(Laval) The Laval Rocket will be without four regular players, three of whom will be absent for the very long term, when the Utica Comets visit Wednesday evening at Place Bell.
Team management announced that right winger Nathan Légaré (lower body) will be out for seven to eight weeks while center Sean Farrell (upper body) will not be available for a period ranging from six to eight weeks.
Additionally, defenseman Brady Keeper (lower body) will be out for three months.
Furthermore, captain Gabriel Bourque (upper body) will be sidelined for an indefinite period.
In Bourque’s case, however, the news is less grim. He skated with the reserves Wednesday morning and he could find his place in the lineup in the shorter term.
Légaré suffered his injury during the December 30 game against the Syracuse Crunch while Farrell, Keeper and Bourque were injured during the January 7 game in Utica.
Already on Tuesday, the Rocket announced the recalls of forwards Alex-Olivier Voyer and Jakov Novak from the Trois-Rivières Lions, in the ECHL.
The Rocket (13-14-5) begins a streak Wednesday night that will see it play eight of its next 11 games at home, until the All-Star break. The annual American League Classic will be held February 4-5 in San Jose.
The Laval team is experiencing its best moments of the season with four consecutive victories, the last two by identical scores of 4-3, in shootouts, Friday and Sunday in Utica.
Jean-François Houle’s men have also won eight of their last 10 outings, a performance that allowed them to come out of the cellar in the American League North section standings, now occupied by the Comets.
