The Rogle train was beginning to look unstoppable - after four consecutive wins to stun Farjestad, they won 5-3 and 6-0 on the road in Vaxjo to put themselves in a very healthy position on their return to Angelholm.
And it looked to be more of the same for the men in green when they went ahead midway through the opening period, when neat play from Dennis Everberg saw him beat the Vaxjo defence and play the puck across for Linus Sandin to finish.
The Lakers were given a pair of reprieves early in the second period, as Lubos Horky's goal was correctly adjudged to have not crossed the line following a video review, before Felix Nilsson failed to convert a penalty shot a minute later.
A tripping call against Albin Sundsvik wasn't punished on the powerplay by Vaxjo, but they drew level within a minute of the hosts getting back to full strength, as Keegan Lowe and Hugo Gustafsson combined for Karl Henriksson to end a run of 12 consecutive Rogle goals in the series.
However, another Rogle goal arrived within five minutes of the third period getting underway, as Daniel Zaar did expertly to protect the puck behind the net and find Sundsvik, who applied the close-range finish.
But this time, Vaxjo wouldn't lie down. They equalised within two minutes when Lukas Elvenes found Leo Sahlin Wallenius, and the defender turned from goal scorer to provider five minutes on, squaring for Brogan Rafferty, whose effort from the glass at the blue line evaded everyone and put the visitors ahead.
Rogle went for broke to keep their winning streak alive, but when Gustafsson won possession in the penultimate minute and struck the empty net, it was game over - 4-2 to the Lakers.
The series is now guaranteed to go to at least five matches, but for now the focus is on game four, which will also be at Catena Arena on Tuesday 14th April.