Monsters fall 3-2 to Rocket in Game 1 of North Division Semifinals
Monsters down 0-1 in best-of-five series.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Monsters took the early edge, but dropped Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals 3-2 to the Laval Rocket.
Following a scoreless first period, Monsters’ Joseph LaBate tipped in a power-play goal at 12:07 to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead in the middle frame.
Laval’s Sean Farrell answered with back-to-back goals at 16:09 and 19:24 on the man advantage, giving the Rocket a 2-1 lead headed into the final intermission.
Laval added to their lead at 5:11 in the third, but the Monsters battled back with a power-play goal from Denton Mateychuk at 17:36 assisted by Trey Fix-Wolansky and LaBate to make it 3-2 Laval.
Despite a late push, the Monsters came up short 3-2, and the Rocket take a 1-0 series lead.
Cleveland’s Jet Greaves stopped 29 shots in the loss, while Laval’s Jacob Fowler made 23 saves for the win.
Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals will be on Friday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena.
The game will be broadcast on Rock Entertainment Sports Network and Cleveland’s 43.
Copyright 2025 WOIO. All rights reserved.