(Laval) It’s one thing to lose matches, but it’s another to lose them without pride and without intensity.
Following an unconvincing 5-2 loss at home at the hands of the Belleville Senators, the Laval Rocket found themselves winless in their last eight outings, since November 15.
The Laval team struggled at the start of the season, winning only two of its first 10 games, but its failures have never seemed as serious as they do now.
After the match, head coach Jean-François Houle and some players did not understand why the thirst for victory was not more present within the Rocket (5-12-3), who is not in a position to win. classification to take evenings off.
“It takes 20 players to win games and not everyone showed up tonight,” said captain Gabriel Bourque scathingly. Our fans don’t deserve this and we should play much better, especially at home. We have talent in the locker room, but everyone has to show up every night. That’s what’s difficult about the American League. »
Wednesday night, the Rocket conceded at least one goal in the first four minutes of play for the third time in their last four games. He was able to pull himself together in the previous two, but against the Senators, eyes quickly went to the ground.
Having to regularly climb back up the slope can be physically taxing for the players, and the current series of defeats has struck a chord with some of them. The frustration on the ice against the Senators was good proof of this.
It is true that the Rocket has several young players in its ranks and that development is the priority, but the negative atmosphere which follows poor performances does not help the cause of the hopes in uniform.
“It’s not better for youth development to lose every game. Learning to win is a big part of hockey, said defender Tobie Bisson. It is often said that if a young person makes it to the Stanley Cup final, it is good for him because he sees what a winning team is. I think that’s what we’re missing. We have a good group that is having fun, but it’s about finding how to play together to win. »
“I have always said that it is easier to develop in a winning environment,” continued Houle. First, the players have better morale when they come to the arena and also, it’s easier to distribute ice time when you win. But this is where we are right now as a team, and we’re going to keep working. »
The head coach does not have a miracle solution up his sleeve, but a constant effort from his players would already prove to be a step forward. Striker Emil Heineman speaks of an element of pride.
“I have a hard time explaining our start to the match this evening. We don’t show up and we don’t play with pride. We should do it for our supporters, he said. We have a very good group here; we just have to find a way to do our job. »
In the third period, Bisson showed pride when he dropped the gloves to Zack Ostapchuk. His teammates responded with good moments, although it was already too late.
The great defender said he regretted not having thrown down his gloves earlier in the match, but he believes he is not the only one who can impose himself physically to wake up the troops.
This is, among other things, one of the great strengths of defender Arber Xhekaj, recently demoted to Laval by the Montreal Canadiens. The colossus, however, stayed a little further away from the clashes on Wednesday.
Houle did not rule out some future changes within his team, including in front of the net, but he will have to determine whether the development of certain Habs hopes will suffer.
“I think we need to continue to develop players for years to come. It’s possible that we make changes by recalling players from the Trois-Rivières Lions, but is that really the right thing? This is a question that we will ask ourselves between the coaches and the management,” concluded Houle.
