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Rocket @ Marlies recap & highlights: Laval bounces back with huge win

Posted on by Jared Book
Photo by LAURENT CORBEIL / Arena du Rocket Inc.

Less than 24 hours after allowing five third-period goals, the Laval Rocket defeated the Toronto Marlies 7-1 at Coca Cola Coliseum on Saturday.

It was a game that had some adversity even before the opening faceoff. Joshua Roy was pulled from the lineup to be recalled by the Montreal Canadiens, and was replaced by Filip Cederqvist. The Rocket also played most of the second period with only four defenders as Justin Barron and Mattias Norlinder left with injuries. Barron returned for the third, but Norlinder did not.

As it worked out, it was Cederqvist who opened the scoring for Laval. Just over the halfway point of the first period, Cederqvist pounded on a Norlinder rebound but was stopped by Marlies goaltender Keith Petruzzelli. He stuck with it and eventually put it in the net to give the Rocket a 1-0 lead.

Laval kept coming. Just 49 seconds later, Xavier Simoneau doubled the lead on the power play when he stuck with his own rebound for his first of two goals on the night.

Before the first period ended, the Rocket went up 3-0. Lias Andersson made a nice centering pass to Jan Myšák, who made no mistake into the open net for his 11th goal of the season.

“As a team we showed good character,” said Rocket defender Tobie Paquette-Bisson. “They came out a bit cocky, it let us find ourselves and we showed what we could do.”

“It shows our resilience,” said Rocket forward Nathan Légaré, who scored two goals himself in the win. “We looked at ourselves in the mirror and we weren’t satisfied with our performance [Friday] and showed our maturity.”

“We showed we’re able to face adversity. It wasn’t an easy game yesterday but we responded to the call today,” said Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle.

The scoring in bunches continued into the second period. Légaré scored his first goal 11:10 into the middle frame tipping in an Olivier Galipeau slap shot past Dennis Hildeby, who started the second period for Toronto.

Just 3:21 after Légaré made it 4-0, Simoneau scored his second of the game and seventh of the season on the power play when the Rocket converted another loose puck right in front of the net.

Logan Mailloux made it 6-0 1:13 after when he fired a shot from the right side past Hildeby for his 11th goal of the year.

After Roni Hirvonen scored a power play goal late in the second period to make it 6-1, Légaré scored his second of the game shorthanded to restore the six-goal lead in the third period.

On top of the Rocket losing Barron and Norlinder to injuries in the second period, William Trudeau took back-to-back penalties meaning that Laval was down to three defenders to kill those two penalties: Paquette-Bisson, Galipeau, and Mailloux.

Kasimir Kaskisuo got the start in the arena where he was an AHL All-Star and made 28 saves in the win. The Rocket outshot Toronto 31-29, but it was 25-16 after two periods.

The Rocket’s next games continue on the road when they will go to Hartford, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Bridgeport for a tough three games in three days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Lineup

Lucas Condotta returned to the lineup after being sent down on Friday. Riley McKay also drew in. Emil Heineman did not play after leaving Friday’s game with an injury. The only other change was Kaskisuo getting the start in goal.

Standings

The playoff race has the potential to change every single game. The Rocket are only two points out of third and one point out of fifth. The top three teams get an automatic berth into the second round, while the fourth and fifth place teams play a best-of-three series to get the final spot.

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