On Saturday, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price posted on Instagram his support for the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR). The CCFR is a volunteer organization that aims to maintain, protect and promote private firearm ownership.

On his post, Price wore camouflage clothing holding a firearm. “I love my family, I love my country and I care for my neighbour. I am not a criminal or a threat to society. What Justin Trudeau is trying to do is unjust. I support the CCFR to keep my hunting tools. Thank you for listening to my opinion.”

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and the CCFR thanked the goalie on their respective social media accounts for voicing his opinion on the controversial proposed amendment Bill C-21.

The Laval Rocket flew to British Columbia for a double header against the Abbotsford Canucks. For the occasion, the captain Alex Belzile returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an injury. Defenceman Justin Barron missed the first match with a lower body injury.

Saturday’s game was a wild contest that featured 12 goals, 62 penalty minutes and 14 power plays. Unfortunately for Laval, they were on the losing end of the 7-5 match. Jan Mysak did not finish the game after suffering an injury during the first period.

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“It was a weird game. There was a lot of special units, so we had to turn the bench upside down a little bit. We had good scoring chances and could have tied it at the end of the game. Once again, we need to play better defensively if we want to win games,” coach Jean-Francois Houle said.

On Sunday Kent Hughes and assistant general manager John Sedgwick were in attendance in Abbotsford. Laval was down by one goal through 40 minutes before Abbotsford added two goals to their lead and headed to 6-3 win.

“It’s the same story. We were trailing again and it takes a lot of energy to try to get back into the game. We came back into the game but it was too late,” Houle said.

The Rocket have struggled to get the lead in matches. Through 23 games, Laval has had the lead only twice after the first period. “When the opponent is leading, they sit on it. That’s why lately we’ve been outshooting our opponents, because we’re trailing,” added Houle.

Laval returns for home for three games starting on Friday when hosting the Belleville Senators.

The Trois-Rivieres Lions began a three-game homestand on the weekend by hosting the Iowa Heartlanders twice.

On Friday, the Lions took a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes and never looked back in their way to 4-2 victory.

“I don’t think we played at our best. We cheated on offense. We can play better. The positive is that if you win without playing your best, you have a good team,” interim coach Marc-Andre Bergeron said.

There was a scary incident during the game when Lions defenceman Santino Centorame was hit into the boards by James Sanchez. Centorame laid on the ice for several minutes before being stretchered off. The defenceman did not require a trip to the hospital.

On Saturday, the Lions had to overcome three leads against the Heartlanders and force overtime. It took 60 seconds into the extra frame before Anthony Beauregard netted the game winning goal to give Trois-Rivieres the 5-4 victory. The win extended the Lions home winning streak to five games.

“It’s satisfying. It shows that we are acquiring good habits. It is certain that when you make a comeback, it shows character,” noted Bergeron.

“I think we had the momentum, but we gave them a few goals that we shouldn’t have given up. We showed character. The important thing is that we won. A perfect weekend like that does a lot of good.”

On Sunday, the Belleville Senators signed Lions defenceman Alex Breton to a professional tryout contract. In 18 games with Trois-Rivieres, Breton has scored two goals and 12 points while averaging 21 minutes of ice time.

Trois-Rivieres hosts the Worcester Railers on Wednesday before heading to Maine for a pair of games against the Mariners starting on Friday.

(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)