(Laval) Trey Fix-Wolansky had five points, David Jiricek scored his first two American Hockey League goals and the Cleveland Monsters beat the Laval Rocket 7-3 on Friday.
Fix-Wolansky, author of two goals and three assists, had a game of more than four points in a third game in a row. The forward took advantage of the Rocket’s shorthandedness as his five points were amassed with the advantage of one man on the ice.
Bringing his total points to 21, Fix-Wolansky passed Quebec’s Alex Barré-Boulet — who also has 21 points, but has fewer goals — at the top of the AHL scoring charts.
Justin Richards, Carson Meyer and Roman Ahcan also hit the target for the Monsters (8-5-1). Samuel Knazko and Meyer had five and three assists respectively.
In the victory, Pavel Cajan stopped 32 shots.
The Rocket (4-9-3) were looking for a second straight win for the first time this season after beating the Abbotsford Canucks 4-2 on Wednesday.
Rem Pitlick scored his first goal for the Rocket, as did Mitchell Stephens, who scored for the first time since April 2021. Peter Abbandonato also scored for the Rocket.
Xavier Simoneau collected two assists while Cayden Primeau stopped 29 shots.
The two teams will resume the collar Saturday afternoon, at Place Bell, for a second duel in a gap of less than 24 hours.
A match that took a long time to get under way
Jiricek was the first to rattle the strings when he scored his first AHL goal. The sixth overall pick of the 2022 auction, beat Primeau with a one-timer on the power play in the first period.
The Rocket leveled the mark at the start of the middle period by replicating the method of the Monsters. On a power play, Pitlick’s powerful one-timer gave Cajan no chance.
At the end of the period, the Monsters restored their priority of one goal. Richards was forgotten alone in front of the net and redirected Meyer’s pass into the net.
Speedy Rocket forward Brandon Gignac was frustrated late in the second period when he escaped shorthanded, but Cajan stopped the shot with his shield.
The third period gave rise to several adventures and, above all, a backfire of goals.
Just 12 seconds into the period, Fix-Wolansky cleared his cover and his wrist shot allowed the Monsters to double their lead.
Stephens replied for the Rocket 38 seconds later, as he found himself alone in front of Cajan.
Jiricek restored the Monsters’ two-goal lead less than two minutes after Stephens’ goal with a slap shot from the point.
The teams continued to exchange niceties when Abbandonato scored on a one-timer thanks to an accurate cross pass from Anthony Richard.
Fix-Wolansky, with a wrist shot from the slot, scored the goal that ended the yoyo for the score.
Meyer, after jumping on a rebound, and Ahcan, who took advantage of a goal dropped by Primeau, then scored in quick succession to confirm the Monsters victory.