The Laval Rocket came into Saturday’s matchup against the rival Toronto Marlies looking to build some momentum. After dropping five of its previous seven games, Laval won a tight matchup against the Syracuse Crunch on Friday, taking a step in the right direction.

The lines were nearly identical to those of Friday. Unfortunately, just one game after returning from injury, Xavier Simoneau drew back out of the lineup again. The ailment is most likely due to the massive impact he had with the ice late in Friday’s game while jumping to avoid a point shot. Simoneau came down hard on his back, and though he did return to the game, he seemed to be labouring. Tyler Thorpe took Simoneau’s role on the third line, and Vincent Arseneau drew into the lineup. There were no changes to the defence corps. Jacob Fowler got the start once again, playing both games of the back-to-back situation.

The Rocket got off to another good start, mimicking their performance from Friday. Josh Jacobs has been having a blast unloading his one-timer, and after Friday’s goal, he’s got the green light blinking in his mind.

Unlike Friday’s domination, Saturday’s game was a back-and-forth affair for the opening 10 minutes. Both teams were moving well, and there was plenty of space in the neutral zone for them to skate.

Toronto picked up a power play after Jared Davidson chose to respond with some fisticuffs to a hit against Owen Beck. Davidson got pretty seriously tuned up in the fight and had to leave the game. The Rocket killed the two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike, but Davidson did not return.

Riding some momentum, Adam Engström opened the scoring for Laval, a goal eerily similar to his OT winner on Friday.

Both teams began looking a little disjointed after the goal, with things getting sloppier. Laval drew a penalty with just under 3:30 left in the first, but Toronto got the first two opportunities, battling while short-handed.

The power play went nowhere, but Laval received another right after, with Beck taking a slash in the slot with 1:20 left in the frame. The power play looked great, with Joshua Roy and Engström both creating good opportunities that were saved by Dennis Hildeby. The teams headed into the first intermission with Laval leading 1-0.

Back for the second, the last 40 seconds of Laval’s power play went by without a high-danger scoring chance. Laval took a penalty just a minute later as well, sending the Marlies to the power play. Laval killed its penalty off and picked up a power play of its own minutes later. The Rocket looked good again, but weren’t able to connect cleanly.

After another few minutes of back-and-forth play, the Rocket got yet another power play, this time a four-minute major. Laval finally managed to squeeze one through after Hildeby stood on his head for three minutes, with Arseneau sliding in his second of the year.

After the goal, the Marlies started putting things together and scored shortly after.

The period ended with Laval leading 2-1 and shots tied at 19 apiece.

The third period started with two good chances from Laval. Both Hildeby and Fowler had looked solid with the teams piling on shots. After five minutes of semi-consistent offensive pressure from Laval didn’t convert to the scoresheet, the Rocket started focusing on the defensive side of the game.

A hit from William Trudeau at the 10-minute mark sparked another fight, with Trudeau coming out on top.

Minutes later, Jacob Fowler robbed Logan Shaw twice on a breakaway attempt after the Marlies caught Laval on a bad change. The Marlies were moving with speed, and Fowler was forced to make another big save.

With a minute left and the Rocket in a defensive shell, the Marlies tied the game, sliding a puck through Fowler’s five-hole.

The late goal sent the game to OT, where, after a full three minutes of back-and-forth action, Laurent Dauphin secured the win for Laval with a great move.

Final Score: Laval 3, Toronto 2 (OT)

Laval will be back in action on Wednesday, February 4, facing the Utica Comets at home. The 12-20-4 Comet should be an easier task for Laval than its last four opponents, and the Rocket will look to take advantage.