Another Big Win For Fowler and The Rocket

After looking shaky at times on Friday night, Fowler came into Saturday’s game much more poised and was able to play a much more solid game as a result. The Habs’ top goaltending prospect is now 7-2 since returning to the AHL from his NHL stint, which includes 7 straight starts since Kaapo Kahkonen went down with an injury. In his last 7 games, Fowler has posted a 6-1 record with a .901 save percentage and a 2.57 GAA, which has been good considering his workload. Not to mention his save percentage has been weighed down by the one loss where he had a very tough game but has since been playing much better. Eventually, the Rocket will need to give him a game off, as playing every game isn’t sustainable, but for now, he’s playing really well.

On Saturday afternoon, defenseman David Reinbacher returned to action after missing 2 weeks with an upper-body injury that saw him miss the last 5 games, including Friday night. Reinbacher had a decent game in his return, where he finished the day with an assist and 4 PIMs, while having a +2 rating with 2 shots on goal. The 21-year-old Austrian defenseman made simple plays while not trying to do too much in his return and kept the Rocket out of trouble besides his double-minor penalty.

As a whole, the Rocket were much more solid defensively on Saturday, which allowed them to prevent as many great danger opportunities to reach Fowler. The return of a big defenseman like Reinbacher definitely helped in that area throughout the game.

For the 2nd game in a row, Joshua Roy would open the scoring with a wrister from the left side of the net. The only difference was that, unlike on Friday, Roy wasn’t on a partial breakaway for the game’s opening marker. The Rocket forward finished the weekend with a solid 3 goals in 2 games against the Monsters, making himself noticed offensively.

The real star on offence for the Rocket on Saturday was veteran Alex Belzile, who would score 2 goals, including his 20th of the season on the power play, which would end up being the game-winner. His goal came from the slot, where he would tip a Sammy Blais pass into the back of the net. This was also Belzile’s first goal in 11 games.

Just 21 seconds after that, Xavier Simoneau would find his way on a breakaway where he would beat the Monsters’ goaltender to extend the Rocket’s lead to 3-0, giving the Rocket complete control of the game.

Midway through the 2nd period, the Monsters would finally get on the board and cut the Rocket’s lead to 3-1, thanks to Luca Del Belluz beating Fowler for the only time on the afternoon. Del Belluz’s goal would give the Monsters some life as they started pushing, but a penalty would allow the Rocket to get it right back.

On yet another power play, Belzile would score his 2nd of the game from a tough angle, where he would flip it over the goaltender’s shoulder to restore the Rocket’s 3-goal lead and made it a 4-1 game.

In the 3rd period, the Rocket, led by Fowler and stellar defence in front of him, would shut down the Monsters and secure their 5th consecutive win. Compared to Friday night, the Rocket didn’t have much trouble getting their win, as aside from a few minutes late in the 2nd period, they had control of the game from start to finish.

The Rocket will look to extend their winning streak to 6 games when they take on the Hershey Bears on Friday night at 7:00 pm ET at Place Bell. Head to our website to listen to the game for the official audio broadcast.