HENDERSON, N.V. – After a six-round shootout loss against the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday, the Silver Knights look to grab two points in the standings in their first matchup of the season against the Calgary Wranglers. The Wranglers currently stand first in the Pacific Division with 27 points, while the Silver Knights sit at fourth with 23. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT. 

ONE GOAL AT A TIME

The Silver Knights’ last three contests have all been one-goal games, over which the team has recorded an overtime win, a regulation loss, and a shootout loss. Players and coaches alike are focused on turning those narrow losses into victories. 

“I think we’ve had really good spurts where we’ve played well, we’ve found ways to scratch and claw to get some points,” said Head Coach Ryan Craig after Friday’s morning skate. “But there’s some points that we feel like we’ve left on the table. Our goal is to continue to climb in the standings. That’s what we’ve done.” 

“I think we have to be comfortable playing these one-goal games, because it’s what most of the games are going to be,” added defenseman Layton Ahac. “Regardless of pucks going in or not, we have to stick to how we play. We have to just trust the process. We need to learn how to score more, but also not reinvent the wheel here.” 

BEHIND ENEMY LINES 

• Forward and former Silver Knight Ben Jones leads the Wranglers with 16 points (6G, 10A) in 18 games. His longest point streak this season stood at six games, tallying nine points over that stretch. Jones has scored three points (2G, 1A) in Calgary’s last five games. 
• Rookie forward Matt Coronato has been a huge add to Calgary’s top-six. He stands second on the team in both points and goals. His 15 points (7G, 8A) in 12 games also ranks him second on the team in points-per-game. He joined the Flames for a single-game stint last season after two years with Harvard. He notched 72 points in 68 games in his seasons there. Coronato also scored two points (1G, 1A) in 10 games with the Flames to start the 2023-24 season. 
• The Wranglers have been splitting starts between Oscar Dansk and 2022-23 AHL MVP Dustin Wolf. In Dansk’s eight starts, he has recorded an average 2.33 goals against with a .929 save percentage, which is the fifth-best in the AHL. Wolf has averaged 2.50 goals against with a .916 save percentage. 

FURTHER NOTES

• Defenseman Lukas Cormier is day-to-day 
• Goaltender Jesper Vikman is week-to-week