Another loss against a divisional opponent leaves the Laval Rocket in a very precarious position for the remaining three games of the season.
GAME RECAP | Laval Rocket: 4 vs Cleveland Monsters: 6 (FINAL)
Rocket Lineup
Forward lines
15 Sean Farrell - 61 Philippe Maillet - 19 Emil Heineman
28 Lias Andersson - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 16 Arnaud Durandeau
12 Filip Cederqvist - 42 Lucas Condotta - 20 Gabriel Bourque
68 Riley McKay - 21 Riley Kidney - 34 Jacob Perreault
Defense pairings
84 William Trudeau - 24 Logan Mailloux
4 Tobie Paquette-Bisson - 64 David Reinbacher
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau
Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
73 Kasimir Kaskiuo
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Strauss Mann, Florian Xhekaj
Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body), Jared Davidson, Xavier Simoneau (shoulder), Brandon Gignac
Game Report
With just four games left on the regular season calendar, it's officially crunch time for the Laval Rocket. All of their North Division opponents have a least one game in hand on them, and with Belleville beating Toronto in overtime on Wednesday night, Laval entered Thursday night's matchup against the Monsters sitting outside the playoff picture.
Florian Xhekaj, younger brother of Arber, signed a PTO with the Rocket this week after signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens. He joined the Rocket on the road in Cleveland but did not dress for Thursday's game.
The visitors wasted no time getting the scoring going, as Mitchell Stephens picked up right where he left off from last weekend and got a puck past Pavel Cajan just 13 seconds into the game. Lucas Condotta added another tally to the Rocket's side of the scoreboard a bit later in the period, giving Laval a bit of a cushion with a 2-0 lead.
However, everything changed just minutes into the second period when Cleveland put up four unanswered goals in the 20-minute frame to take their first lead of the game.
The Rocket made things interesting the third, however, when Tobie Paquette-Bisson and Emil Heineman both notched a goal to bring the score even once again, 4-4. The final 10 minutes would make or break things for Laval, and unfortunately the Monsters found the back of the net once again. The Rocket made a push to try to tie the game one more time, but an empty-netter by Cleveland ensured that no comeback would be possible.
Cleveland secured a playoff berth with the victory, and Laval now has just three games to try to climb back into a playoff position. But with opponents carrying games in hand, there's a good chance that their success will depend on the performances of other teams.
New Video: Jakub Dobes Steadily Growing in His Role
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6X2qyE8ME8[/embed]
Game Statistics
Rocket (32-29-6-2)
Shots: 26
Power play: 1-for-5
Penalty minutes: 6
Monsters (37-23-5-3)
Shots: 35
Power play: 1-for-3
Penalty minutes: 10
Scoring Summary
Rocket Scorers
1st period: Stephens (12), Condotta (7)
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Bisson (9), Heineman (14)-PPG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Monsters Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Dunne (2)-PPG, Okabe (1), Knazko (2), Del Bel Belluz (9)
3rd period: Okabe (2), Whelan (7)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a
Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 23-17-6-1
CLE: Cajan (W) 8-7-4-2
Players of the Game
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Looking Back
Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Stephens Scores Hat Trick, Rocket Win | SPR @ LAV
Up Next
The Rocket remain in Cleveland to prepare for a final rematch against the Monsters on Saturday night.
Puck drop on Saturday, April 13th, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Rocket Mortgage Arena, in Cleveland, OH.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.
