Day 67: Laaksonen Laughs Last

New acquisition Antti Laaksonen (file photo) upstaged the other higher-profile newcomers by setting up the winning goal against the Sockeyes.




Iqaluit, NU (CP)

In a day of fresh beginnings for a troika of new Rovers, the most unheralded of the trio stepped up to make his presence known at the best possible time. After missing the introductory press conference in the morning during which Mark Recchi and Cory Stillman were given a splashy welcome to the team, Antti Laaksonen arrived in Iqaluit by himself shortly after noon, came to the rink, and proceeded to find a pinching Chris Pronger in the final minutes to lift his new team to a 2-1 win over the Sockeyes. At least one Rover was not surprised with his play. "I'm telling you, you guys are going to love Laaks", former Aviators teammate Mark Recchi gushed. "He was huge for us in San Diego, and I know he'll keep it up here. When I heard that he was also coming here in the trade, I was really happy. He's the ultimate teammate".

The game started off with a slow pace as the two teams each looked tight, not wanting to make the first big mistake. After a first period in which there were only eleven total shots with seven by the Rovers, the second period opened up slightly with the first break coming on a Sockeyes power-play. With David Legwand and Robyn Regehr in the box, the Sockeyes enjoyed a minute of two-man advantage early in the frame. They controlled the play beautifully, and just after the first penalty had expired Saku Koivu spotted Brenden Morrow at the side of the net for an easy tap-in goal to open the scoring, beating Rovers goalie Chris Mason. "There was nothing to do on that goal", Mason said after the game. "Sometimes you just get beat. It was a great pass by Koivu".

The Sockeyes held the 1-0 lead through the end of the second and past the midway mark of the third before Eric Brewer's blast from the left point eluded Evgeni Nabokov to tie the game at 1-1. Then, with just over two minutes remaining, Laaksonen took a neutral zone pass from David Legwand and flew down the left side. He took All-Star Nik Lidstrom to the outside and as Lidstrom finished him into the boards, Laaksonen saw a trailing Chris Pronger slip into the slot and he flicked the puck to him. Pronger made no mistake and popped a quick wrister over the glove of Nabokov for the go-ahead goal that stood up to be the winner.

Mason, subbing for the injured Martin Gerber, made 17 saves for the victory, while Nabokov stopped 25 shots in defeat. The win keeps the Rovers in step with the Mounties atop the table, who downed the Roadkill by the same 2-1 margin. Besides Laaksonen, the other newest Rovers seemed to fit in well despite not showing up on the scoreboard. Cory Stillman skated on the top line with Demitra and Murray and played 21 minutes, registered three shots on goal and completed ten of eleven pass attempts. Mark Recchi played the right side with Alex Frolov and Kris Draper. He played 18 minutes, had two shots, took three minor penalties, one four of five faceoffs and completed seven of nine passes. "This was just their first game, so they've only had one practice so far to see where things fit best", Stringer said after the game. "We'll continue to try different things to get the best fit for each of them".

The Rovers now hit the road to Saskatoon to play the Funboys. The teams have split two games this season, which each winning in their home rink. The last game was two weeks ago when the Funboys took a 4-3 win in Saskatoon. Gerber will be a game-time decision the contest, though he said after the game that he felt he could have played against the Sockeyes if he was needed. If he feels as good tomorrow, he'll likely get the start.