(Laval) The name of Joshua Roy was already igniting social networks, but the Quebecer added fuel to the fire on Friday evening.
Roy collected five points, including his first hat trick in the American Hockey League, and the Laval Rocket defeated the Rochester Americans 8-4 at Place Bell.
Things were already going very well for Roy in his rookie season in the AHL, when he had four points in his first three games.
Paired with Lucas Condotta and Sean Farrell, at the suggestion of Scott Pellerin, the associate director of hockey development for the Montreal Canadiens, the 20-year-old forward seemed to attract the puck like a magnet throughout the evening.
Roy participated in five consecutive Rocket goals (1-2-1), scoring a natural hat trick to move into the American League scoring lead.
It was enough for Habs fans to ask for his recall to the NHL, in particular to compensate for the absence of center player Kirby Dach. Roy, however, refuses to give in despite very good performances at the start of the season.
“I’m not thinking about that right now. I’m here and as long as that’s the case, I’m going to stay focused on winning games in Laval. We have a great group so I’m going to continue to work hard, said the Canadian’s fifth-round pick in 2021. There are games like that, during which everything falls on you. It feels good to experience evenings like this. »
The Rocket players are certainly in no hurry to see him pack his bags for the big club.
Along with Roy, Condotta and Farrell both collected a goal and an assist for Laval. In Farrell’s case, it was his first career goal in the American League, although he can boast of having already scored once in the NHL.
Fourth-round pick of the Habs in 2020, Farrell managed to do well on Friday, after three slightly quieter games. The small forward indicated that there was a period of adaptation to experience between the American university ranks, the NHL and now the American League.
“In every league, I have to find ways to use my skills and play my style of play to create plays,” he explained. The American League is more physical and the teams exchange attacks less. Several defenders come along the boards to deliver big hits. I try to be smart in my positioning. »
Riley McKay also collected a goal and an assist while Lias Andersson and Joel Armia completed the scoring for the Rocket, who finally signed their first victory this season after three unsuccessful attempts. Brandon Gignac contributed to three goals.
“We showed up for all three periods this evening and it made the difference,” said Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle. There were several great performances from several players. It was a team effort and we played hard from start to finish. »
Jakub Dobes also had a first night in the AHL, enjoying his first career triumph after stopping 35 shots. After allowing two quick goals, Dobes made a key save on Mason Jobst and the game seemed to swing from there.
“He’s a young goalkeeper so there will be ups and downs. After the second goal it could have gotten out of hand, but he made a key save and it kept us in the game. Afterwards, we took over,” Houle said.
Brendan Warren, Jeremy Davies, Aleksandr Kisakov and Kale Clague responded for the Americans (2-2-0), who defeated the Rocket in overtime on Wednesday evening. Michael Houser had the trust of head coach Seth Appert, but he gave up seven times in 33 shots.
The Rocket quickly got going offensively. After a first missed opportunity on the power play, the Laval team rallied on its second attempt, a few minutes later. Andersson jumped on a return shot to open the scoring.
The celebrations were short-lived when Warren and Davies took turns surprising Dobes in the top corner in the space of 87 seconds.
Led by Dobes’ save, the home team regained momentum to return to the locker room with a one-goal priority, thanks to McKay and Condotta.
The Rocket started the second period with confidence and the chemistry between Farrell and Roy stood out. During a three-on-one build-up, Farrell put the finishing touches on a nice pass from his teammate to make it 4-2.
Roy continued to put on a show at the end of the second period and at the start of the final third. During a two-on-one push, he served a nice backhand fake to Houser to make the red light sparkle.
Thirty-two seconds later, Roy was forgotten in front of the net and he beat the Americans goaltender between the pads to complete his first hat trick in the American League.
The Americans made things interesting with two quick goals, from Kisakov and Clague, but the Rocket nailed it when Armia sent the puck into an empty net.
