Henderson Silver Knights Roll Past Abbotsford, Stay Hot With 4-1 Victory

A scoreless first period gave way to a back-and-forth second, but the Henderson Silver Knights settled the matter quickly in the third, pulling away for a 4-1 win over the Abbotsford Canucks at Rogers Forum on Saturday night.

Joe Fleming opened the scoring at 2:41 of the second period, giving Henderson the early edge. Abbotsford answered late in the frame when Arshdeep Bains tied it at 1-1 at 16:15, with Nils Åman and Joe Arntsen picking up the assists. The period also turned physical: Jimmy Schuldt and Henderson's Kai Uchacz dropped the gloves at 14:45, both drawing five-minute fighting majors.

The Silver Knights wasted no time after the intermission. Dylan Coghlan fed Trevor Connelly in front of the crease just 1:37 into the third, and Connelly redirected it past Abbotsford goaltender Ty Young for the go-ahead tip-in. Tensions continued to flare in front of the Abbotsford net, and when Åman went to the box for holding at 9:47, Henderson made the penalty count. Connelly turned provider, finding a streaking Raphael Lavoie on the power play at 10:12 to push the lead to 3-1. Abbotsford pulled Young with just over three minutes remaining, and Tanner Laczynski buried the empty-netter at 17:13 to close it out.

Young finished with 22 saves on 23 shots despite the loss. His recent form has been sharp: over three games he had stopped 81 of 84 shots and posted a 3-0 record that included his first AHL shutout, but Saturday's third period proved too much to hold back.

The win fits neatly into Henderson's late-season surge. The Silver Knights entered the weekend with a 7-1-0-2 record over their last ten games, and in seven meetings against Abbotsford this season they have outscored the Canucks 23-10, going 4-1-1 after dropping the first two games of the series on opening weekend.

Abbotsford dressed Bennett Schimek in his first professional game after the 22-year-old captain finished his senior season at Arizona State with 43 points in 35 games. Schimek acknowledged the transition after the final whistle. "It's definitely an adjustment, you know, when you're hopping into a new system, with new guys, and it's just a different level than college hockey," he said. "But overall, I thought as the game went on, I started to feel more and more comfortable. And, I think if I just get a little more aggressive, [I'll] have more success."

The two clubs meet again Sunday afternoon at Rogers Forum before Henderson heads to Calgary for a pair of midweek games against the Wranglers. Games can be followed on radio at 1230 The Game or streamed on FloHockey.