Cayden Primeau’s brilliance sends Rocket to Eastern Final

There have been a few changes, but one stands out. Brandon Gignac’s promotion to the first line. It was Sean Farrell who got the nod, and he found himself on the second line.

Luke Tuch also left his place to Xavier Simoneau on the third line.

Last but not least, William Trudeau was not included in the line-up, as he seems to have accumulated a number of injuries. He was replaced by Zack Hayes.

Definitely, Pascal Vincent wanted to stir his soup properly after Friday night’s crushing defeat.

From the outset, the REAL Rocket started the game like a lion, and the line changes paid off.

Joshua Roy and Sean Farrell combined for Alex Barré-Boulet to complete the scoring on the powerplay.

A few minutes later, Zack Hayes directed the puck towards the net to prevent it from leaving the zone. Sean Farrell deftly redirected the disc behind Devon Levi.

BB SUR LE PP 🚀 https://t.co/q2lNop3nPl pic.twitter.com/MsyIeVghWu

— xyz - Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) May 25, 2025

Hayes was very active in the first period, sacrificing himself to block a shot from Konsta Helenius.

Without making too much noise, Primeau proved he’s the Rocket’s true #1 goalie. He was very solid in the first period.

He wants to prove that rotation isn’t necessary.

Primeau did what he had to do by making it difficult for Rochester to stop all 10 shots on goal.

The first period inspired captain Lucas Condotta, who tripled his team’s lead less than 30 seconds into the second period with a shot on goal.

With a three-goal lead, all Primeau had to do was stay focused and keep things simple.

And Primeau’s consistency throughout the season was impressive. One could only hope that he would bring his A-game to the regular season.

Although the Rocket dominated those first two periods, Rochester still found a way to challenge Primeau, who was as solid as a brick wall covering the entire net.

The Rocket’s indiscipline sank them in Game #4, but in this game they were much more disciplined and the club’s first penalty came late in the second period.

Florian Xhekaj was pushed in front of Levi’s net and the colossus retaliated, a little too much for the referees’ liking, who punished him. Laval managed to kill off the numerical disadvantage.

Discipline, on the other hand, was not a popular word with the Americans, who were down three times in the first 40 minutes and paid the price, again, on the third occasion.

Joshua Roy scored a goal for the third consecutive game. Farrell earned his third point of the game after being relegated to the second line.

As much as Primeau was smoking, overall, the whole team played some excellent hockey. The forwards stepped up quickly and throughout the game to help Primeau’s brilliance in front of the net. The defensive brigade, without Trudeau, also came up trumps to help their goalie.

Oliver Kapanen finally nailed the Amerks‘ coffin, bringing the score to 5-0 halfway through the final frame, 5-0 being the final score.

Primeau was smoldering, dominant and downright perfect in this victory, blocking all 27 shots in his direction. We can therefore expect the rotation to come to an end and Primeau to be the starter for the first game of this Eastern final.

Roy and Farrell stood out offensively with three points each.

In the Eastern Final, the Rocket will face the Charlotte Checkers in a four-of-seven series, who easily disposed of the defending champion Hershey Bears.

The first game of the AHL semi-finals takes place on Wednesday evening (May 28) in Laval. The first two games will be played in Laval, the next three in Charlotte and the last two, if necessary, in Laval.