Riding their most timely winning streak of the season, the Laval Rocket returned home to Place Bell for their most important game of the season. A meeting with the Cleveland Monsters served as a potential make-or-break chance for both sides as the Rocket sat just one point ahead of their opponent for the final playoff spot.
The Rocket did see Cayden Primeau return from Montreal to get the start in net, while Corey Schueneman was also sent down and in the starting defensive group.
Things started chaotically for both sides as Riley McKay’s centring feed just missed its target at the side of the net on the opening shift. Just minutes later, a huge hit from Xavier Simoneau turned into a full on scrap with Owen Sillinger behind the play. Not long after that, Peter Abbandonato was checked into the crossbar, which sparked a melee that saw Anthony Richard and Schueneman defending themselves against every Monsters player on the ice, with the end result being two roughing penalties for each side.
Things did settle down from there with the Rocket getting the better looks, but it was the Monsters who took the lead to start the game. Alex Whelan dangled around William Trudeau and fired a heavy shot on Primeau. The rebound from the save kicked right to Cole Sillinger, who buried it to give Cleveland a first-period lead.
A less-than-inspiring power play seemed to take the wind further out of the Rocket’s sails, but they persevered and found an answering goal. Mitchell Stephens fended off the Monsters, feeding a pass to Jayden Struble at the point. Struble fired a hard shot on net, and in front Emil Heineman got a piece of the puck to deflect it by Jet Greaves.
A late power play for Laval presented a prime chance to take the lead before the first intermission, but the same struggles from the first attempt lingered.
The goals for Laval came fast and furious in the opening two-and-a-half minutes of the second period. First was Gabriel Bourque keeping a puck inside the offensive zone, then firing a shot that Richard was able to deflect past Greaves at the side of the net.
Just 18 seconds later the Rocket were back on the attack with Simoneau working through the slot, collecting his own pass, and wiring it by Greaves for a two-goal lead.
The Monsters took a quick timeout after the goal, and it seemed to right the ship as Cleveland cut the lead down to a single goal less than a minute later. Both goalies settled in and the chances came at a much lower rate than the opening minutes of the period.
The Rocket were blessed with a bit of luck as the period came to a close. Mattias Norlinder fired a shot under pressure from the point, and on its way to the net the puck took a change in direction. It wasn’t clear if it hit Jan Mysak or a Monsters defender in front, but Laval’s two-goal advantage was restored entering the third period.
Period three started in the worst possible way for the Rocket, with Heineman heading to the penalty box just half a minute in. Just 33 seconds into the ensuing power play, Trey Fix-Wolansky blistered a shot by Primeau, cutting the lead to just one goal.
The penalties continued to be a problem as Struble went to the box for high-sticking, and on the penalty kill, Mitchell Stephens was the only one called in a scrum after the Monsters plowed into Primeau in the crease. With a two-man advantage, the Monsters had no problems feeding Fix-Wolansky for his second goal of the night to tie the game 4-4.
The Rocket fully surrendered control of the game with less than 10 minutes to play. Cole Sillinger blitzed in off the wing, leaving Olivier Galipeau in the lurch and beating an off-angle Primeau to give the Monsters a 5-4 lead.
Laval began throwing every possible shot on goal, but Greaves stood tall against a desperate Rocket attack. Even with Primeau on the bench for the extra attacker, the Monsters yielded nothing as they secured a massive win for their playoff hopes.
Final Score: Cleveland 5, Laval 4
To call the third period effort disappointing would be charitable as it basically put the Rocket’s season a hair’s width away from being over. The team isn’t eliminated, but realistically has to win their remaining four games and hope for some help along the way from Cleveland’s opponents.
Laval heads on the road to Syracuse tonight for a match with the Crunch, who clinched a playoff berth last night with the Rocket’s loss to Cleveland.
