What can Marco Kasper do for an encore after a strong rookie season with the Detroit Red Wings?
How about lead Austria to the medal round at the World Championship for the first time since 1994.
Kasper assisted on two goals Tuesday and Austria rolled past Latvia 6-1 in Stockholm, Sweden, to finish fourth in Group A with 10 points. Austria (2-2-0-3, W-OTW-OTL-L will face Switzerland (6-0-1-0, 19 points) in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Kasper had two shots on goal and a plus-1 rating in a game-high 20:23 of ice time. He set up Benjamin Baumgartner for what proved to be the winning goal at 3:57 of the second period.
In seven tournament games, Kasper leads Austria with four goals and is tied for the team lead with seven points. He is averaging a team-high 21:02.
Eduards Tralmaks, whom the Red Wings signed to a one-year, two-way contract in March, scored Latvia’s lone goal at 8:03 of the second, which cut Austria’s lead to 3-1.