Henderson outlasts San Jose 9-6 in 15-goal AHL shootout

Nine goals were enough to win, but the bigger story was how Henderson kept answering every San Jose push in a game that finished 9-6 and featured 15 total goals. Raphael Lavoie drove the Silver Knights with a hat trick and an assist, and Henderson used a four-goal second period to turn a tight matchup into a track meet it controlled by force of numbers and depth.

The Silver Knights led 2-1 after one period, then opened the game wide with four more in the second before matching San Jose nearly stride for stride in the third. Trevor Connelly, Jakub Brabenec, Mitch McLain and Kai Uchacz also scored for Henderson, while Matyas Sapovaliv added two goals. Braeden Bowman supplied two assists, and the Silver Knights cashed in on a power play that went 3-for-4. In a night built on constant momentum swings, Henderson’s depth mattered as much as Lavoie’s finish, and the lineup produced enough secondary scoring to keep the Barracuda from ever pulling even.

San Jose had plenty of offense of its own and still walked away with the feeling that the game got away in the other end. Colin White scored twice, Luca Cagnoni had a goal and two assists, and the Barracuda also got goals from Kasper Halttunen, Filip Bystedt and Lucas Vanroboys. Oliver Wahlstrom finished with three assists, Quentin Musty added two, and Patrick Giles and Nolan Allan each chipped in helpers. San Jose scored twice on four power plays, but the goals against kept stacking up too quickly to let any rally settle in.

Gabriel Carriere and Laurent Brossoit combined to allow seven Henderson goals, while the Silver Knights outshot the Barracuda 35-32 and scored in every period. That is what made Friday night in Henderson feel bigger than a novelty shootout. Henderson looked dangerous enough to suggest its offense may be peaking at the right time, but giving up six in the process is the kind of defensive looseness that can become a playoff problem if the scoring cools. For San Jose, the night showed the Barracuda still have enough talent to make opponents uncomfortable. For Henderson, it showed a team that can bury chances in bunches, and that may be the most dangerous sign of all.