THE ROCKET CAPTURE A THRILLING 3-2 (SO) WIN OVER THE MONSTERS AFTER SEVEN ROUNDS OF SHOOTOUT
LAVAL (December 10, 2019) – Charles Hudon scored the game-tying goal with less than five minutes left in regulation leading to a thrilling finale to the tilt with seven shootout rounds and a 3-2 (SO) victory over familiar North Division foe, the Cleveland Monsters, Tuesday night at Place Bell.
Dale Weise scored the game-winning goal. Captain Xavier Ouellet recorded an assist in his 250th game in the AHL. Lindgren, who made 21 saves in 65 minutes of play, shone in the shootout, stopping five of seven shooters. The Rocket have captured four wins in six games over the Monsters this season and maintain a perfect record in the shootout with five victories. Laval also snapped Cleveland’s perfect 7-0-0-0 record when leading after two periods.
Nathan Gerbe and Kevin Stenlund each registered a goal and an assist in the opening period to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. Against the Rocket, the former has tallied five points (1 G, 4 A) in six games and the latter has also recorded five points (1 G, 4 A) in as many outings.
Dale Weise cut the Monsters’ lead by half after scoring on a breakaway. Kevin Lynch earned an assist. Hudon unleashed a snipe from the right faceoff circle to tie the game on the powerplay. In the shootout, Hudon, Michael Pezzetta and Dale Weise defeated netminder Veini Vehvilainen en route to a 3-2 (SO) victory over their rivals.
“Big game for us. At home like this, we want to get consecutive wins and it feels good to get this one. We are missing a few players and tonight everybody stepped up and it’s good for us,” said Ouellet after the win.
Marqueurs/Scorers
LAV: Weise (Lynch) | Hudon (Ouellet, Poehling)
CLE: Gerbe (Clendening, Stenlund) | Stenlund (Gerbe, Hannikainen)
Unités spéciales/Special teams
LAV | AN/PP: 1/9 | IN/PK: 3/4
CLE | AN/PP: 1/4| IN/PK: 8/9
Gardiens/Goaltenders
LAV: Lindgren (21/23) | CLE: Vehvilainen (28/30)
Trois étoiles/Three stars
1. Hudon – LAV 2. Weise – LAV 3. Cox – LAV
