The Henderson Silver Knights closed the regular season the same way they played most of it. They chased, pushed and made it uncomfortable all the way to the buzzer.
Henderson dropped a 5-4 decision to the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday, April 18, at Tucson Convention Center Arena. The Silver Knights trailed 3-0 early but climbed back into it. They still had a chance in the final minute after Raphael Lavoie scored his 30th goal of the season. The Silver Knights posted on X that Lavoie’s 30-goal season is the first in franchise history.
The bigger picture still favors Henderson. The Silver Knights finished the regular season at 39-21-7-5 with 90 points, good for third in the Pacific Division. Next comes a best-of-3 first-round series at Lee’s Family Forum against the San Jose Barracuda.
“I didn’t love our, you know, going down two goals tonight,” head coach Ryan Craig said. “But we played better as the game went on.”
A rough start put Henderson in a hole
Tucson jumped in front early and made Henderson pay. Cameron Hebig scored at 5:21 of the first, then Jack Ricketts doubled the lead at 10:48. Hebig struck again 1:22 into the second to make it 3-0.
After that, Henderson started to look like itself again. The Silver Knights played faster and created chances off the rush.
“We got to our game, I thought, in the second period, created some things off the rush, were able to attack,” Craig said.
Two goals in 83 seconds flipped the feel
Kai Uchacz put Henderson on the board at 10:14 of the second, scoring his 20th off assists from Braeden Bowman and Jeremy Davies. Then Mitch McLain made it 3-2 at 11:37, finishing a sequence credited to Joe Fleming and Riley McKay.
Those goals changed the temperature of the night. Henderson had the game back within reach, and the bench looked alive again. The Silver Knights also had a late power play in the second and another early in the third. However, the offense did not break through there.
“At the late power play in the second period, early in the third, unfortunately couldn’t get one there,” Craig said.
Hebig’s hat trick held up, even after the late push
Tucson found another answer at 11:52 of the third when Hebig completed his hat trick to make it 4-2. Austin Poganski then scored an empty-net goal at 17:13 to stretch it to 5-2.
Even so, Henderson still made Tucson sweat. Viliam Kmec scored at 19:04 to cut it to 5-3. Forty-two seconds later, Lavoie finished from Matyas Sapovaliv and Trevor Connelly to make it 5-4.
“You can see the spots he gets to,” Craig said. “When he gets there, usually the puck ends up in the net.”
The rally ran out of time, but the message stayed intact.
“We battled till the end,” Craig said. “We’re going to put this behind us here, and now we’re excited about what’s in front of us.”
Now it’s playoffs, and Henderson gets home ice
Craig framed the regular season as a long build. He said the group learned what makes it successful, and now the pace changes fast.
“We’re very fortunate and privileged to have all three games at home,” Craig said. “But we’ve got a tough opponent coming in.”
Up Next
The Silver Knights open the Calder Cup playoffs at Lee’s Family Forum in a best-of-3 first-round series against the San Jose Barracuda. Game 1 is Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Game 2 is Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, is Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
