The Strathroy Rockets had a two-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to an 8-5 win over the LaSalle Vipers.

With the win, Strathroy evened the series at 1-1 in the best of seven showdown.

Mike Mandarelli had one goal and two assists to lead the Rockets. Mandarelli scored 19:23 into the second period to make the score 6-4 Strathroy. Kurtis Sander assisted on the tally.

Strathroy made Vipers' goaltenders to work in net, firing 38 shots and forcing 30 saves. Taylor Speed made 26 stops and Conner MacKinnon made four. The Rockets' defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.

Strathroy additionally got points from Matthew Watson, who also registered one goal and one assist, Tyler Duarte, who also had one goal and one assist, and Sander, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Brett Dalton also scored for Strathroy. More assists for Strathroy came via Stuart King, who had two and Jordan DaSilva, Shawn Grogan, Blake O`Neill, Nick Boyer, and Wes Baker, who contributed one a piece.

LaSalle's offense rang up 35 shots on Strathroy's net. The Vipers got an offensive boost from their blueliners, who contributed two goals during the game.

LaSalle was led by Eric Noel, who tallied one goal and two assists. Noel scored 16:25 into the first period to make the score 3-1 Strathroy. Brad Carroll picked up the assist. LaSalle also got points from Spencer VanBuskirk, who also registered one goal and one assist. LaSalle also got a goal from Chad Shepley as well. In addition, LaSalle received assists from Richard Villani, who had one and Korey Morgan, who had two.

The Rockets' Dalen Kuchmey stopped 30 shots out of the 35 that he faced. Strathroy incurred 26 minutes in penalty time with three minors. The Vipers incurred 18 minutes in penalty time with four minors.