Silver Knights win first game of inaugural AHL season

One could be forgiven Saturday night for wandering into Orleans Arena and thinking they were at T-Mobile Arena.

The setup was near identical. Towels were draped over the empty seats. Players welcomed visitors to the game via video. The home team skated through smoke to reach the ice. Someone even yelled “Knights!” during the national anthem.

It was a fitting layout for a team that proudly declares itself the Golden Knights’ “lil sib” in its Twitter bio. The Henderson Silver Knights are built in the image of their parent club, and that was clear throughout their American Hockey League debut.

Their in-game presentation is just like the NHL team’s. Their style of play is the same. The Silver Knights even opened their inaugural season with a win, just like the Golden Knights did in 2017.

The Silver Knights defeated the Ontario Reign, the farm team of the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at Orleans Arena.

“It’s been a long time coming for a lot of the players,” coach Manny Viveiros said. “I thought it was a really good hockey game.”

The Silver Knights trailed 1-0 after the first period before their offense exploded in the second. Center Jake Leschyshyn scored the first goal in franchise history 1:41 into the period, and defenseman Jake Bischoff and left wing Dylan Sikura followed suit in the period to give the team the lead.

Center Danny O’Regan scored an insurance goal late in the third period, then added an empty-net goal.

Starting goaltender Logan Thompson made 29 saves, including 10 in the third period. The penalty kill also played a huge role by finishing 4-for-4 overall and 2-for-2 in the third.

“Your best penalty killer more often than not is your goaltender,” Viveiros said of Thompson. “He was outstanding. He’s been outstanding from the beginning of training camp.”

The game started with an energetic, fast-paced first period featuring 22 shots on goal. Reign defenseman Daniel Brickley opened the scoring with 1:06 left in the first period after an assist from 2020 No. 2 overall pick Quinton Byfield.

Leschyshyn wasted no time tying the game in the second, but Ontario center Rasmus Kupari scored 43 seconds later to make it 2-1. Bischoff tied the game again 4:29 into the period after a nice feed from right wing Jack Dugan. It was the first professional point for Dugan, who led Division I college hockey in assists and points last season.

The Silver Knights took the lead with 6:55 left in the second on a one-timer from Sikura, his 32nd AHL goal in 92 games.

That was enough for the Silver Knights. O’Regan sealed the victory by scoring after 2019 first-round pick Peyton Krebs passed to him on a two-on-one with 1:53 remaining.

“He got the defenseman to bite on him and then he made a great pass to me,” O’Regan said. “I had a lot of net to shoot at.”

The game concluded with one piece of in-game theatrics unique to the Silver Knights. All the team’s goals were announced by a medieval town crier, who carried a large horn and a scroll when bellowing out into the arena.

He was belting out O’Regan’s final goal when the buzzer sounded to confirm the win.

“Honestly, I was really confused as to what was going on at the start,” Lechyshyn said. “It was all part of the whole fan experience without fans. It was pretty funny.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.