two breakaways from the other team. But for a first game, it was okay,” Houle said.
“In general, I felt good. There are always more difficult situations to adapt to like execution, but I kept it simple,” Trudeau said.
“I won less battles than normal, I want to work on that for the next games,” he continued about what he needs to improve.