The Laval Rocket opened the AHL season with a 5-2 road win over the Providence Bruins on Friday night.
Defenceman Logan Mailloux — among the last cuts from the Canadiens’ training camp — scored two goals and added two assists for the Rocket. Filip Mesar, Adam Engstrom and William Trudeau also scored for Laval, while goalie Jakub Dobes made 12 saves. The Rocket outshot the Bruins 39-14 with Pascal Vincent making his debut behind the Laval bench as head coach.
Vincent, who was head coach of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets last season, was hired by the Canadiens to coach the Rocket after Jean-François Houle left Laval this summer to become head coach at Clarkson University, his alma mater.
Last season, Mailloux had 14-33-47 totals in 72 games with the Rocket before making his NHL debut in the Canadiens’ final game at the Bell Centre.
The Rocket will visit the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night before playing their home opener next Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch at Place Bell.