Canadiens: Laval Rocket Win Gritty Affair Against Toronto Marlies

The Laval Rocket welcomed the Toronto Marlies to Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday night. Unlike the Canadiens, Laval has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season so this was a big game.

Jakub Dobes stood tall throughout the first period. After Mitchell Stephens scored on an excellent feed from Xavier Simoneau, the Rocket had the momentum.

The game remained 1-0 going into the intermission.

18:26 into the second, Mikko Kokkonen knotted the game at one goal apiece. Assists went to Nicholas Robertson and Josian Slavin. This was sort of the spark that got the Marlies going.

Less than a minute later, the Marlies potted another goal to go up 2-1. Kieffer Bellows finished off a passing play with Max Ellis and Marshall Rifai. This marked the first time the Rocket trailed in the game, and after 40 minutes, they found themselves down by one goal.

Robertson put up his second point of the game on a goal 2:28 into the third frame. Alex Steeves and Dylan Gambrell each tallied assists on the scoring play. This goal gave the Marlies a stranglehold 3-1 lead.

For about seven minutes, the Marlies held onto their lead, but the Rocket were buzzing and definitely didn’t look out of the game by any means.

Fortunately, the hard work paid off, and Phillippe Maillet scored a huge goal. Logan Mailloux earned an assist after receiving a nice feed from forward Brandon Gignac.

Down by one goal with more than half the period to go, the Rocket found some life.

I would gauge that the Rocket were repaying Dobes for his inspiring effort based on the way they played Maillet’s goal.

Jan Mysak joined in on the fun, knotting the game at 3-3. Tobie Bisson and rookie Riley Kidney each earned an assist on the goal.

ÉGALITÉ – TIE GAME#GoRocket https://t.co/oLhasMZraO pic.twitter.com/sqgy8uKnyg

The game remained tied for seven minutes until a familiar name found himself back in the goal column. Maillet potted his second goal of the game, tipping home a Mailloux point shot, and Gignac also assisted on the go-ahead goal. 4-3 Rocket.

And for a crowd that dealt with a game full of a rollercoaster of emotions, they were in for a treat. Gignac put the finishing touches on the game with his second goal of the game with just eight seconds left in regulation. Bisson earned an assist, his second of the evening.

The Rocket are right back in action on Saturday night against the Marlies for the second half of their back-to-back weekend series. Puckdrop at 7 p.m. from Place Bell. The Canadiens prospects are hoping for a sweep of their division rivals.

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