McLain's Hat Trick Powers Silver Knights to 8-3 Win, Six-Game Road Sweep

Returning to Calgary with a point to prove, Mitch McLain buried three power-play goals against his former team Thursday as the Henderson Silver Knights closed out a perfect six-game road trip with an 8-3 dismantling of the Wranglers at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

McLain opened the scoring from the right dot on the power play at 6:38 of the first period and never looked back. Henderson built a commanding 3-0 lead through 20 minutes, with Jakub Brabenec converting a deflection off an Artur Cholach point shot, marking Cholach's first AHL point, and Tanner Laczynski adding another man-advantage goal late in the frame. The Silver Knights dominated the period so thoroughly they out-shot Calgary 13-1.

McLain's second power-play goal pushed the lead to 4-0 midway through the second, and it appeared Henderson might cruise to a clean sheet. Calgary had other ideas. The Wranglers reeled off three straight goals to cut the deficit to one, with Martin Frk completing the rally and making it 4-3 with 11:44 remaining in the third.

The comeback bid died quickly. Alexander Holtz and Viliam Kmec scored 34 seconds apart to restore order, and then McLain and Raphael Lavoie both struck on the man-advantage just 51 seconds apart to seal the final score. McLain's third goal completed the hat trick and gave Henderson five power-play goals on the night, a new franchise record.

Holtz finished with three points on a 1-2-3 line, and Kai Uchacz matched him with three assists. Carl Lindbom earned his 16th win of the season in net.

The six-game road sweep itself carries historical weight for the organization. Henderson's six consecutive road wins represent a franchise record, and the eight goals matched a franchise high, achieved for just the third time in team history. The victory also pushed the Silver Knights into fifth place in the Pacific Division.

Henderson returns home to face the Texas Stars on Saturday at 6 p.m. and again Sunday at 5 p.m., before hosting the Ontario Reign on Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m.