Ethan De Leon for Inside The Rink
HENDERSON, Nev. — On Saturday night at Lee’s Family Forum, the Henderson Silver Knights hosted the Bakersfield Condors for their season opener. Henderson entered the season with Joel Ward as its new head coach, and the Knights’ 4-3 victory gave him his first career win as an AHL head coach.
During the first period, the Silver Knights faced an early penalty kill and kept the game scoreless. That momentum led to Alex Weiermair scoring his first AHL goal in his league debut, also marking Henderson’s first goal of the season. The Knights remained in control of the period, outshooting the Condors 15-4.
In the second period, Bakersfield stepped up its offense and hemmed the Knights in their own zone for an extended stretch but could not find the back of the net. Henderson then capitalized on an odd-man rush, with Alexander Holtz scoring his first goal of the season.
In the third period, the Condors began to chip away at the lead with a goal from Daniel D’Amato. However, the Silver Knights’ Tanner Laczynski answered with a goal of his own, restoring the two-goal lead. Just 54 seconds later, Connor Clattenburg found the back of the net to bring the Condors within one.
Henderson then went on the power play, where Holtz scored his second goal of the night to restore the two-goal cushion. Bakersfield pulled its goalie for an extra attacker, and Quinn Hutson scored to keep the Condors in the game. Bakersfield pulled its goalie again but could not find the equalizer, and the Silver Knights held on for a 4-3 victory.
Check out this gallery from Inside The Rink’s Ethan De Leon for highlights from the game.
