SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were blanked by the Laval Rocket, 5-0, tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
The loss moves the Crunch to 5-6-2-0 on the season and 1-3-0-0 in the six-game season series against the Rocket.
 
Crunch goaltender Mads Sogaard stopped 17-of-22 shots before being relieved by Olivier Rodrigue in the third period. Rodrigue went on to turn aside the one shot he faced. Kaapo Kähkönen earned the shutout stopping all 31 shots between the pipes for the Rocket. The Syracuse power play went 0-for-3, while the penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4.

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After a scoreless first period, the Rocket were first on the board halfway through the middle frame. Tyler Thorpe skated down the left side and scored with a wrister from the face off dot. Laval doubled their lead just 1:01 later. Sogaard made the initial save on David Reinbacher's shot, but the rebound dropped down for Samuel Poulin to backhand in.
 
The Rocket made it 3-0 early in the third period. Dillan Bentley skated the puck down the left wing before backhanding a cross-crease feed for Josh Nadeau to score at 5:29. Just over a minute later, Sasha Pastujov wrapped around the back of the net and stuffed the puck in. Brett Berard added another goal for Laval from the right circle at the 8:08 mark to chase Sogaard from the game and secure the win.
 
The Crunch host the Toronto Marlies on Friday.
 
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2026-27 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse, by calling the office at 315-473-4444 or online through Ticketmaster. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), X (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch).
 
Crunchables: This is the first time the Crunch have been shutout this season.