Laval Rocket vs. Cleveland Monsters, Digi Mart USA News (Laval, Quebec): After falling short on their comeback effort on Wednesday night, the Laval Rocket were again on home ice with a chance to get back in the win column on Friday as they squared off with the Cleveland Monsters. Following their loss to Lehigh Valley, where the Rocket battled back to tie the game before losing in overtime, they were eager for a win against a division rival.
Samuel Poulin was back in the lineup after missing time due to an upper-body injury. In net, the Rocket turned back to Kaapo Kähkönen after Kevin Mandolese got the start on Wednesday.
It was also a homecoming night for Luke Tuch, who returned to face the Rocket for the first time since being traded in the off-season.
A strong start sent the Rocket to a power play just over two and a half minutes into the contest, with Roman Ahcan taking a seat for tripping inside his own offensive zone. The top unit remained dangerous, moving the puck with ease, but could not beat Pheonix Copley during their two-minute advantage.
The pressure carried over to even strength as Laval pursued the game’s opening goal.
The opening goal came from an unexpected pair of contributors. David Reinbacher freed Braden Haché for a clean look on net.
The rebound fell to Hunter McKown, who, despite having his stick tied up, kicked the puck free to the front of the net. Josh Nadeau slid it home for his third goal of the year, giving the Rocket a lead in the first period.
Laval drew a second power play in the period after Jordan Dumais was called for holding inside the offensive zone. It took only 19 seconds for the Rocket to double their lead.
Alex Belzile fed Laurent Dauphin behind the net, and Dauphin walked uncontested to the front of the goal to score his third of the season for a 2-0 lead. The defence allowed just seven total shots in the opening frame.
Laval’s lead was cut in half just 19 seconds into the second period. A weak clearing effort by Dillan Bentley never left the zone, and Luca Pinelli walked in unopposed to shoot over the shoulder of Kähkönen, making it 2-1.
The Rocket responded quickly, sending wave after wave into the offensive zone and passing the 20-shot mark in short order. Bentley, who had made the earlier mistake, restored the lead with a cut to the netfront and a snapshot while falling over, making it 3-1.
Following Bentley’s goal, Ahcan was penalized for roughing Xavier Simoneau behind the play, giving Laval another power play. Copley’s saves kept the score from being 4-1 as he denied Samuel Poulin multiple times.
The missed opportunity soon cost the Rocket, as Cleveland cut the lead to one again. Pinelli worked the puck around Sasha Pastujov at the point, freeing Owen Sillinger down the wing, and the Cleveland captain beat Kähkönen with a low shot to make it 3-2.
Tempers then flared. Ahcan delivered a clean hit on Bentley, drawing a response from Tyler Thorpe, who threw him into the boards from behind and sent Cleveland back to the power play.
Laval’s penalty kill held firm, and Thorpe’s infraction did not bring further punishment as he left the box with a one-goal lead still intact for the Rocket. Copley was drawn out of his crease trying to collect a loose puck, but McKown could not slot it into the empty net.
With no time left in the period, McKown struck against his former club with a goal of the year candidate. Nadeau broke up a play in the offensive zone, freeing McKown to kick the puck to his stick, spin around the poke check of Copley, and finish between his legs to make it 4-2 as the second period ended.
The third period got off to a much better start for the Rocket. Brett Berard sped past the Monsters’ defence and rang a shot off the right post.
He did not have to wait long for another chance, as Reilly Walsh’s shot bounced over to him deep in the offensive zone. Berard corralled the puck, spun on his back foot and roofed a shot into the upper right corner to make it 5-2.
Berard added another as the period ticked away. He knocked a puck out of the air, cut toward the Cleveland net and, after his first shot was saved by Copley, collected the rebound and slid his shot under the pad and into the net.
Things then got heated. Owen Protz caught Owen Sillinger up high with his stick, leading to a double-minor.
Sillinger went after Protz, starting a mass scrum that saw Simoneau sent to the box and multiple players pile on.
Cleveland’s four-minute power play ran out much of the remaining clock, but the Rocket fended it off. With half the penalty time killed, Laval was in control, and Kähkönen flashed his glove to stop the few chances the Monsters had.
Cleveland could not cut into the lead as the final horn sounded.
Final Score: Laval 6, Cleveland 2. Cleveland will return to Place Bell on Saturday for a 3 p.m.
ET puck drop.
