Alex Barré-Boulet and Joshua Roy scored two goals each as the Laval Rocket beat the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 Friday night in their home opener at Place Bell in front of a sellout crowd of 10,243.
Barré-Boulet started the season with the Canadiens and had no points in two games before being sent down to Laval. Roy was among the Canadiens’ final cuts at training camp. Barré-Boulet also had two assists in his first game with the Rocket Friday night, while Roy had one against the Crunch. In three games with the Rocket, Roy has 2-1-3 totals.
Xavier Simoneau also scored for the Rocket Friday night, while goalie Jakub Dobes stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced as Laval improved its record to 2-1-0.
The Canadiens signed the 27-year-old Barré-Boulet to a one-year, one-way contract worth US$775,000 as a free agent on July 1. During the 2022-23 season the Montmagny native finished second in AHL scoring with 24-60-84 totals in 69 games with the Crunch. The Canadiens selected Roy in the fifth round (150th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
The Rocket and Crunch will play again Saturday afternoon at Place Bell (3 p.m., RDS2).
Second shutout for Fowler
Jacob Fowler stopped all 20 shots he faced Friday night as No. 2 ranked Boston College beat AIC 5-0 in its home opener and improved its record to 2-1-0 in NCAA play.
It was the second shutout in three games for Fowler, who improved his record to 2-1-0 with a 1.35 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. The Canadiens selected Fowler in the third round (69th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
As a freshman last season at Boston College, Fowler had a 32-6-1 record with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
Another goal for Hage
Michael Hage, selected by the Canadiens in the first round (21st overall) of this year’s NHL Draft, scored his fourth goal in five games as the 10th-ranked University of Michigan beat St. Cloud State 3-0 Friday night. Michigan improved its record to 3-1-1.
In five games as a freshman at Michigan, Hage has 4-3-7 totals.