Rocket Lineup

Anthony Richard – Peter Abbandonato – Joel Teasdale

Emil Heineman – Mitchell Stephens – Pierrick Dube

Gabriel Bourque – Lucas Condotta – Xavier Simoneau

Jan Mysak – Nolan Yaremko – Riley McKay

William Trudeau – Nicolas Beaudin

Jayden Struble – Corey Schueneman

Mattias Norlinder – Olivier Galipeau

Cayden Primeau – Jakub Dobes

Danick Martel, Madison Bowey, John Parker-Jones, Frederic Allard, Brandon Gignac, Jayden Struble, Kevin Poulin, Tory Dello

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Otto Leskinen

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket returned to Place Bell for a crucial match against North division rivals, Cleveland Monsters. Laval concluded a perfect four-game road trip with a win against the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday while Cleveland blanked the Belleville Senators 1-0 on Wednesday.

Jean-Francois Houle received some good news in the morning when the Canadiens returned Cayden Primeau and Corey Schueneman to his roster. Primeau was between the pipes for three of the Rocket’s four road wins. The Monsters received assistance from their NHL affiliate Columbus Blue Jackets as four players were returned from loan.

Jayden Struble returned to the lineup after sitting out the match against the Admirals. Tory Dello was scratched to make room for the rookie. Jakub Dobes dressed as Primeau’s backup for his first taste of an AHL game.

First Period

The game was intense from the opening faceoff. Xavier Simoneau and Owen Sillinger dropped the gloves 3:03 into the game in the neutral zone.

A little over a minute later, a scrum with all 10 skaters ensued in Cleveland’s zone that resulted into a pair of players from each team heading to the penalty box.

Cleveland opened the scoring midway through the frame when Primeau made a pad save on Alex Whelen but the rebound landed right on Cole Sillinger‘s stick for the tap in goal.

Laval got on the board with 6:05 remaining when Emil Heineman tipped Struble’s shot behind Jet Greaves. The goal extended Heineman’s point streak to five games, and Struble’s assist was his first point as a professional.

Laval had two power play opportunities through 20 minutes and did not generate any offence during the advantage over their opponents.

Second Period

Laval came out firing to start the second period with two quick goals. First, Anthony Richard tipped Gabriel Bourque‘s pass behind Greaves for the goal.

The public address announcer was not finished announcing Richard’s goal when Simoneau beat the goalie with a shot from the slot. It was Simoneau’s first goal since January 21st against the Toronto Marlies.

Coach Trent Vogelhuber called a timeout to settle his troops and it paid off as Tyler Angle beat Primeau from the faceoff circle to cut the lead to one goal.

With 2:44 remaining, Jan Mysak increased the lead to two goals by deflecting Mattias Norlinder‘s point shot before the puck crossed the red line.

Third Period

Indiscipline was costly for the home team in the third period. Heineman was in the box for 33 seconds when Trey Fix-Wolansky beat Primeau with a one-timer from the blue line.

Later in the period, Struble was serving a minor when Mitchell Stephens took a roughing penalty on a post-whistle scrum. Cleveland needed 12 seconds of the five-on-three to tie the match as Fix-Wolansky beat Primeau with another one-timer.

Midway through the period, the Monsters took the lead when Sillinger scored for the second time in the night with a wrist shot. At that stage, Cleveland was outshooting Laval 12-4.

The Rocket started playing desperate hockey from that point forward, spending the majority of the time in the Monsters zone for the balance of the period.

Richard and Joel Teasdale had quality chances that they did not convert before the final buzzer.

What’s Next

Special teams made the difference in Cleveland’s 5-4 victory. While the Monsters power play scored twice, the Rocket was not able to setup in their opponents zone during their three chances.

Laval missed an opportunity to control their destiny and now sit outside of the playoff picture, one point behind Cleveland that have one game in hand.

The Rocket head on the road for the final time in the regular season to face the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday. Kevin Poulin travelled to Syracuse earlier than his teammates in order to be rested and start in goal.

Be sure to scroll down for audio clips from tonight’s post-game media interviews with Bourque, Stephens, Struble, and Houle, conducted by the AHL Report and other members of the press.

Plus / Minus

▲ Emil Heineman, Pierrick Dube

▼ Cayden Primeau, Joel Teasdale, Mitchell Stephens, Olivier Galipeau