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Ahead of the Laval Rocket’s road trip at the end of this week, they made the announcement that the team had recalled goaltender Michael McNiven from the ECHL’s Brampton Beast.
McNiven had been re-assigned at the start of the week as a way to get the young goalie some ice time after Charlie Lindgren started both weekend games for the Rocket.
McNiven responded with a 3-2 overtime win where he made 29 saves on 31 shots for the Beast. His recall was likely for the road trip, even with Etienne Marcoux practicing with the Rocket in his stead. Instead, his recall was necessary thanks to a lower body injury to Lindgren suffered at some point in the past week.
The Montreal Canadiens have re-assigned goaltender Michael McNiven (Brampton – ECHL) to the Laval Rocket.
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) December 6, 2018
Goaltender Charlie Lindgren will not accompany the team on the road for further testing and evaluation. (Lower-body injury)
It’s a tough blow for the Rocket, and for Lindgren, who had begun to round into form after an uneven start to the season. This means that the Rocket will make their Ontario road trip to Belleville and Toronto with the young tandem of McNiven and Marcoux between the pipes.
There is no word on how long Lindgren will be out, but the foresight to add another solid goaltending prospect to the organization is paying off for the Rocket right now.