Laval will have to try again to advance to the next round After starting the series on the road in Cleveland the Laval Rocket returned to the raucous confined of Place Bell with a 2-0 series lead and a chance to close it out with a win on Sunday Most impressive was that the Rocket managed to get the lead without either of their top two goalies from the regular season and with a lineup that was shifting as people returned from injury While Jacob Fowler had safely guided the Rocket to their two wins on the road the returning Cayden Primeau got the nod in net as he looked to close out the series The lineup did see a slight change as well with Brandon Gignac being withdrawn in favour of the newly arrived Oliver Kapanen The rookie slotted into Gignac’s spot with Owen Beck and Joshua Roy on the third line the Rocket lineup remained the same for head coach Pascal Vincent It was not the most graceful of starts for the the Rocket as their opponents came out swinging with their playoff lives on the line the Monsters might have run away with the game early on The Rocket found themselves frustrated by post-whistle shenanigans and their first major retaliation was caught putting Jared Davidson in the box and the Rocket on the penalty kill Primeau’s calm glove helped the Rocket dispatch the penalty with ease and then allowed Florian Xhekaj to vent his frustrations into the face of Joseph LaBate Laval’s top line then continued to shift the momentum as Alex Barré-Boulet stole the puck to kick off an odd-man rush the trailing man managed to draw a penalty for the Rocket’s first man advantage on the night While the Rocket peppered Jet Greaves with repeated opportunities the Cleveland netminder kept the game scoreless but the momentum was clearly turning deeper in favour of the home side generating multiple clean looks on Greaves As the period wore down it became more of a trudging march through mud as Cleveland began to clog the game up with their possession On one of the few occasions that the Monsters held the puck Adam Engström gave Rocco Grimaldi a slight tug on the sleeve and was whistled for holding The Rocket’s penalty-killers dispatched the Cleveland advantage to close out the first period While the game was scoreless it felt like the Rocket weren’t far off from breaking things open in the next period While the first period was end to end in terms of pace and action the second period was the polar opposite as it took on a much more deliberate pace their chances ended up blocked more often than not by the Monsters’ defence while Laval struggled to find the same pressure as before a series of five crosschecks by Luca Pinelli on Xavier Simoneau was noticed by the officials and the Rocket headed back to the power play Laval’s man advantage was firing on all cylinders once again but the incredible work of Greaves continued in net for Cleveland including a desperation sliding save with his pads to take away a goal from Laurent Dauphin As the advantage expired it was again Kapanen creating chances as he slipped in to grab a loose puck but a quick save from Greaves denied the rookie forward Laval’s power play again slightly tilted the ice but with a series sweep on the line there were no goals to be seen The Rocket’s inability to get second and third chances by Greaves was becoming an issue as he continued to fluster any of the Rocket’s prime scoring chances the Monsters launched an instant counter-attack creating a scramble in front of goal where the Rocket were unable to corral the loose puck It eventually came to Dylan Gambrell in the slot and the Cleveland forward blistered his shot off the crossbar and in to open the scoring Gambrell’s goal snapped the Rocket back to attention and on the ensuing shift Sean Farrell drew a penalty While the Rocket couldn’t find a goal with the extra skater they were going to start the final period of regulation with a nearly full power play Laval had little issue generating looks on net but Greaves gave them nothing in terms of second chances and the Monsters’ defence was able to sweep all the loose pucks away to continue a frustrating afternoon for the Rocket Laval was far from out of the game however and they continued to push the Monsters back as they tried to break down the Cleveland defence The Rocket finally thought they had broken through the wall that was Jet Greaves as Joshua Roy turned and fired a shot on goal Roy dove in and pushed it seemingly over the line The referee was not in position to make a call along the goal line After a brief review the play was ruled no goal and left the Rocket still searching for a game-tying tally That search grew to needing two goals shortly after Roy’s goal was disallowed as the Monsters took advantage of an aggressive Rocket offensive-zone shift and created an odd-man rush While David Reinbacher closed down the gap on Luca Pinelli who easily tapped in the feed with Primeau caught in no man’s land the Rocket took the goal against as a strong launching pad to try to cut into the deficit including a knifing run by Logan Mailloux that drew a hooking penalty and put Laval on their biggest power play of the day It turned out to be a disaster as Roy’s dump-in was sent instantly the other way for a short-handed breakaway and Ahcan made it a 3-0 game Laval finally managed to get on the board with just over six minutes left to play in regulation and did it despite Greaves continuing to be a frustrating obstacle while Dauphin tried to chase down a rebound A Cleveland player’s clearing attempt hit off a fellow player and just barely trickled in behind Greaves to make it a 3-1 contest the Rocket nearly cut into the lead once again as Lucas Condotta worked off the wall and threw a pass across the zone to William Trudeau but a sprawling Greaves caught just enough of the puck with his glove to push it over the net and kept the Rocket searching for more answers It continued to be all about Greaves as the final minutes approached with Cleveland’s goalie robbing Beck and Kapanen on back-to-back chances while he was backed up inside his own net Eventually the Rocket got a firm enough grasp on the game to pull Primeau for the extra attacker as they tried for a comeback win Greaves made sure that wasn’t a possibility as he slammed the door shut and prevented the Rocket from completing the sweep The Rocket will have Monday to regroup before they welcome Cleveland back to Place Bell on Tuesday night with another chance at advancing on the line Dylan Gambrell scored twice as Cleveland staved off elimination with a 3-1 win over Laval at Place Bell on Sunday afternoon The Rocket still hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and will host Game 4 on Tuesday Gambrell snapped a scoreless deadlock with 1:55 left in the second period and then added another goal 7:32 into the third before Roman Ahcan Jet Greaves (3-2) made 18 of his 36 saves in the final period to earn the win in net When facing elimination over the last two postseasons Greaves is now 4-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage Laurent Dauphin scored the only goal for the Rocket breaking up Greaves’ shutout bid with 6:34 remaining Cayden Primeau made his return to Laval after being assigned by Montreal on Saturday and stopped 22 shots taking just his third regulation loss in 26 starts this season BROSSARD – The Canadiens announced on Saturday that forward Oliver Kapanen and goaltender Cayden Primeau have been loaned to the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League The personnel moves come a day after the team’s end-of-season media ops on Friday Both players join the Rocket for the AHL playoffs which continue Sunday against the Cleveland Monsters at 3:00 p.m Kapanen and Primeau played 18 and 11 games with the Habs respectively The Cleveland Monsters fell to the Laval Rocket 4-0 on Friday night at Rocket Arena the Monsters trail the North Division Semifinals best-of-five series 0-2 The Rocket struck first with a goal from Jared Davidson at 2:22 of the opening frame leaving the Monsters trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes Laval’s Lucas Condotta notched a tally at 3:12 pushing Cleveland’s deficit to 2-0 heading into the final intermission The Rocket added goals from Alex Barré-Boulet at 7:16 of the third period and Gustav Lindström at 14:32 pushing the final score to 4-0 Cleveland’s Jet Greaves stopped 25 shots in defeat while Laval’s Jacob Fowler made 20 saves for the win The Monsters and Rocket meet for Game 3 of the North Division Semifinals on Sunday Follow the games with full coverage on FOX Sports 1350 The Gambler AHLTV on FloHockey and the Monsters Hockey Network GAME SHEET – GAME PHOTOS – GAME HIGHLIGHTS* *Game highlights will appear as soon as possible following video processing OttawaNewsHere’s what you need to know about the Ottawa Charge-Montreal Victoire playoff series By Josh PringlePublished: May 05, 2025 at 7:14AM EDT Twitter feed ©2025 BellMedia All Rights Reserved 0);width:1px;height:1px;margin:-1px;padding:0px;overflow:hidden;white-space:nowrap;position:absolute;}Loading....css-1kym0z8{padding-top:var(--chakra-space-4);border-top-style:solid;border-top-width:1px;border-top-color:var(--components-article-header-hero-divider-border-color 0.15));}@media screen and (min-width: 80em){.css-1kym0z8{padding-top:var(--chakra-space-6);}}.css-1kym0z8 time{color:var(--semantics-text-paragraph-primary-color #494a4e);font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-xs);font-weight:700;}@media screen and (min-width: 80em){.css-1kym0z8 time{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-lg);}}May 4 [href^="www"]):not(.jrte-img)::after,.css-7mka76 a[data-hover]:is([target="_blank"] [href^="www"]):not(.jrte-img)::after,.css-7mka76 a[data-active]:is([target="_blank"] 0);border:0;}.css-7mka76 tr{margin:0 0 1rem 0;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(0 2025) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced that the 2025 PWHL Playoffs will feature best-of-five semifinals between the Montréal Victoire and the Ottawa Charge and the Toronto Sceptres against the Minnesota Frost Montréal finished as the league’s first-place team in the regular-season standings, earning the opportunity to select their opponent between third-place Ottawa and fourth-place Minnesota. The Victoire announced their selection, the Charge, Sunday evening during a special livestream edition of the Jocks in Jills podcast which made both semifinal matchups official Toronto earned home ice advantage by finishing second in the standings The winners of each series will advance to the PWHL Finals to compete in a best-of-five series for the Walter Cup.  2025Game 1: Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m 2025Game 2: Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell) at 2 p.m 2025Game 3: Montréal at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m 2025Game 4: Montréal at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m 2025Game 5: Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m 2025Game 1: Minnesota at Toronto (Coca-Cola Coliseum) at 7 p.m 2025Game 2: Minnesota at Toronto (Coca-Cola Coliseum) at 7 p.m 2025Game 3: Toronto at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) at 6 p.m 2025Game 4: Toronto at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) at 7 p.m 2025Game 5: Minnesota at Toronto (Coca-Cola Coliseum) at TBD* Canadian coverage of the semifinal round of the PWHL Playoffs will be split exclusively between TSN/RDS and Prime Video The series between Montréal and Ottawa will be on TSN and RDS with Kenzie Lalonde calling play-by-play analyst Cheryl Pounder and reporter Kelly Greig providing live coverage in English Andrée-Anne Barbeau (Studio Host) and Karell Émard (Studio Analyst) will be the team providing live coverage in French The series between Toronto and Minnesota on Prime Video will feature Daniella Ponticelli with the play-by-play call analyst Becky Kellar and reporter Rob Pizzo TSN and RDS are the exclusive home of the PWHL Finals Live coverage of the PWHL Playoffs and PWHL Finals will be available to fans in the United States through the league’s local and regional broadcast partners including FanDuel Sports Network North for Minnesota games to get heritage status | CBC.ca LoadedWhy a congregation wants this church in Laval 18 hours agoDuration 2:02Why a congregation wants this church in Laval, Que., to get heritage status18 hours agoNewsDuration 2:02Saint-Vincent-de-Paul church was built in the 1850s. Designed by religious architect Victor Bourgeau, it has two bell towers, a chapel and a crypt in the basement, where more than a 100 people are buried in sarcophagi. B.C. moves to speed up energy projects amid growing demand and environmental concerns3 hours agoVideo2:02 Advocates, families call for coroner's inquest into deaths of Indigenous women, girl3 hours agoVideo2:44 Duty free shops fear Trump’s trade war will force them out of businessThe National |3 hours agoTrending NowVideo2:17 Video evidence, NHLer testimony raise questions in world junior sexual assault trialThe National |May 2Video4:45 Trump repeats 51st state taunt as Carney prepares for White House visitThe National |May 5Video11:28 It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem MontrealNewsLaval police investigating after gunshots heard on residential streetBy Daniel J. RowePublished: May 05, 2025 at 12:30PM EDT A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight With the Canadiens eliminated from the NHL playoffs would there be any consideration to moving the division final or the Calder Cup championship (if they go that far) to the Bell Centre I remember back in 1982-83 when I covered the Verdun Juniors The played at the Verdun Auditorium at a time when superstars like Pat LaFontaine (he scored 104 goals in 70 games) and Claude Lemieux suited up for the hometown club and the likes of Mario Lemieux and Stephane Richer were with  for teams in Laval and Chicoutimi The Verdun Auditorium was sold out with standing room only crowds of close to 6,000 people When they sailed towards the playoff title and reached the final round made the logical decision to move their games to the Forum but Verdun Juniors fever hit the entire Greater Montreal Area It was hard to differentiate between the Habs and the Juniors in terms of fan interest and media coverage The Rocket finished in first place in their division this season and their roster is dotted with talented prospects who will find their way on to the Habs roster there is a far greater fan interest than for the Juniors back in the day Imagine all of that downtown excitement we had for the Canadiens returning to the city Now the argument will be made that even though the Rocket are property of the Canadiens they are effectively Laval’s team Many of their season ticketholders could be inconvenienced Place Bell is very accessible for folks like me living in the West End but especially so for those on the North Shore and parts of the East End Perhaps the Habs could get some shuttle buses going Place Bell has the capacity for 10,000 fans and it us a beauty of an arena there was so much celebration going on outside the building Fans arrived at their seats to find white Rocket t-shirts to put on and they were provided with bracelets that light up when the arena went dark The Canadiens are a business so clearly revenue is key to their existence. Their production arm, evenko So just consider those Rocket crowds doubling in size and ditto for the concession stands Habs defenceman Arber Xhekaj and goalie Jakub Dobes were at Sunday’s game in a secluded part of the press box After the game I got to speak with Arber and he has no doubt in his mind the Rocket could play before a capacity crowd at the Bell Centre even now See my interview with Arber here on Instagram In the press box Sunday was Trevor Timmins, the former head scout and assistant GM for the Canadiens. He is now the assistant director of amateur scouting for the Blue Jackets. Since he was running the Habs draft in 2021 when Mailoux was chosen in the first round (amid great controversy due to some off-ice actions), he could have his eyes on him. Sunday’s game was full of excitement from start to finish, notably the ambiance in the building. You can be certain that there are many thousands of fans who would love to see a Rocket playoff run and the fact is Place Bell cannot accommodate anymore people. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: It was do or die for the Cleveland Monsters against the Laval Rocket. They pulled through with a 3-1 win on Sunday, May 03, 2025. Cleveland is now back in the series, which Laval leads by 2-1 games. The teams meet again for Game 4 on Tuesday, May 06, 2025 at 6 p.m. CST, this time in Laval. many wondered how many games Fowler would actually get we are looking at the team's new starter as he played Games 1 and 2 in the Rocket's series with the Cleveland Monsters The Montreal Canadiens weren't sure what the future had in store for Jacob Fowler when they brought him into the fold with his amateur tryout contract for the Laval Rocket. Fowler's entry-level deal will kick in next season, but the amateur tryout allows him to play some games in Laval this year Fowler has led the Rocket to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series He had an impressive 23-save performance in Game 1 but saved his best for Game 2 with a 20-save shutout The Monsters haven't been firing many shots on the rookie as they do look a little overmatched against the Rocket but Fowler can't help the lack of shots two goals against in his his first 120 minutes of playoff hockey is a breathtaking start Jacob Fowler in his first two AHL *playoff* games:Game 1 Win:23/25 Saves.920 Save %Game 2 Win:20/20 Saves1.000 Save % pic.twitter.com/yFbdtRnU9V The Rocket have to be considered the favorite to win the Calder Cup and Fowler looks to play a big role in that run The Rochester Americans will present a significant test if the Rocket can finish the job against the Monsters but the team seems confident they can go the distance with Fowler backstopping them It's an unfortunate situation for Cayden Primeau and Connor Hughes after how well they played during the regular season but they also offer some great insurance if Fowler falters He will put himself into some impressive company as you might want to remember who the last goalie was to join the Canadiens at the end of the AHL season and lead them to a Calder Cup Carey Price was the CHL's Goaltender of the Year in 2006-07 but his Tri City Americans had an early exit in the postseason It helped Price join the Hamilton Bulldogs early and play two games to end the regular season He was able to earn the starting role for the postseason and went on an impressive 15-6 run where he recorded a 2.06 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage The performance won him the Calder Cup and the AHL Playoffs MVP We won't crown Fowler as the playoffs' top performer after two games the hype train will reach breakneck speed this offseason Let's not forget that Price parlayed that AHL playoff performance into a full-time role on the Canadiens the following season © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Jacob Fowler in his first two AHL *playoff* games:Game 1 Win:23/25 Saves.920 Save %Game 2 Win:20/20 Saves1.000 Save % pic.twitter.com/yFbdtRnU9V Jacob Fowler's rise with the Laval Rocket has put him in some impressive company Some important names are leading the way as the Laval Rocket make their bid for the Calder Cup With the Montreal Canadiens now eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs The Laval Rocket have just begun their Calder Cup run This means that most of the Habs’ best prospects are playing some of the most important hockey of their lives Three prospects stood out in particular in Game 2 of the best-of-five series with the Cleveland Monsters I’m going to rely on clips and give limited opinions on those performances and I’d also recommend checking out the recaps from Games 1 and 2 which detail the key plays from both games I’m going to show a few clips that outline the good and the bad of his performance in Game 2 He saved all 20 of the shots directed his way and only had to make four or five really tough saves He can struggle a little with rebound control and his lateral movement was probably his biggest weakness on draft day and a good example of the kind of shots he faced Laval did a great job of insulating the rookie netminder keeping chances to the outside and letting Fowler rely on his positioning to fight through traffic and make stops The following two clips are examples of an issue I’ve seen in his games with Laval so far: rebound control with the blocker If your blocker is anything close to square then the rebound is going to pop right into the slot and angling your blocker is obviously dangerous giving you a smaller surface area to stop the puck with Fowler made two huge stops at the end of the night but the play was far from over after it was made This could have easily ended up differently if Cleveland’s Roman Ahcan (#37 in front of the net) had put forth a stronger effort Although the blocker was a bit of a weakness I understand that so far this seems to be more critique than praise but I need to be clear that Fowler makes a lot of saves look easy The vast majority of the shots directed at him end up hitting the Rocket crest and falling safely into his pads or onto the ice in front of him He was in great position for this screened shot early in the third period when the game was still up for grabs He faced at least 11 shots from the point and only gave up one rebound for Cleveland to put on net Fowler had two saves that really stood out for me This stop in the second period that went off his mask tricked me at first I thought he had gotten lucky; Fowler does have a tendency to shrink down in his net at times (see how small he looks in this clip when his shoulders are hunched?) I realized that Fowler was shrinking down so he could deflect this puck off the top of his mask He knew exactly where the rebound went because he sent it there This was by far his nicest save of the night It came in the final minute and showed off some mobility and stretch This is exactly the kind of save that some people doubted he’d be able to make in the big leagues I also want to mention just how resilient he was all night Hunter McKown catches Fowler with a stick to the head The result is an all-out scrum in the middle of play This should be a fantastic momentum-builder for him Mailloux is a double-edged sword right now he was one of the more dynamic players on the ice in Game 2 He was credited with three shots on Friday (though he might have had four) Mailloux looked solid quarterbacking the power play but all his puck touches ended up on Laval sticks I could have included two more clips here: a quick backhand bank pass and an accurate pass onto Alex Barré-Boulet’s stick in the left circle In the Rocket’s second stab at the man advantage He was also responsible for the first unit’s best chance here If you watched the Rocket all season long like many of us have then you’ve seen what I’m about to talk about He gets caught flatfooted often and in obvious areas This clip was due to make another appearance This is an ugly example of Mailloux getting caught flatfooted and it directly leading to a scoring chance but Mailloux gets turned inside out too easily here I think Mailloux was a net positive on Friday but his game was certainly far from perfect Xhekaj has the blood of a pest in the body of a beast He was the most penalized player in the AHL for a reason and at least seven hits (and I count them fairly conservatively) a cleanly won draw right to Jared Davidson Xhekaj spent most of the night battling James Malatesta’s line and the two players got into it repeatedly when he’s engaged with opponents in a scrum Both of his penalties on Friday came in those situations This first was due to the stick that Fowler took up high in the second period you’ll see Xhekaj take his second roughing penalty of the game Both teams had been running at each other for the duration of the play and things finally came to a head in front of Fowler with Xhekaj taking exception to first Gavin Brindley I mentioned earlier that Xhekaj had at least seven hits on Friday; it was probably closer to 10 or 12 if you count them like the NHL does He finished just about every check available to him This first clip is from right after the Rocket’s first goal; Xhekaj was setting a tone This is what he spent most of the night doing Xhekaj is on the fourth line to play like it This is what Cleveland players were dealing with in the offensive zone every time #63 was on the ice The Cleveland broadcasters described him as “Fearsome Florian Xhekaj,” and I certainly think it’s fitting Fearsome Florian only stood out for good reasons; every defensive error was made up for in effort He will continue to be a difference-maker in Game 3 Laval is back in action at home for Game 3 on Sunday It’s unconfirmed whether Fowler will get the start but it seems likely he will have the chance to finish off the series he started With the Montreal Canadiens exiting the NHL playoffs and the Laval Rocket just starting their run it makes sense that the team sent forward Oliver Kapanen and goaltender Cayden Primeau to the AHL The Rocket play Game 3 of their second round series on Sunday It will be their first home game of the playoffs after winning both games in Cleveland They hold a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-five series The two players were some of the only NHL players eligible to be sent down from the NHL team Kapanen was loaned to the SHL and already had a contract with the team which means he didn’t need to be papered at the NHL trade deadline Primeau was recalled due to the injury to Samuel Montembeault Connor Hughes is still working his way from an injury and Luke Cavallin will likely return to the Trois-Rivières Lions once the goaltender joins the team back in Laval Jakub Dobeš was papered along with Owen Beck who had already been sent down and scored in Game 1 at the NHL trade deadline and was eligible but was not sent down Other waiver-ineligible players on the NHL roster would have needed to be papered at the Trade Deadline to be eligible for the AHL playoffs but there isn’t much to gain from AHL playoff experience for most of them Ivan Demidov was signed to an entry-level contract after the trade deadline and played an NHL game This will be the third league that Kapanen will play playoff games in this season After dismantling Cleveland at five-on-five in Game 1 Laval knew it had the advantage going into Game 2 This was a Monsters team that failed to beat the Rocket in regulation during the regular season Fans and media speculated whether Cayden Primeau would retake his role as starter after his stint with the Canadiens deservedly so after his 23-save performance in the opener setting up quickly and confidently on their first offensive rush They didn’t have to wait long before seeing a result either with Jared Davidson cashing in a one-timer from the top of the right circle thanks to a cleanly won draw from Florian Xhekaj the Rocket got to the Monsters’ netminder early in this one The goal went straight to the Rocket’s legs with Laval probably committing to the body a little too much immediately afterward Cleveland got a great chance right after the goal with Laval chasing and scrambling in its own zone The chance was a sobering moment for Laval and the Rocket cleaned things up immediately Laval got a flurry of chances with just over 15 minutes left in the frame the nicest of which had Sean Farrell spring Owen Beck from the neutral zone for a one-on-one chance that Greaves barely stopped The Rocket took advantage of the scramble created by Beck’s rush with Logan Mailloux getting it back on net and Joshua Roy getting two chances to bang in the rebound Logan Mailloux was noticeable early in the first and continued to be throughout the game (he ended up a +1 with three shots on net) as the defender took his first penalty of the playoffs; he led all Rocket defencemen in penalty minutes during the regular season Cleveland’s first power play was dangerous a blast from the point that Fowler handled The Rocket didn’t give Cleveland a second to breathe and were largely successful in creating turnovers leading to scoring chances the Rocket took a defensive formation for the final two minutes of the period content with shutting down scoring chances and flipping the puck to neutral ice the Rocket received a gift from James Malatesta who chose to insert himself into an altercation between Brandon Gignac and Sam Knazko after the final whistle Malatesta received the only penalty on the play I suppose he thought it was a worthwhile call while trailing in a playoff game and heading to the locker rooms The Rocket only got one real chance on their period-opening power play: a shot from the left circle from Alex Barré-Boulet Fowler had carved a circle around his net with several puck retrievals Fowler had some work to do after the failed power play flashing the leather on a slot shot from Malatesta and stumping the Monsters once again with Lucas Condotta beating Greaves high glove off the rush just over three minutes into the period Condotta was looking at Xavier Simoneau all the way but I don’t think he had any intention of delivering the puck anywhere but the back of the net Fowler would be tested again but stood firm deflecting a golden scoring chance from Justin Pearson into the corner The Rocket had taken their foot off the gas physically just a little and Cleveland responded by finishing every check available Florian Xhekaj certainly noticed the tone shift he went right up to Roman Ahcan after a whistle and punched him a couple of times picking up a roughing call and sending Laval to the penalty kill seven minutes into the period The Rocket held the Monsters shotless for the man advantage and Cleveland’s second effort looked marginally less dangerous than its first Laurent Dauphin got a breakaway opportunity but Monsters defenseman Hunter McKown saved the puck on the goal line The Rocket could have easily had another three goals at that point of the game Xhekaj continued to be a nightmare for the Monsters toeing the line every shift and certainly causing more than his fair share of headaches (literally) with both teams struggling to gain consistent offensive-zone pressure and the Rocket got their third power play of the night with just over five minutes left in the second after a bench minor was called on Cleveland for too many men on the ice I also thought he was fairly sound defensively for most of the game (ignore the clip further down as an example of this) Laval wasn’t credited with a shot on its third man advantage and Owen Beck got a great look from the left circle in the dying seconds of the man-advantage the five-on-five possession they had right after the power play was both more organized and more dangerous than the power play that preceded it Xavier Simoneau missed an open cage by inches after a great passing play he took a tripping penalty just seconds later while battling for the loose puck behind the net with less than three minutes to go in the frame Cleveland couldn’t really get anything going on its third man advantage of the game and the game headed into the third with the Rocket leading 2-0 Cleveland was buzzing when the puck dropped for the final period controlling play for the opening three minutes forcing a turnover and giving Fowler a tough save through traffic and by that point Cleveland had been cycling the zone for 80% of the period It needs to be mentioned that Cleveland was in Fowler’s grill all night long Cleveland alternate captain Trey Fix-Wolansky tailed Fowler to and from the bench in between whistles presumably complimenting him on his performance so far After Fowler’s next save on Stanislav Svozil with Malatesta and Xhekaj unsurprisingly in the middle of it Davidson and Joseph Lebate also picked up penalties and everything ended up still at five-on-five robbing Rocco Grimaldi with the glove in what was arguably the Monsters’ best chance A great cross-ice pass set up the solid one-timer That save from Fowler seemed to suck the life out of the Monsters The Rocket would control the next minute of play and extended their lead by one more with 12:45 left in the third then can only watch the puck soar over his shoulder into the net Barré-Boulet is taking a nasty high stick in front of the net Things got a little chippy midway through when Davidson and Denton Mateychuck (who’s got a heck of a mean streak just don’t tell them that) took offsetting calls capitalizing on lazy play from the Monsters had been phoning it in for at least six minutes I’m not sure if Laurent Dauphin wanted the shot or the pass but the rebound was served on a silver platter to Gustav Lindström Both teams had a few chances in the final minutes of the frame Cleveland came alive once it was playing for pride Fowler made five saves in the final four minutes of the game including two unbelievable stops on Luca Pinelli The one below was sensational with less than a minute left in his shutout bid The Rocket closed the game out with maturity as Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis would have said They outshot Cleveland 29-20 and were inarguably the better team at the end of the night but it was a team effort from Laval in Game 2 Laval will be back in action at home for Game 3 on Sunday It’s unconfirmed whether Jacob Fowler will get the start considering the netminder’s performance through two road games to start the series The Rocket try to end the series in their first home playoff game of the year Start time: **3:00 PM EDT / 12:00 PM PDT**In Canada: RDS2 (French)Streaming: FloHockey, RDS The Rocket not only won the two games in Cleveland to open up the North Division semifinal but have really frustrated the Monsters so far The Monsters averaged almost three goals per game during the regular season and outscored the Toronto Marlies 8-6 with two overtime victories in the play-in series but managed just two goals in the two games played on home ice in this series and were shut out by Jacob Fowler in Game 2 They spent much of the latter half of the most recent match engaged in scrums and getting involved in altercations with the Rocket players instead of trying to solve Fowler Laval doesn’t need much motivation for today’s game with a spot in the second round theirs for the taking but they will get some anyway in their first playoff game at Place Bell this season Even when the Montreal Canadiens were fighting hard for a playoff spot and then participating in the post-season the crowds in Laval have been near capacity and now the entire Habs fanbase can focus on the minor-league team’s playoff run Expect a loud building and some inspired play from the team that finished atop the league standings Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 56F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 56F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Laurent Dauphin looks to set the play to Sean Farrell in front of Cleveland goalie Jet Greaves. The Laval Rocket returned to a packed Place Bell looking to apply the broom to the Cleveland Monsters in the North Division semifinal best of five series following a pair of wins in Cleveland. Unfortunately, the Monsters had a different mindset as Cleveland avoided elimination thanks to a 3-1 victory over the Rocket in front of the sold-out Laval crowd of 10,243. Spoiling the party was the high-flying acrobatics of Cleveland goalie Jet Greaves and a Monster effort by Dylan Gambrell, who potted a pair to pace the visitors win. Greaves antics between the pipes frustrated the Rocket shooters. “You always want to expect the other goalie to put on a show and give their best,” Rocket Cayden Primeau said of his counterpart. “He’s a great goalie, he’s athletic. I think he frustrated the guys today, but we just got to park it and get ready for the next one.” The Rocket came out squeezing their sticks a bit tight, playing with a touch of nervousness but settled down from the second frame onward. While upping the pressure, Laval had no solution for Greaves until Laurent Dauphin spoiled Greaves’ shutout bid with 6:34 to go in the third. “I think we were nervous to start,” Laurent Dauphin said. “Then we picked it up and played good, but we let them lead a little bit and it cost us.” The opening tract went scoreless with Cleveland holding the edge in shots 12-9. Rocket netminder Cayden Primeau was sharp on several quality chances fired his way by the Monsters. It was a chippy 20 minutes with the two combatants looking to establish dominance. Of the 28 minutes in infractions, a dozen was for roughing and a pair of fighting majors between Cleveland’s Joseph LaBate and Laval’s Florian Xhekaj. The game remained scoreless until there was 1:55 to play in the middle frame when the Monsters took advantage of scrambly play in front of Primeau. Gambrell buried his shot on a rebound from directly in front to give the Monsters a 1-0 edge heading into the third. Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account The Ottawa Charge should have some added motivation when entering the PWHL playoffs for the first time this week Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience Article contentIn the determination of first-round opponents on Sunday evening the standings show the Charge was dealt at least a small amount of disrespect 1 seed Montreal Victoire in a best-of-five series that begins Thursday at Place Bell in Laval The Victoire earned the right to select its opening-round opponent by winning the regular season crown and opted against facing the fourth-place-finishing Minnesota Frost Get the latest sport headlines and breaking news By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc The next issue of Sports will soon be in your inbox Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. While both Ottawa and Minnesota wound up with 44 points, the Charge had 12 regulation-time victories, the same as Montreal and the second-place Toronto Sceptres. The Frost won just 10 games in regulation. The Toronto-Minnesota series starts Wednesday. Montreal won four of six meetings with Ottawa this season, including a 4-3 shootout victory on opening night in November at Place Bell. But the Charge won the last two clashes — by scores of 3-1 on Feb. 22 and 3-2 on April 30 — both of which were at TD Place. The Victoire won four of six games against the Frost. Montreal did have some sound logic on its side when choosing its first-round opponent. Last season, Toronto finished atop the regular-season standings and picked Minnesota, which snuck into the playoffs as the fourth-place finisher. Not only did Minnesota eliminate Toronto, but it also went on to capture the Walter Cup. By choosing Ottawa, Montreal is also electing a two-hour drive over a two-hour flight for its road playoff games. transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account TORONTO - The Montreal Victoire will face the Ottawa Charge in the opening round of the Professional Women's Hockey League playoffs Montreal general manager Danièle Sauvageau announced the selection of Ottawa as its first opponent on Sunday on the league's "Jocks in Jills" podcast The regular-season PWHL champion has the option of selecting either the third seed or the fourth seed to face in a best-of-five first-round series "We've been preparing for this all year should we be in this position," Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie said on a conference call Sunday without giving away too much of what went into the process of selecting the third-seeded Charge Ottawa finished ahead of fourth-place Minnesota through a tiebreaker after the Charge Frost and Boston Fleet finished the season tied at 44 points Game 1 of the Charge-Victoire series goes Thursday at Place Bell Cheverie said the team made the decision on its opponent Sunday "We took all the time we could as an organization to make sure we had all the information that we wanted to have," she said The Victoire's decision means the second-seeded Toronto Sceptres will face the Frost in the first round for the second straight year with Game 1 Wednesday at Coca-Cola Coliseum who are in the playoffs for the first time won their last two regular-season games against the Victoire after losing the first four the regular-season-champion Sceptres elected to face the fourth-seeded Frost in the first round Minnesota went on to upset Toronto before defeating the Fleet in the final to claim the first Walter Cup Boston swept the second-seeded Victoire in the first round in 2024 Cheverie said the three games were among the best her team played despite the result it was a lesson for all of us," Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin said This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4 The Rocket currently lead the Cleveland Monsters 2-0 in their North Division semifinals played 26 games in with the Rocket this season posting a  21-2-2 record with a 1.96 goals-against average and .927 save percentage native struggled to a 4.70 GAA and .836 save percentage.  Goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler started the first two games of the series for Laval including a 20-save performance in Game 2 to earn his first professional shutout MontrealToronto, Montreal to open PWHL playoffs next week; opponents TBABy The Canadian PressPublished: May 03, 2025 at 4:53PM EDT #494a4e);font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-xs);font-weight:700;}@media screen and (min-width: 80em){.css-1kym0z8 time{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-lg);}}May 3 WATCH LIVE: MSG, CBC TV, CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, ICI TÉLÉ & ICI TOU.TV, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com (U.S / International)EN: Jamie Hersch (Play-by-Play) Saroya Tinker (CBC Studio Analyst);FR: Michael Roy (Commentator) MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE 11-7-3-8 | 50 PTS | 1ST PLACETop Scorer: Marie-Philip Poulin – 29 GP, 17-7-24 PTSLast Game: 3-2 OTW vs. BOS on Apr. 28 NEW YORK SIRENS                                                  8-4-5-12 | 37 PTS | 6TH PLACETop Scorer: Sarah Fillier – 29 GP, 12-15-27 PTSLast Game: 2-1 SOL at TOR on Apr. 29 The third game of the only tripleheader in the PWHL schedule is also the ninetieth and final game of the 2024-25 regular season. If Toronto beats Ottawa in regulation earlier in the day, then Montréal will need at least a single point against New York to secure first place in the standings. The Victoire beat the Fleet, 3-2, in overtime Monday. Montréal has the most overtime and shootout wins in the PWHL and the best record beyond regulation at 7-3 (.700). Last season, Montréal went 3-5 (.375) in overtime/shootout games. Montréal had 36 shots on goal in Monday’s victory (their most in a game since Dec. 21 – 39 vs. TOR), compared to 29 from Boston. The Victoire have the league’s best record when outshooting their opponent this season (5-5-1-1) but were outshot by the Sirens 31-16 in their last meeting. Both of Boston’s goals on Monday came in the third period. Montréal also allowed a third period goal on Saturday against Ottawa. Prior to that, the Victoire had gone 10 straight games without allowing a goal in the final frame. Their 17 total third-period goals allowed are five fewer than any other team this season (Toronto, 22). Laura Stacey’s overtime goal on Monday was her third overtime goal this season – no other player has multiple OT goals this season. It was the fourth overtime goal of her PWHL career, also the most by any player. The only other player with more than two is New York’s Alex Carpenter (two last season, one this season). Marie-Philip Poulin has scored eight goals in her career against the Sirens, tied for the most by any PWHL player against a single opponent all-time (Taylor Heise has eight vs. BOS). She enters the day as the league’s top goal scorer (17). Of the Victoire’s nine players to appear in all 29 of the team’s games to date, only Mariah Keopple played every game for Montréal last season. Ten members of the Sirens can suit up for their 30th games of the season, including four players who also played in all 24 of New York’s inaugural season games (Jaime Bourbonnais, Jade Downie-Landry, Jessie Eldridge, Abby Roque). New York returns home for the first time since Mar. 22 having played their last four games on the road. The Sirens have a 1-3-1-7 record at Prudential Center, with their lone regulation win coming in their home opener against Toronto on Dec. 18. Their overall record in home games is 2-3-2-7 (.333), which ranks sixth in the league. Montréal is tied for the best road record in the PWHL at 5-2-3-4 (.524). The Sirens’ current four-game point streak (3-0-1-0) is their longest of the season. New York has allowed just two goals over their last three games, which is the fewest goals allowed in a three-game span by any PWHL team this season. Corinne Schroeder has posted shutouts in back-to-back games (16 saves vs. MTL & 33 saves vs. MIN), her second time with back-to-back shutouts this season (also Jan. 4 & 12). She remains the only goaltender in PWHL history with shutouts in consecutive games. Her four shutouts this season are double the amount of anyone else. Ella Shelton scored the Sirens’ lone goal against the Sceptres Tuesday. Shelton’s eight goals are the most scored by a PWHL defender in a season following her league-leading seven scored last season. The Sirens’ 15 total goals by defenders also lead the league. Sarah Fillier leads the season series with seven points (3G, 4A). She also leads the Sirens in points (27) and penalty minutes (35), something no PWHL skater did last year. The only other skater to lead their team in both categories is Ottawa’s Tereza Vanišová (21/38). The Sirens rookie is the first skater with at least 25 points and 30 PIM in a season. Roque has a four-game home point streak (2G, 3A) and Bourbonnais has a three-game home streak (1G, 3A). The Sirens are the only team with a winning record against the Victoire this season (2-1-0-2). Last season, the Sirens’ only win in five games against the Victoire came in a shootout. Another Sirens victory today would make them the only team with three straight wins against the Victoire this season. “Our fans have been with us every step of the way this season, and this final game is about showing them how much that means to us. We’re proud of the growth and grit this group has shown, and we want to finish strong—for each other and for everyone who’s supported us.” - Sirens Head Coach Greg Fargo. Canadiens Draft Pick Order Set For 2025 NHL Entry Draft Phenom Lane Hutson Among NHL Calder Trophy Finalists Comparable NHL Contracts For Hutson Mega Extension Habs Daily: Primeau in Laval, Hutson’s Playoff Excellence, PWHL Canadiens Wrap: Hutson Contract, Anderson And Wilson, Demidov Fowler’s Excellent Playoff Stats Changes Canadiens Goalie Debate Laval Rocket Have Sights Firmly Set On AHL Championship Montreal Canadiens Goaltending Options, Montembeault Injury Canadiens News: Pascal Vincent Named Coach Of The Year Canadiens Prospect Jacob Fowler Wins Mike Richter Award Canadiens Daily: Hutson Loves Montreal, Wilson Hit, St-Louis Habs Daily: Top 5 Playoff Lessons, Fowler Vs. Primeau Habs Daily: Merci David Savard, The Next Step, Jacob Fowler Habs Daily: Carrier Injury Options, Monahan Draft Pick, Playoffs and stories you may have missed on the weekend The Habs opted to send goaltender Cayden Primeau and forced Oliver Kapanen to the AHL, giving the Laval Rocket a nice dose of talent as they attempt to capture the Calder Cup. As a reminder, Montreal’s farm team established the best regular-season record in the AHL setting a few franchise records in the process Laval dropped Game 3 of their best-of-five series versus the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday afternoon but Jet Greaves had a dominant afternoon to keep his team in the AHL playoffs Primeau saved 22 of the 25 shots sent his way featuring on the third line alongside Joshua Roy and Owen Beck It’s probably fair to suggest Kapanen looks much more comfortable in the AHL than he did during his two auditions in Montreal — xyz – Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) May 4, 2025 the Montreal Victoire finished as the top team in the PWHL giving them an opportunity to pick their first-round opponent with the first game set to take place on May 8 Dès le 8 mai, nous affronterons @PWHL_Ottawa en demi-finale Starting May 8, we’ll face @PWHL_Ottawa in the semifinals Séries éliminatoires de la LPHF présentées par @SharkNinja 🎟️ https://t.co/ZvFRfkkjSd pic.twitter.com/2wqXNIZjg5 — Z – Victoire de Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) May 4, 2025 ICYMI: Alexandre Carrier was quick to dismiss the idea that Tom Wilson’s thunderous hit in Game 4 was dirty. He went as far as saying he would have delivered the exact same hit if the opportunity arose. [Carrier Discusses Series-Changing Wilson Hit] Enter your email address and get all of our articles sent directly to your inbox Montreal Hockey Now is part of the National Hockey Now network and is in no way endorsed by the Montreal Canadiens or National Hockey League The second edition of the PWHL Playoffs is set to begin on Wednesday night the league formally revealed the schedule for the league’s second postseason Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost continuing their quest for the Walter Cup The path to the playoffs was very different for all four teams The Victoire were unquestionably the most consistent teams in the PWHL this season. The team started off strong, using great play from captain Marie-Philip Poulin and linemate Laura Stacey to establish themselves as one of the best teams in the league While some teams tailed off after a series of hot starts Montreal continued to stay at the top of the standings The Victoire tailed off in the second half of the season losing six of their final 10 games of the season they were able to secure first place for the first time The Sceptres had an abysmal start to the 2024-25 season winning just two of their first eight games of the season similar to what happened during the inaugural season the team climbed up the standings thanks to a strong stretch of play using a nine-game point streak to contend for first place once again most of which without reigning league MVP Natalie Spooner Toronto wasn’t able to catch Montreal for first place but was good enough to secure home-ice advantage for the playoffs with a second-place result Tereza Vanišová and Gwyneth Philips stepped up to get their team to the postseason The reigning Walter Cup champions sneaked into the playoffs once again The Frost had an incredible start to the season trying to show that a championship hangover was merely a myth the team struggled with players in and out of the lineup all season paired up with losing nine of 11 contests in February and March Minnesota faced the possibility of missing the playoffs entirely winning three of their final four games of the season to secure fourth place beating out the Boston Fleet on the final day of the season The Victoire made the decision to face the Charge in the first round setting up a rematch between the Sceptres and Frost in the opening round The Victoire play their home games at Place Bell The Charge will be hosting Montreal at TD Place Arena shared tenants with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL Toronto will play its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum, home of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Minnesota will continue to play at Xcel Energy Center, the home of the Minnesota Wild This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission customized to your favorite sports and teams Montreal Victoire’s Laura Stacey (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal in overtime during PWHL hockey game action against the Boston Fleet in Laval The PWHL regular-season champion Montreal Victoire bucked the standings on Sunday in selecting to open the playoffs facing the third-place Ottawa Charge general manager Danièle Sauvageau said the team followed a process that included consulting with her staff and players didn’t go into detail in choosing to face Ottawa over fourth-place Minnesota “There was a lot of considerations that went into it there wasn’t just one ingredient,” she said The best-of-five semifinals open Wednesday with second-place Toronto hosting defending champion Frost Montreal will open its postseason on Thursday against the Charge who are making their first postseason appearance There was very little to differentiate between Ottawa and Minnesota given the teams finished in a three-way tie with Boston in having 44 points Boston finished fifth based on having fewer regulation wins Montreal finished the season series going 4-2 against both Ottawa and Minnesota — though the Charge won the final two outings the six-team league adopted a rule in which the first-place team chooses whether to play the third- or fourth-place team rather than following the standings order Toronto finished first and went with the 1 vs 4 matchup in selecting Minnesota as its first-round opponent The Frost rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to eliminate the Sceptres before going on to claim the first Walter Cup in winning a five-game series over Boston Similar to how the PWHL’s inaugural regular season ended last year the playoff race came down to the final day with Ottawa and Minnesota clinching the final two spots along with Montreal securing first place Have you felt the financial impact of Trump's tariffs yet View Results TORONTO — The Montreal Victoire will face the Ottawa Charge in the opening round of the Professional Women’s Hockey League playoffs. Montreal general manager Danièle Sauvageau announced the selection of Ottawa as its first opponent on Sunday on the league’s “Jocks in Jills” podcast. The regular-season PWHL champion has the option of selecting either the third seed or the fourth seed to face in a best-of-five first-round series. The Charge finished third, ahead of the fourth-place Minnesota Frost through a tiebreaker. The Victoire’s decision means the second-seeded Toronto Sceptres will face the Frost in the first round for the second straight year. The Charge, who are in the playoffs for the first time, won their last two regular-season games against the Victoire after losing the first four. In the inaugural 2024 season, the regular-season-champion Sceptres elected to face the fourth-seeded Frost in the first round. Minnesota went on to upset Toronto before defeating the Boston Fleet in the final to claim the first Walter Cup. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025. The Laval Rocket lead the series against the Cleveland Monsters The teams play each other three more times with the next two taking place on May 6th and May 1st On Saturday, May 3, the New York Sirens hosted the Montreal Victoire for their final game of the 2024-25 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) regular season Although the Victoire took a strong early lead the Sirens battled back to give the Victoire victory by only one goal Although the Sirens had a 3-goal deficit heading into the third period, Sarah Fillier quickly cut that down for her team The Sirens were on the power play after the Victoire were called out for too many players on the ice Fillier fired the shot and put the Sirens on the board three minutes into the third period.  Related: Montreal Victoire Defeat New York Sirens 3-2 Fillier has been stellar for the Sirens this season, racking up 29 points via 13 goals and 16 assists. As this was the last game of the regular season, Fillier tied Hilary Knight for the highest number of points earned in the season She also tied with Renata Fast for the most assists in the season.  Fillier’s contract will expire at the end of the regular season regarding whether or not she will re-sign with New York There is no denying that she has been the Sirens’ greatest player all season; whether or not she wants to re-sign is another story.  Despite their overall standings in the league, the Sirens did not give up when they were down two goals. In the final seconds, Alex Carpenter took a shot into the top corner of the net to score the second goal for the Sirens this goal showed that the Sirens did not give up even at the very end.  Despite enduring an injury that kept her out for four games Carpenter finished the season with 20 points in 26 games She scored 11 goals and recorded nine assists recording the third-highest point total for the Sirens this season With only 37 points earned for the 2024-25 season, the Sirens have once again finished last place. At the midway point of the season, they were primed to take a playoff spot but went on a nine-game losing streak, a PWHL record. The Sirens set the record last season with an eight-game losing streak.  Even though they did not perform well this season and are now the only team that has not made the playoffs, the Sirens earn some benefits by being the worst in the league. Out of the two teams eliminated from playoff contention, whichever team records the most points since being eliminated earns the right to the first overall draft pick. Since the Sirens were the first team eliminated, they will again select first in the draft.  Fillier was the first overall draft pick in the 2024 Draft, and as mentioned above, she has performed well for the Sirens all season. While New York will have to offload some of their players with the upcoming expansion draft, the Sirens are setting themselves up for success in the 2025 Draft.  While the Sirens are not heading into the postseason, there is still plenty of work to be done before the 2025-26 season. With the expansion draft looming for PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle in mid-June and an influx of players coming in through the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24, there will be some shakeups to the Sirens roster. Founded in 2009, and 100% Canadian-owned, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated hourly, with analysis, commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide, our articles are read millions of times every month. © 2025 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC. clinching a 4-0 victory and taking a 2-0 lead in their playoff series Jacob Fowler put on an impressive performance The Rocket struck early with a goal from Jared Davidson just over two minutes into the game and maintained offensive pressure throughout they struggled to convert and fell short against Laval’s strong defense and effective forechecking While Laval showcased a dominant performance Cleveland's inability to convert on power plays and generate consistent offensive pressure raises questions about their strategies moving forward in the playoff series where the Rocket will look to extend their series lead Cleveland must adapt quickly to avoid elimination Laval's solid team effort and stellar goaltending by Jacob Fowler have set the tone in the series Cleveland needs to regroup and strategize effectively to mount a comeback or they risk facing an early exit from the playoffs The summary of the linked article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI Habs Eyes on the Prize • William Shoukri We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it OK Privacy policy The Victoire will choose their opponent for the first round on Sunday while the Fleet misses the playoffs for the first time but it doesn't get much closer than the last three games of the season it's the Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost who play their way into a playoff spot while the Boston Fleet will miss the postseason after losing in the finals last season the Montréal Victoire and the Toronto Sceptres had already clinched a playoff spot All that was left for them to determine was who would finish first overall earning the chance to pick their opponent for round one and Minnesota all entered Saturday's games with a chance to capture the final two spots What's at stake: First place overall for the Sceptres How Toronto could do it: The Sceptres needed to win in regulation AND the Victoire needed to lose in regulation to the Sirens How Ottawa could do it: Ottawa had the most options to get into the playoffs but the easiest way was with a win over the Sceptres The outcome: The Charge definitely kept fans on their toes in this game They went down early to Toronto when Nurse netted a beautiful goal to put the Sceptres up 1-0 FOREHAND 🤯 BACKHAND 🤯 FOREHANDSarah Nurse makes it look so easyyyy https://t.co/Sqsysr6wgB pic.twitter.com/aRMULv7cqM But Charge captain Brianne Jenner scored the equalizer just over a minute later. The Charge were 12-1 coming into this game when Jenner scored so a goal from their captain was certainly a good sign The captain claps back 👏Brianne Jenner snipes one to tie the game for @PWHL_Ottawa 🫡 https://t.co/3CAFml7Ckq pic.twitter.com/YXVltuAepb Neither team could get the advantage before the game ended Playoff impact: By not winning in regulation the Sceptres finished second overall and will face whoever the Victoire does not choose in the first round Scoreboard watching between periods showed the Frost with a 4-0 lead over the Fleet meaning Ottawa needed to get it done in overtime Kateřina Mrázová potted the overtime winner halfway through overtime sending the Ottawa Charge to their first playoffs came up huge for her teammates in the few games that she was able to play Playoff impact: The Ottawa Charge clinch a playoff spot leaving the remaining spot to either the Fleet or the Frost FIRE UP THE KAZOOS, WE'RE TAKING THE CAPITAL BY STORM!Ottawa, we CANNOT WAIT to see you in the playoffs!!!!🎟 https://t.co/rfOsFeU5p4 pic.twitter.com/wADXqfrYLw What's at stake: The Frost and the Fleet could clinch playoff spots How Minnesota could do it: Minnesota needs a regulation win over Boston OR a win in overtime and a Charge loss in regulation How Boston could do it: Earn a single point against Minnesota OR Charge loss to the Sceptres The outcome: The Frost were not leaving anything up to the other teams Curl-Salemme notched the first goal of the game just two minutes into the first period and Stecklein followed that one up less than a minute later Such a slay ✨ https://t.co/IMLk8AgWuW pic.twitter.com/Pk7MiSkzo6 Coyne Schofield snuck another one past Frankel Peslarová came in for the second period for the Fleet holding off the Frost until about six minutes into the period when Jacques boosted the lead to 4-0 Curl-Salemme followed up for her second goal of the game mid-way through the period sending the Frost to intermission with a 5-0 lead the Fleet pulled Peslarová with 16 minutes left in the period to play with six attackers all but solidifying the Frost's playoff chances The Fleet have pulled Peslarová with 16:45 remaining.I guess but their season ended with an 8-1 loss to Minnesota Playoff Impact: Minnesota clinches the final playoff spot The inaugural PWHL Walter Cup Champions are back in it! 🗣️With their victory over Boston this afternoon, @PWHL_Minnesota clinched a spot in the Playoffs. pic.twitter.com/92Jz7o5ZNp What's at stake: Montréal can clinch first place overall and choose their opponent for round one but they can continue to win games towards getting the first overall pick How Montréal could do it: The Victoire need one point against the Sirens or a Sceptres loss The outcome: With the Sceptres losing right near the beginning of this one the Victoire clinched first place mid-way through the first period of this game The Victoire jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead Pas pire lancer Elite sniper pic.twitter.com/KsUHMbCoao clawing their way back into the game with two goals but they couldn't get it done The Victoire will announce their first-round opponent live on the Jocks in Jills podcast and the PWHL YouTube Channel on Sunday The first playoff game will be on Wednesday The Victoire have selected the Charge as their first-round opponent Nous affronterons…We will face… pic.twitter.com/cTrDefm2dq A soccer ball with the Northern Super League logo sits on a table before a league news conference LAVAL - Tanya Boychuk’s second-half goal earned Montreal Roses FC a 2-1 win over Ottawa Rapid FC in Northern Super League action Saturday Boychuk scored at the 70-minute mark to break a 1-1 tie Latifah Abdu had the other goal for Montreal (3-0) which outshot its opponent 15-4 and 5-1 in on-target shots Delaney Pridham had the lone goal for Ottawa (1-2) opening the scoring 40 minutes into the first half This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3 Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account You will also start receiving the Star's free morning newsletter Written by RotoWire Staff Primeau was loaned to AHL Laval on Saturday Primeau was the backup goalie behind Jakub Dobes after Sam Montembeault (groin) sustained an injury in Game 3 versus Washington Despite a 20-save shutout by Jacob Fowler in a 4-0 win over AHL Cleveland on Friday Primeau could return to the crease in the Calder Cup Playoffs The 25-year-old Primeau was sensational with Laval in the regular season going 21-2-2 with a 1.96 GAA and a .927 save percentage across 26 appearances We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Laval “LC” Emmerson, 81, passed away on Thursday, May 1, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in White County, Illinois, to Elmer and Ruth Williams Emmerson. After his mother’s death when he was a toddler, he... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Laval "LC" Emmerson created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Made with love by funeralOne CLEVELAND — After sweeping the Toronto Marlies in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs the Cleveland Monsters are on to the North Division Semifinals who finished the regular season with the best record in the AHL we should feel good about ourselves and know what we need to do and have all the confidence in the world we can beat anyone in one game just with what we went through here last weekend,” said head coach Trent Vogelhuber The Monsters moved past the first round best-of-three series after a pair of overtime wins and they know their opponents are only getting stronger There’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs throughout the whole playoffs and you gotta be emotionally stable,” said Monsters center Luca Del Bel Belluz the easier it actually becomes,” said Monsters defenseman Denton Mateychuk Reinforcements from the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves and Mateychuk have provided a playoff boost “There’s no more important position this time of year as a goaltender Jet is as steady as they come back there for us The best record we had was when Dents was here with us for those 20+ games so [they're] massive additions,” said Vogelhuber The Monsters will open the best-of-five semifinals with back-to-back home games which provides an opportunity to gain an early advantage against the Rocket and we can bring the fight to them a little bit so not complaining that we get to start at home,” said Vogelhuber The rest of the series will play out at Laval Carly Mascitti is a sports anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @carlymascitti. The Cleveland Monsters fell to the Laval Rocket 3-2 on Wednesday night at Rocket Arena the Monsters trail the North Division Semifinals best-of-five series 0-1 Joseph LaBate tipped in a power-play goal at 12:07 of the middle frame with helpers from Luca Del Bel Belluz and Trey Fix-Wolansky putting the Monsters ahead Laval’s Sean Farrell scored two goals at 16:09 and 19:24 on the man advantage sending Cleveland to the final intermission trailing 2-1 The Rocket’s Owen Beck notched a tally at 5:11 of the third period but the Monsters battled back with a power-play marker from Denton Mateychuk at 17:36 assisted by Fix-Wolansky and LaBate Cleveland’s Jet Greaves stopped 29 shots in defeat while Laval’s Jacob Fowler made 23 saves for the win The Monsters and Rocket meet for Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals on Friday Follow the games with full coverage on Rock Entertainment Sports Network GAME SHEET – GAME PHOTOS – GAME HIGHLIGHTS* The Cleveland Monsters have advanced to the North Division Semifinals after beating the Toronto Marlies Saturday night The Monsters will face the Laval Rocket in the best-of-five series that will begin with Game 1 in Cleveland on either Wednesday The exact date will be finalized Monday evening based on the outcome of the Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat series in which a potential Game 5 may be played at Rocket Arena on April 30 Tickets for Game 1 and Game 2 against the Laval Rocket at Rocket Arena are on sale now The first 5,000 fans at Game 1 will receive a playoff t-shirt courtesy of truenorth Convenience Stores and a rally towel from Friedman as determined by the outcome of the Cavaliers vs For a limited time, fans can purchase the 2025 Playoff + Home Opener Bundle for Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals and receive the 2025-26 season Home Opener on Friday For the latest playoff information including additional ticket offers, all-inclusive premium seating options, playoff packs, fan kits, watch party information and more, fans can visit clevelandmonsters.com/playoffs. Sign up for Monsters SMS alerts by texting ‘PLAYOFFS’ to 30594 to stay up to date on all the latest Monsters Calder Cup Playoff information As the Canadiens’ post-season wrapped up in D.C. Laval’s was just getting started in Ohio It had been slightly more than two weeks since the Laval Rocket had last taken the ice for a game of hockey to close out the regular season with a win over the Belleville Senators on the road and the regular-season trophy as the AHL’s top team That time was used determined their opponent for their first playoff matchup with Cleveland upsetting Toronto 2-0 in a best-of-three series The time off gave the Rocket a much-needed health boost as both Brandon Gignac and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard rejoined the lineup Harvey-Pinard took his old spot on the second line alongside Lucas Condotta and Xavier Simoneau while Gignac centred the third line with Joshua Roy and Owen Beck The defence was back to full strength with David Reinbacher and Adam Engström forming the top pair with Cayden Primeau serving as an emergency backup for the Montreal Canadiens who was making just his fourth career start It was the Rocket top line that jumped out to a quick start generating a long stay inside the offensive zone and testing Jet Greaves with multiple chances in close a kerfuffle kicked off by a William Trudeau hit led to Reinbacher getting his stick up and taking a seat for cross-checking The Monsters’ power play threatened to tilt the ice almost instantly as their power play peppered Fowler between the pipes Rocco Grimaldi put a hard shot on net that Fowler kicked out his pad to stop The Cleveland forward had a full net to look at but a desperation stick check by Tyler Wotherspoon deflected the shot wide and led to a Monsters penalty to put the Rocket on their first power play While the Rocket’s top unit put plenty of rubber on net Greaves denied them the game’s first goal and the play returned to even strength without a goal on the board The period settled down slightly from the hectic opening minutes with both sides only managing to get a few shots from range on net and both goalies swallowing up anything that did get on goal Just as it looked like the Monsters were going to break in on an odd-man break Luca Pinelli slashed at Xavier Simoneau and put a dangerous-looking Laval power play back on the ice the chances were flowing with ease as the top unit put together a strong showing but Greaves continued to be a stubborn opponent as he yielded no second chances While the Rocket were guiding the game in their favour they couldn’t help but end the period with a bit of indiscipline Alex Barré-Boulet was dinged for roughing as the period came to a close forcing the Rocket penalty kill into action after the intermission Laval’s penalty-killers were locked in right from the opening puck drop with Greaves being forced into a diving save to rob Simoneau along the goal line From there it was all Fowler as he battled through screens and quick passes to deny any of the Monsters’ shooters on the advantage Then it was the speed of Gignac that drew another penalty for Laval as Roman Ahcan tackled him on a breakout At the risk of sounding like a broken record it was once again Greaves frustrating the Rocket shooters at every turn and again killing off a strong Rocket power play Shortly after Ahcan was freed from the box an odd-man rush for the Monsters turned into another penalty kill as Jared Davidson took a slashing penalty behind the play to try to slow Cleveland down Cleveland’s man advantage came out flying after its first attempt was snuffed out by the Rocket The speed of the Monsters was on full display as they knifed through the penalty-killers quickly forcing Fowler to make a number of quick pad saves in close the penalty-killers made it through the rough patch with the game still scoreless The lack of discipline from the Rocket finally caught up with them with just over half the period gone as Reinbacher took a seat for hooking Cleveland smelled blood in the water from their earlier power play and finally found a way to best the Rocket’s rookie netminder Joseph LaBate set himself in front of the net and a shot from Luca del bel Belluz pinged off his stick and in to finally break the deadlock in favour of the home side the Rocket kicked their game into another gear and began pressing Cleveland shift after shift looking for a tying goal the Rocket top line was the one to finally find the back of the net off a strong offensive-zone shift who slid up into the zone before leaving the puck off for Laurent Dauphin but Sean Farrell swooped in to pot the rebound and get the Rocket on the board a slashing call sent the Rocket back to the power play with just a minute left to play in the second period It was the top unit of the power play that finally clicked this time and Laval snatched the lead back feeding a pass off to Barré-Boulet who in turn put a slap-pass right into the slot Farrell was all alone with his stick on the ice and redirected the pass by Greaves and the Rocket entered the second intermission with all the momentum the Rocket top line came out flying and forced the Monsters defence into several turnovers inside their defensive zone Barré-Boulet came closest to furthering the lead as he looked to wrap the puck around into the net but a lunging pad by Greaves denied him at the last moment it was an out-of-place mistake by Greaves that added to the Rocket lead but his pass landed right in the lap of Gignac The veteran forward quickly fired a pass to the net where Beck quickly redirected it with his skate and made it a 3-1 contest the Rocket defence switched into lockdown mode and smothered every potential Cleveland counter as the minutes bled away on the clock Even when the Monsters broke into the zone Fowler was there to fend off anything put on net the Monsters opted to pull Greaves to try to press the issue as the Rocket tightened up their defensive shell For nearly two minutes straight the Rocket handled the extra attacker with ease but a Farrell penalty suddenly gave Cleveland a six-on-four advantage The extra attackers proved to be too much as Fix-Wolansky teed up Denton Mateychuk for a one-timer that the Monsters defender put just under the crossbar to cut the lead to one Cleveland again pulled Greaves for the final minute of regulation but despite their continued pressure there was not another goal to be found but a bobbled puck forced Grimaldi to chase it back to the point where all he could do was throw one last shot at the pads of Fowler as the horn sounded on a series-opening win for Laval and Game 2 of this series will take place in Cleveland with puck drop scheduled for 7 PM ET It’s unclear who the Canadiens will be returning to the Rocket with both Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobeš eligible for the AHL playoffs