Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Mitchell Stephens – Anthony Richard

Emil Heineman – Peter Abbandonato – Jesse Ylonen

Xavier Simoneau – Lucas Condotta – Pierrick Dube

Gabriel Bourque – Danick Martel – Joel Teasdale

William Trudeau – Nicolas Beaudin

Jayden Struble – Corey Schueneman

Mattias Norlinder – Tory Dello

Cayden Primeau – Kevin Poulin

John Parker-Jones, Frederic Allard, Brandon Gignac, Jan Mysak, Riley McKay, Nolan Yaremko, Olivier Galipeau, Jakub Dobes

Gianni Fairbrother (knee), Otto Leskinen, Madison Bowey

Game Report

Game Report written by Chris G

The Laval Rocket kicked off the final week of the regular season with a visit by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Laval was looking to continue in their winning ways after defeating the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Bridgeport Islanders.

Jean-Francois Houle received some good news on Sunday as the Canadiens assigned Jesse Ylonen, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Corey Schueneman and Cayden Primeau to the AHL. All four were ready to have an important role in this game.

Jan Mysak, Riley McKay, and Olivier Galipeau were scratched to make room for the new roster additions.

First Period

The Rocket got an early opportunity to head on the power play and they quickly took advantage of it. Laval needed two seconds as the puck ended up on Harvey-Pinard’s stick from the faceoff and he beat former Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski to make it 1-0.

The Penguins took a bad penalty later in the period following a post whistle scrum to give the Rocket a chance to add another power play goal. Laval had several opportunities but Tokarski made big stops, notably on Ylonen and Pierrick Dube.

Laval peppered Tokarski with 17 shots in the first period making several quality stops during five-on-five including back to back stops on Peter Abbandonato and Emil Heineman.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got their best chances at the tail end of the period and Primeau stopped all 12 shots faced through 20 minutes.

Second Period

The Rocket gave the Penguins an early chance to get into this game when Tory Dello received a double-minor for high sticking. Laval’s penalty kill units kept Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s power play to three shots during the four-minute sequence and none from dangerous areas.

The Penguins controlled the majority of the second period as most of the action was in Laval’s defensive side of the rink.

Primeau was solid in the middle frame making 18 saves, while Laval managed seven shots in the second.

Third Period

Indiscipline put the Penguins in trouble in the third period by giving the Rocket a five-on-three for 1:42. Fifty-nine seconds into the two-man advantage, Anthony Richard found Ylonen in his office at the right faceoff circle. The forward beat Tokarski with a one-timer blast to make it 2-0. Mitchell Stephens extended his point streak to six games with an assist on the goal.

With 2:16 remaining in regulation, Xavier Simoneau found Gabriel Bourque in the slot and the captain buried the puck at the back of the net. Simoneau and Bourque extended their respective point streaks to four games on the play.

Danick Martel added an empty net goal to seal the victory.

What’s Next

Primeau bounced back from his last start and made 41 saves to record his third shutout of the season. If Jake Allen continues to be sidelined with an injury, Primeau will likely be recalled to join the Canadiens for Wednesday’s game versus the New York Islanders.

The additions of Harvey-Pinard and Ylonen rejuvenated Laval’s offence and power play. The bad news for Houle is that he had four healthy defencemen to finish the game as Nicolas Beaudin and William Trudeau did not finish the game due to injuries.

Laval’s 4-0 win in combination with Cleveland’s win against Grand Rapids allows the Rocket to hold on to the fifth spot in the North division.

The homestand continues on Wednesday when the Toronto Marlies visit Place Bell.

Plus / Minus

▲ Cayden Primeau, Tory Dello, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Emil Heineman, Jesse Ylonen

▼ Nicolas Beaudin, Mattias Norlinder