ROCKET USE CROWD’S ENERGY TO SURGE PAST MARLIES 2-1

LAVAL (February 22, 2020) – A sellout crowd of 10,068 filled the seats at Place Bell and for good measure, as they went on to watch the Rocket knock off the Toronto Marlies 2-1 in a playoff-like affair on Saturday afternoon. 

The win improves Laval’s record to 25-23-5-3 and pushes them past the Marlies in the standings. 

Yannick Veilleux buried a powerplay marker at 5:03 of the third and the Rocket never looked back en route to capturing a valuable two points. 

Alexandre Alain scored his tenth of the season in the second period on a one-timer from Cale Fleury. Lukas Vejdemo also earned an assist on the play. Scoring the first goal of the game has been a key to success for the Rocket, who now own a record of 18-5-5-2 when striking first. 

For the Marlies, Matt Read scored his 1n2th of the campaign, but that was all the offense that the visitors would get. Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves in a game that saw Laval outshoot Toronto 36-27. 

In the opening minutes of the second period, Alain’s laser from the blue line squeezed through the pads of Hutchinson to put the Rocket up 1-0. The lead was short-lived, however, as less than a minute later, it was Read responding for the Marlies on a precise wrister from in close that beat Cayden Primeau. 

On the power play in the third, Veilleux roofed a one-timer over Hutchinson’s right shoulder, sending the sellout crowd into a frenzy and regaining the Rocket lead. From there, the Rocket were able to hang on, backstopped by Primeau who made 26 saves including several key stops in the final minutes. 

“It was essential for us to get a win today. With such a big crowd, we needed to come out strong. The game truly had a playoff feel to it,” said Alexandre Alain following the game. 

Marqueurs/Scorers 

LAV: Alain (Fleury, Vejdemo) | Veilleux (Dauphin, Lynch) 

TOR: Read (Elynuik, Korshkov) 

Unités spéciales/Special teams 

LAV | AN/PP: (1/3) | IN/PK: (3/3) 

TOR | AN/PP: (0/3) | IN/PK: (2/3) 

Gardiens/Goaltenders 

LAV: Primeau (26/27) | TOR: Hutchinson (34/36) 

Trois étoiles/Three stars 

1. Veilleux – LAV 2. Primeau – LAV 3. Dauphin – LAV