HENDERSON, N.V. – The Henderson Silver Knights will take on the San Jose Barracuda in the first half of a back-to-back, their final games before the Christmas break. The Silver Knights and the Barracuda have faced each other five times so far this season, with Henderson winning four of the five contests. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT. 

ALL SYSTEMS GO 

The Silver Knights are coming off a 5-1 home win against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the team’s fourth straight win. Henderson played one of its most complete games of the season, netting goals from three of their four lines as well as defenseman Dysin Mayo. Mayo scored the eponymous Lucky Launch goal at 16:08 in the first period, and the team never looked back. 

“We have some really good competition for those forward spots,” said Head Coach Ryan Craig of forward Jakub Demek’s goal, which gave the Knights a 2-0 lead against Coachella. “We have guys that have pushed themselves to stay in the lineup each night, and we’re getting contributions from them, which is huge for our team.” 

“But that was a team goal, in the sense that it was an o-zone shift, we line changed in the o-zone. It’s a second-period shift, where we don’t want to allow them to change,” he added. “Daniel D’Amato did a really good job of turning the puck up getting off the bench, which left them gapped out, and Demek made a great shot.” 

FULL POWER 

The Silver Knights enter tonight’s contest with power-play goals in four straight games, with these special teams contributions proving instrumental in the team’s win streak. 

“Both of our units, they’re both really good units,” said forward Brendan Brisson after Friday’s morning skate. “Whoever’s out there, we have confidence in our group that we’re going to have a chance to change the momentum of the game…A lot of the goals have been right in front of the net, so just working it low and getting pucks to the net.” 

Brisson likewise heads into tonight’s game with a four-game point streak, tallying five points (1G, 4A) in the team’s last five games. He contributes a lot of that recent success to his linemates over that stretch, Mason Morelli and Gage Quinney.

“I feel like we’re moving the puck really well together, reading off of each other,” he continued. “[We’re] managing it really well and knowing when to get it in.” 

BEHIND ENEMY LINES 

• Forward Danil Gushchin leads the Barracuda in points this season with 23 (8G, 15A) in 23 games. He enters tonight’s contest with a three-game point streak, tallying four points (1G, 3A) over that stretch. Gushchin also has scored eight points over San Jose’s last five games, including a four-point night against Henderson on December 8. 
• Forward Thomas Bordeleau is tied with Gushchin to lead San Jose in goals this season with eight. In 17 games, he has tallied 14 points (8G, 6A). Bordeleau also rides a three-game point streak (2G, 1A) into tonight’s game. 
• San Jose has split starts between Magnus Chrona, Eetu Makiniemi, and Georgi Romanov. Makiniemi started the Barracuda’s most recent game, an 8-6 loss to the Tucson Roadrunners. Chrona last started on December 16, a 5-2 win over the Calgary Wranglers. He stopped 27 of 29 shots. Romanov made his most recent start against the Silver Knights, a 5-1 loss on December 9. 

FURTHER NOTES

• Goaltender Jesper Vikman is week-to-week