A day after clinching the North Division championship, the Laval Rocket sent newly signed goaltender and Mike Richter award winner Jacob Fowler between the pipes. Considered by many to be the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender of the future, the 20-year-old passed his first with flying colors.

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Demidov Takes His First Strides As A Member Of The Montreal Canadiens

Taking on the Syracuse Crunch, Fowler faced 26 shots and only gave one goal, meaning he finished his first game with a .962 save percentage. The Florida native was eased in gently as the Crunch only took six shots on goal in the first frame. He then faced nine shots in the second period, surrendering a single goal, and was flawless on 11 shots in the final stanza as Syracuse desperately tried to tie up the game.

The Rocket came out strong and scored its two goals in the first period through Riley Kidney and Lucas Condotta, who was named the game's first star. Owen Beck, Filip Mesar, Xavier Simoneau, and Jared Davidson got an assist.

With only three games to play in the regular season, the Rocket sits atop the league’s standings with a four-point lead over the reigning Calder Cup champions, Hershey Bears, who also have three games left. Laval’s remaining three games are all against the Belleville Senators, who are on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs.

Pas mauvais ce Jacob Fowler… 😮‍💨🔥Une belle première impression pour l’espoir des Canadiens! #ahl Pas mauvais ce Jacob Fowler… 😮‍💨🔥Une belle première impression pour l’espoir des Canadiens! #ahl

There is still no word about the length of Connor Hughes’ absence, but with Cayden Primeau having an excellent season in the AHL (he leads all goaltenders with a 2.00 goals-against average and is third in save percentage with .926) and Fowler being solid in his first start, there’s no reason for the Rocket to worry.

It will be interesting to see if the Rocket get some reinforcements from Montreal when the playoffs start. Joshua Roy hasn’t played since March 27, and with Ivan Demidov’s arrival, it’s hard to see how he could see more action this season. Unless of course, the Canadiens clinch their playoff spot and Martin St-Louis decides to rest some of his regulars.

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