Jacob Perreault Makes Rocket Debut | RECAP: CLE @ LAV

Forward lines
15 Sean Farrell - 37 Brandon Gignac - 19 Emil Heineman
81 Xavier Simoneau - 61 Philippe Maillet - 28 Lias Andersson
49 Jared Davidson - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 34 Jacob Perreault
12 Filip Cederqvist - 42 Lucas Condotta - 20 Gabriel Bourque

Defense pairings
84 William Trudeau - 24 Logan Mailloux
4 Paquette-Bisson - 52 Justin Barron
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau

Goaltenders
73 Kasimir Kaskisuo
71 Jakub Dobes

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Chris Jandric, Riley McKay, Nathan Legare, Riley Kidney

Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body)

The Laval Rocket completed the weekend sweep on Saturday with a 5-2 win against the division-leading Cleveland Monsters in front of another sold out crowd at Place Bell. 

Jacob Perreault acquired from the Anaheim Ducks organization on Thursday made his Rocket debut and Kasimir Kaskisuo obtained his first start since being sidelined with a lower body injury on February 26th. Riley Kidney was scratched for the afternoon.

The Rocket opened the scoring early into the contest during a penalty kill as Brandon Gignac used his speed to win a foot race and head on a breakaway before slipping the puck between the pads of Jet Greaves. 

Cleveland answered back with two consecutive goals. First, Brendan Gaunce beat Kaskisuo from a bad angle and later, Hunter McKown scored on the power play with a shot from the faceoff dot. 

Laval capitalized on a power play to tie the game in the final minute as Xavier Simoneau redirected Gignac's pass behind the red line. 

Sean Farrell put the home team back on top on the opening shift of the second period with a quick glove side shot from the slot. 

Jean-Francois Houle's squad had an opportunity midway through the period to increase their lead after being awarded a four-minute power play. Cleveland's penalty kill units limited their opponents to two shots on goal and blocked several shots during the double minor. 

The Canadiens AHL affiliate doubled their lead in third period when Logan Mailloux found open ice to accept a pass from Emil Heineman and skate into the slot and score on a backhander. 

Lias Andersson sealed the victory with an empty netter with under three minutes remaining in regulation. 

Perreault had a good debut with the Rocket considering it was his first game on a new squad without a practice to learn his team's new system. He got in the good graces of his teammates when jumping in a post-whistle scrum in the third period and obtained a good scoring opportunity with a wrist shot from the slot that barely missed the net. 

The first chunk of Laval's homestand finished with an impressive five points out of the six available. A playoff spot that looked gloomy two weeks ago is now a possibility. 

Rocket (25-24-6-2)
Shots: 34
Power play: 1-for-5
Penalty minutes: 14

Monsters (33-18-3-3)
Shots: 30
Power play: 1-for-3
Penalty minutes: 16

Rocket Scorers
1st period: Gignac (16)-SHG, Simoneau (9)-PPG
2nd period: Farrell (7)
3rd period: Mailloux (13), Andersson (16)-ENG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Monsters Scorers
1st period: Gaunce (19), McKown (8)-PPG
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Kaskisuo (W) 6-2-0-0
CLE: Greaves (L) 25-10-3-1 

Jean-Francois Houle

Jacob Perreault

Sean Farrell

Xavier Simoneau

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Vintage Hockey in Laval | RECAP: CLE @ LAV

The Rocket will be off on Sunday before returning to practice on Monday in preparation for their next match against the Bridgeport Islanders. 

Puck drop on Wednesday, March 13th, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Place Bell in Laval, QC.

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.