Gulls Set For First Meeting With Henderson Silver Knights

Feb 24, 2021

The San Diego Gulls introduce themselves to a new division rival as they visit the Henderson Silver Knights to open a three-game series tonight (7 p.m. PT; TV: AHL TV; RADIO: Gulls Audio Network) at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

The Silver Knights join the Pacific Division as the AHL’s newest franchise, the first new organization to join the league since the Colorado Eagles in 2018. San Diego and Henderson will face off six times this season.

The Gulls and Knights started strong early in the season. San Diego sits atop the Pacific Division with a 7-1-0-0 record and co-leads the AHL in wins and points (14). The Silver Knights own a 5-1-0-0 record through six games, including two wins on home ice.

“They’re a skilled team and a team that competes as well,” said Gulls assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre. “They have some good players, either young or players they signed as free agents. They’re a deep team.”

San Diego heads to Henderson coming off a season-high seven goal output in Saturday’s win over Colorado. The Gulls scored the game’s first goal for the first time en route to a four-goal first period.

“We have to use our speed. We’re a really fast team,” said Gulls forward Antoine Morand. “It’s not a good recipe to always go down a goal and try to play comeback hockey. We’ve got to have a strong start, set the tempo right at the start and avoid the penalty box.”

The Gulls offense is supported with continued contributions from its blueline. Rookie defenseman Jamie Drysdale paces AHL defensemen in points (3-5=8), co-leads in goals and ranks tied for third in assists. Trevor Carrick collected points in three of his past four games (1-2=3) and Kodie Curran owns 2-1=3 points in four appearances with San Diego.

The Silver Knights are led by head coach Manny Vivieros, a 13-year coaching veteran leading his first AHL club. Vivieros guided the Spokane Chiefs to the fourth-best record in the WHL last season and also served as the assistant coach of the Edmonton Oilers in 2018-19. Vivieros played 29 NHL games for the Minnesota North Stars (1985-87) and spent time in the AHL and International Hockey League (1986-91).

Henderson named veteran forward Patrick Brown the first captain in club history before its inaugural season. Brown is a former Calder Cup champion with the Charlotte Checkers and a former teammate of several Gulls, including Trevor Carrick, Keegan Lowe and Andrew Poturalski.

Powering the Silver Knights are veterans Ryan Murphy and Danny O'Regan, who are tied for the team lead with seven points. Murphy leads the team in goals (3) while O'Regan paces all Henderson skaters in assists (5). Logan Thompson is the team's starting netminder, posting a 4-1-0 record with a 1.81 goals-against average and .942 save percentage.