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The Rocket put on an entertaining show for their home crowd Friday night, in a game featuring five different Laval goal-scorers.

Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on Arber Xhekaj's six-game point streak in the AHL.

GAME RECAP | Manitoba Moose vs Laval Rocket

Laval Rocket vs Manitoba MooseLaval Rocket vs Manitoba Moose

Rocket Lineup

Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 61 Philippe Maillet - 10 Joshua Roy
21 Riley Kidney - 37 Brendan Gignac - 19 Emil Heineman
28 Lias Andersson - 42 Lucas Condotta - 20 Gabriel Bourque
49 Jared Davidson - 14 Jan Mysak - 68 Riley McKay

Defense pairings
72 Arber Xhekaj - 24 Logan Mailloux
84 William Trudeau - 4 Paquette-Bisson
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau

Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
73 Kasimir Kaskisuo

Out of the lineup:
Scratches:
 Strauss Mann, Nicolas Beaudin, Filip Cederqvist

Injuries:
Nathan Legare (lower-body), Sean Farrell (upper-body), Brady Keeper (lower body)

Game Report

The Laval Rocket began a weekend doubleheader with a 5-2 win against the Manitoba Moose on Friday at Place Bell. The victory extends Laval's streak to six games without a regulation loss. 

Jean-Francois Houle was able to count on two key additions to his roster. Emil Heineman was dressed after being assigned to the AHL following his recent stint with the Montreal Canadiens. Gabriel Bourque returned to action after missing Wednesday's contest with an upper body injury. 

The Rocket outscored the Moose in the first period with three goals. Logan Mailloux opened the scoring with a shot from the blue line through traffic. Moments later, Jan Mysak doubled the lead by redirecting William Trudeau's shot while skating in the middle of the ice. Jared Davidson extended his point streak to four games with an assist on the sequence. 

Laval Rocket forward Joshua RoyLaval Rocket forward Joshua Roy

Laval capitalized on their first power play of the night when Arber Xhekaj setup Heineman for a one-timer at the top of the faceoff circle. Oskari Salminen had no chance of stopping the Swede's blast. 

Manitoba capitalized on Laval penalties in the second period with two power play goals. The puck dropped behind Jakub Dobes after a stop and C.J. Suess tapped it in for the goal and later in the period Brad Lambert went around Trudeau and found a small hole on top of the goalie's left shoulder to bury the puck. 

The home team answered back 20 seconds later on a play that began with Brandon Gignac stealing the disc from the defender and passed it to Lias Andersson for the goal. 

In the third period, Xavier Simoneau fed Philippe Maillet the puck and he used the open space in front of him to skate to the slot for the goal. The goal extended Maillet's point streak to six games with 11 points during the stretch. 

The Winnipeg Jets AHL affiliate came into the arena with low confidence as they were riding a five-game losing streak. The two quick goals in the first period took the Moose quickly out of the contest. 

Despite being blanked from the scoresheet, Joshua Roy was physically involved, hit two posts in the first and drew a power play. Following the game, the 20-year old was called up by the Montreal Canadiens. 

Game Statistics

Rocket (14-14-4-2)
Shots: 36
Power play: 1-for-5
Penalty minutes: 31

Moose (12-19-0-0)
Shots: 31
Power play: 2-for-6
Penalty minutes: 19

Scoring Summary

Rocket Scorers
1st period: Mailloux (7), Mysak (6), Heineman (3)-PPG
2nd period: Andersson (9)
3rd period: Maillet (8)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Moose Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Suess (4)-PPG, Lambert (12)-PPG
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes  (W) 10-6-4-0
MB: Salminen (L) 4-6-0-0

Rocket Players of the Game

  • Logan Mailloux: Bounced back with an excellent game after not being happy with his performance on Wednesday
  • Lias Andersson: Scored an important goal in the second period, obtained an assist and co-led the team with five shots on goal
  • Emil Heineman: In his first game back from the NHL, scored on the power play and co-led the team with five shots on goal.

Video Highlights

Video highlights courtesy of the Laval Rocket

Post-Game Interviews

Jean-Francois Houle

Logan Mailloux

Emil Heineman

Joshua Roy

Lias Andersson

Looking Back

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Roy Scores Twice In Offense-Fueled Matchup | RECAP: UTC @ LAV

Up Next

The Laval Rocket wrap up the doubleheader against the Manitoba Moose on Saturday.

Puck drop on Saturday, January 13, is scheduled for 3:00 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.

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