Winning Streak Comes to End in 6-4 Loss to Silver Knights
Mar 26, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NV. – Colorado rallied from a 5-1 deficit to bring the game back to within a single goal, but the Eagles would not be able to find an equalizer in a 6-4 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday. The defeat also put an end to the team’s season-high, four-game winning streak. Forwards Kiefer Sherwood, Liam O’Brien and Martin Kaut each notched a goal and an assist in the loss, as goaltender Hunter Miska suffered his first loss of the season in net, making 19 saves on 24 shots.
Henderson hopped on the scoreboard first when forward Dylan Sikura collected a cross-slot pass at the bottom of the right-wing circle and snapped the puck into the back of the net to give the Silver Knights the 1-0 edge just 6:31 into the contest.
The game’s first power play would allow Henderson to extend its lead when Sikura wired a wrister from the blue line through traffic and past Miska. The goal was Sikura’s team-leading ninth of the season and extended the Silver Knights’ lead to 2-0 at the 8:15 mark of the first period.
Still trailing, 2-0 heading into the second period, Colorado would see the deficit grow early in the frame when Henderson forward Tomas Jurco grabbed a turnover on the right-wing and skated through the circle before burying a shot past Miska to make it 3-0 Silver Knights just 34 seconds into the period.
The Eagles would finally put the brakes on the momentum when forward Jayson Megna weaved his way through the right-wing circle on the power play, snapping home a shot to trim the Silver Knights lead to 3-1 at the 1:34 mark of the second stanza.
Colorado would go back on the power play just minutes later, but a turnover in the neutral zone would send Henderson on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush which forward Jonas Rondbjerg would cap off to give the Silver Knights a 4-1 advantage with 10:06 remaining in the period.
Needing an answer, the Eagles would get one when Sherwood skated through the top of the right-wing circle before unfurling a heavy wrist shot that would elude Henderson goalie Jiri Patera and cut the deficit to 5-2 with 3:01 remaining in the middle frame.
Colorado would earn another power play in the closing minutes of the period and Kaut would capitalize when he grabbed his own rebound on top of the crease and buried it in the back of the net. The goal cut the Silver Knight’s advantage to 5-3 at the 19:23 mark of the second period.
The middle 20 minutes of the contest would come to a close with Eagles defenseman Keaton Middleton dropping the gloves with Henderson defenseman Zack Hayes. Middleton landed several heavy shots and the two teams would head to the intermission with the Silver Knights still on top, 5-3.
Colorado would claw back to within a goal when O’Brien fielded a pass that sprung him down the left-wing boards and set him up to snap a wrister from the left circle past Patera. The tally cut the Henderson lead to 5-4 with 15:14 still left in the third period.
The Eagles would outshoot the Silver Knights, 16-6 in the final frame but they were still in need of a game-tying goal late in the contest. With just over 90 seconds left to play, Colorado would pull Miska in favor of the extra attacker, but it would be Silver Knights forward Lukas Elvenes who would capitalize with an empty-netter at the 19:55 mark of the period.
Colorado outshot Henderson, 35-25 in the contest while going 2-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Colorado will return to action when the Eagles take on the Henderson Silver Knights at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 27th at 8:00pm MT. Fans can catch every game this season live on “The Home of the Colorado Eagles,” 92.9 The Bear or on AHLTV.
