Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on Laval's performance last week against Syracuse. GAME RECAP | LAVAL ROCKET: 4 VS CLEVELAND MONSTERS: 6 (FINAL) Laval Rocket vs Cleveland Monsters [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA1Njc1NjA0MjExNjcyNTE3/rocket.png] Laval Rocket vs Cleveland Monsters 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. Laval Rocket vs Cleveland Monsters [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA1Njc1ODM0NTI5NzUyNTE3/laval-53647939671_8068c7a048_k.jpg] Laval Rocket vs Cleveland Monsters 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 * undefined * undefined LOOKING BACK Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: Stephens Scores Hat Trick, Rocket Win | SPR @ LAV [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/players/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 [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue! [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk3MTk4Mzc0MTE4Nzc2/hockeynewsad.jpg] The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue!
