Henderson Silver Knights celebrate their 5-2 victory over the Ontario Reign in their season opener at the Orleans Arena Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 | 10:30 p.m.
The biggest downside of the Henderson Silver Knights starting play this year — maybe the only downside as far as valley hockey fans are concerned — is that fans are absent on game day because of the pandemic.
The inaugural game on Saturday night would have been another celebration of the sport for a city whose residents have fallen head over heels for hockey the last four years since the Golden Knights arrived.
Instead the empty seats at the Orleans Arena for the minor league Silver Knights debut had silver and gold coverings. Game day features that are commonplace — cheerleaders dancing, in-game music, the smoke machine and player introductions — certainly missed the ovation of fans.
They would have had plenty to cheer for, as the Silver Knights pulled away in the third period for a 5-2 victory against the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League opener.
“I thought they did a pretty good job of making it a good atmosphere like there were fans there, but it was definitely weird,” Henderson forward Jake Leschyshyn said.
There were some fun quirks that were part of what makes minor league hockey great. After Silver Knights goals, a medieval-style messenger ran down the steps, signaled his announcement with a trumpet and announced the goal scorer. The first one, Leschyshyn, was fairly normal, but the second goal-scorer was announced as “Lord Jake Bischoff from House Henderson.”
Even the uniforms were a statement.
The Silver Knights’ jerseys have the same template as the Golden Knights, but with a few stamps to make them their own. The silver helmets make you know it’s Henderson on the ice, and the gold numbers on the back are difficult to make out from a distance, a potential problem for stat keepers.
The game itself was befitting of a season opener for a new team. The Silver Knights gave up the first goal and eventually went down 2-1 before a pair of goals gave them a 3-2 lead at the second intermission.
Danny O’Regan scored two insurance goals in the final two minutes, putting a lid on the game. Leschyshyn, Bischoff and Dylan Sikura supplied the other goals, and the Silver Knights started their inaugural campaign on a high note.
“So happy for the guys. It’s been a long time coming for a lot of the players,” coach Manny Viveiros said. “A lot of really good things I saw tonight from our team.”
Lack of fans aside, Orleans Arena is a perfect fit while Henderson Event Center, the Silver Knights’ permanent home beginning in 2022, is under construction. Of course as the former home of the Las Vegas Wranglers, it was the obvious choice, but it’s obvious for a reason.
The building holds just shy of 8,000 fans for hockey, big enough for a boisterous crowd but small enough for an intimate feel. Every seat is closer to the ice than the upper deck at T-Mobile Arena and it’s warmer than any rink in town.
It’s set up like a concert venue with a video board on the wall keeping the seats from connecting all the way around. And though the sound system isn’t quite the same quality as the big barn down the road, the in-game entertainment crew sure made sure to push them to their limits.
“There’s nothing worse than playing in just a dead arena and it certainly didn’t feel that way tonight,” O’Regan said. “I thought they did a really good job of keeping the guys in it and certainly made the best of it.”
It was a historic night at Orleans Arena, coupled with an entertaining game on the ice. Some day, whether it be this season or more likely next, it welcome fans to see the new show in town.
It’s not Golden Knights hockey but it doesn’t have to be. The Silver Knights are their own show.
