Tempers Flare In Tight Contest | RECAP: LAV @ HFD

Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 37 Brandon Gignac - 19 Emil Heineman
15 Sean Farrell - 61 Philippe Maillet - 28 Lias Andersson
49 Jared Davidson - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 12 Filip Cederqvist
21 Riley Kidney - 14 Jan Mysak - 17 Nathan Legare

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

Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Chris Jandric, Lucas Condotta, Riley McKay

Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body), Gabriel Bourque, Kasimir Kaskisuo

The Laval Rocket continued their three-game road trip on Friday night with another trip to Hartford, CT. The Wolf Pack were defeated by the Rocket the last time these two teams met, in February. 

After beating the Bridgeport Islanders 4-0 on Wednesday, his first professional shutout, Jakub Dobes returned to the crease. The only change to Jean-Francois Houle's lineup was Riley Kidney drawing back in the lineup in exchange for Riley McKay.

Hartford took an early lead about three minutes into the game when Brandon Scanlin ripped a one-timer over the top of Dobes' glove. Neither team got a puck over the goal line during two minutes of four-on-four play, but the Wolf Pack struck again while Logan Mailloux was serving a tripping penalty.

Down 2-0, the Rocket came out quickly in the second period. Emil Heineman picked up a rebound and put a sharp-angled shot past Dylan Garand just 39 seconds into the frame. The remainder of the second period flew by without any other scoring changes, although a couple of penalties were distributed for some post-whistle scrums.

Dobes seemed particularly fiesty on this night, making a couple of key saves on Hartford breakaways, and even taking some chops at an opponent's stick after a whistle. Dylan Garand, however, was equally up to the task at the other end of the ice, making some timely stops on dangerous Laval scoring chances.

As the game wore on, the number of penalties and scrums increased noticeably. Penalties started to compound in the third period, giving Hartford more chances to extend their lead. William Trudeau suffered a couple of hard blocked shots, and although the Wolf Pack didn't get another puck past Dobes, the Rocket also couldn't pull even with their opponents to force overtime.

Rocket (23-23-5-2)
Shots: 33
Power play: 0-for-2
Penalty minutes: 14

Wolf Pack (27-17-6-1)
Shots: 24
Power play: 1-for-4
Penalty minutes: 10

Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Heineman (11)
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Wolf Pack Scorers
1st period: Scanlin (8), Berard (18)-PPG
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 16-12-5-1
HFD: Garand (W) 14-8-3-2

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Dobes Earns First Pro Shutout | RECAP: LAV @ BRI

The Rocket wrap up this road trip on Saturday night with their first matchup against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Puck drop on Saturday, March 2nd, is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET at MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA.

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.