Kasimir Kaskisuo was sensational in his first start in almost 10 months and the Laval Rocket defeated the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 on Friday night at Place Bell.
Signed by the Montreal Canadiens’ farm club on December 18, Kaskisuo made 36 saves, including several very good ones, in his first start since March 2, 2023, when he wore the colors of Leksands IF in the League hockey team of Sweden.
The 30-year-old Finn hadn’t played in the American Hockey League since February 17, 2020, with the Toronto Marlies, but he didn’t seem to have lost his rhythm.
Philippe Maillet, Joshua Roy and Nathan Légaré hit the mark for the Rocket (10-14-5), who beat the Crunch (16-10-4) for a second time in 10 days. Arber Xhekaj had two assists and made his first career AHL fight.
Gabriel Fortier and Gage Goncalves responded for the visitors, who are well established in second place in the North section. They had not lost in regulation time in their last three outings.
Hugo Alnefelt gave up three times in 20 shots for the Tampa Bay Lightning farm club.
The Rocket and the Crunch will battle it out again on Saturday afternoon, again in Laval.
Kaskisuo announces himself
The Rocket started the game with a lot of energy and Emil Heineman got his first scoring opportunity. However, he was unable to beat Alnefelt between the pads.
The Crunch regained momentum after a rather timid start and was the first to move the ropes. During a power play, Fortier skillfully redirected a pass from Goncalves into the top of the net to open the scoring.
The Laval team was able to respond before the end of the first period, and in the same way. Xhekaj’s pass towards Maillet lacked precision, but the attacker managed to take a shot which surprised Alnefelt during his movement.
Leaving the locker room, the Rocket came within centimeters of taking the lead when Xhekaj’s shot beat the Crunch goalkeeper, but not the crossbar behind him.
The intensity and physical play were there in the second half, but both teams were still methodical in their attacks. Kaskisuo notably made two important saves, at the expense of Jack Thompson and Goncalves, to maintain the tie.
His teammates rewarded him with 2:38 remaining. Xhekaj’s shot hit Nolan Yaremko in front of the net and Roy grabbed the puck before sliding it between Alnefelt’s pads.
At the end of the period, Olivier Galipeau gave Kaskisuo a helping hand by blocking two shorthanded one-timers. The Rocket goaltender was also lucky in the final third, when Tristan Allard missed the target while the cage was completely open.
The Rocket took advantage of this missed opportunity to give themselves a two-goal cushion. Légaré served a cup of coffee to defenseman Max Crozier before slotting the puck into the top of the net.
After several quality saves from Kaskisuo, Goncalves made things interesting late in the match, but it was insufficient.