SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were edged by the Laval Rocket, 4-3, in a shootout tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Spencer Kersten scored his first goal of the season to force overtime and secure one point for the Crunch. The team now sits at 35-19-3-2 on the season. They finish the eight-game season series against the Rocket with a 4-1-1-2 record.
 
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 25-of-28 shots and 1-of-3 shootout attempts. Kaapo Kähkönen earned the win turning aside 28-of-31 shots and 2-of-2 shootout attempts in net for the Rocket. The Syracuse power play converted on 1-of-5 opportunities, while the penalty kill went a perfect 4-for-4.
 
The Crunch jumped out to a quick lead just 5:04 into the game. Ethan Gauthier got the puck from Ian Mitchell as he came into the zone. He continued down the right side and beat Kähkönen with a wrister from the faceoff dot. Laval responded and tied the game during 4-of-4 play at 15:32. Owen Beck was wide open for a wrister from the left circle. Just over a minute later, Syracuse regained their lead with a 5-on-3 power-play goal. Jakob Pelletier got the puck at the point, skated down the slot and scored.
 
Syracuse held onto their lead until the 5:31 mark in the third period when Laval evened the score, 2-2. Tyler Thorpe fired a shot from the right circle that got blocked, but the puck dropped down for Lucas Condotta to chip in. Four minutes later, the Rocket stole the lead when Samuel Blais cut towards the slot and scored from between the circles. With just 2:23 remaining in the game, Kersten potted his first goal of the season to eventually force overtime. An errant Laval pass went towards the slot for Kersten to turn and send home while all alone out front.
 
The teams remained tied through the overtime period and went to a shootout. Alex Belzile scored for the Rocket in the second round before Sean Farrell secured the win with a goal in the third round.
 
The Crunch are back in action on Friday when they travel to face the Rochester Americans.
 
Ticket packages for the 2025-26 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: Jakob Pelletier is on a 10-game points streak (3g, 11a)…Ian Mitchell recorded his first point with the Crunch tonight…The Crunch have tied a season-best allowing just three shots in the first period…The Crunch are – in shootouts this season.