The Rocket hosted one of their division rivals on Wednesday night in the first of three home games they'll play this week.

GAME RECAP | Syracuse Crunch (3) vs Laval Rocket (2) OT

Rocket Lineup

Forward lines
81 Xavier Simoneau - 37 Brandon Gignac - 19 Emil Heineman
49 Jared Davidson - 61 Philippe Maillet - 15 Sean Farrell
21 Riley Kidney - 27 Mitchell Stephens - 42 Lucas Condotta
12 Filip Cederqvist - 14 Jan Mysak - 17 Nathan Legare

Defense pairings
84 William Trudeau - 24 Logan Mailloux
4 Paquette-Bisson - 52 Justin Barron
29 Mattias Norlinder - 44 Olivier Galipeau

Goaltenders
71 Jakub Dobes
38 Strauss Mann

Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Chris Jandric, Riley McKay, Lias Andersson

Injuries: Brady Keeper (lower body), Gabriel Bourque, Kasimir Kaskisuo

Game Report

The Laval Rocket began a five-game homestand on Wednesday with a 3-2 overtime loss against the Syracuse Crunch. The result extended Laval’s losing streak to three games and snapped Syracuse’s 12-game losing streak at Place Bell. The last time that the Crunch had left the building in Laval with two points was on March 14th, 2019.

Lucas Condotta returned to the lineup after missing last week's road trip due to the expected birth of his child. He replaced Lias Andersson as he served his one game suspension due to an interference incident on Saturday.

The Crunch dominated the first period outshooting their opponents 17-3. Syracuse capitalized on a soft play behind the net by the duo of William Trudeau and Justin Barron to get on the board when Gage Goncalves ended up alone in the slot with the puck for the goal. 

The Rocket dodged a bullet early in the second period when Tobie Paquette-Bisson was assessed a major penalty for boarding. During the five-minute advantage, Syracuse was limited to two shots on goal and they hit a cross bar. 

The penalty swung momentum in Laval's favor that turned into two goals. First, Logan Mailloux completed a laser pass from the back of his goal line to Mitchell Stephens in the neutral zone. Stephens went on a breakaway and beat Matt Tomkins. 

Later in the period, Sean Farrell made a no-look backhander pass to Philippe Maillet that he buried with a one-timer. 

Syracuse did not waste any time in the third period as Goncalves' patience paid off in the first minute as he waited for Jakub Dobes make a move before shooting the puck into the net with backhander as the goalie laid on the ice.  

The game was decided in the final minute of the overtime on an odd-man rush as Sean Day fed the puck to Gabriel Fortier for the winner. 

Jean-Francois Houle's squad has lost all six games in overtime this season. Those are important points left on the table that can be the difference in clinching a playoff spot.  

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKP4E5gDmE0[/embed]

Game Statistics

Rocket (23-24-6-2)
Shots: 23
Power play: 0-for-2
Penalty minutes: 18

Crunch (32-17-3-2)
Shots: 34
Power play: 0-for-4
Penalty minutes: 11

Scoring Summary

Rocket Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Stephens (8), Maillet (16)
3rd period: No scoring
OT: No scoring
SO: n/a

Crunch Scorers
1st period: Goncalves (9)
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Goncalves (10)
OT: Fortier (8)
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
LAV: Dobes (L) 16-13-6-1
SYR: Tomkins (W) 13-9-1-0

Players of the Game

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Post-Game Interviews

Jean-Francois Houle

Mitchell Stephens

Logan Mailloux

Philippe Maillet

Looking Back

Did you miss the Rocket's last game? Catch up on the recap here: More Than 50 Shots Isn't Enough | RECAP: LAV @ SPR

Up Next

The Rocket will hold an optional practice on Thursday before preparing for their next contest on Friday against the Cleveland Monsters. 

Puck drop on Friday, March 8th, is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at Place Bell in Laval, QC.

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