The Henderson Silver Knights logo is seen on the ice during a media preview tour of The Dollar Loan Center, home of the Henderson Silver Knights and the Vegas Knight Hawks, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021.
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 | 11:18 p.m.
The Silver Knights lost 4-3 in overtime to the Stockton Heat on Wednesday at Dollar Loan Center in what seemed to be, from a spectator's point of view, controversial fashion.
Henderson led 3-1 against the second best team in the AHL late in the third period. Stockton forward Emilio Pettersen scored with just under seven minutes remaining to cut the lead to one, and teammate Eetu Tuulola fired a shot off the post 14 seconds later.
Play continued for four minutes before the next stoppage, in which the officials later signaled for a goal. Official review confirmed that Tuulola's shot crossed the goal line, but could not be determined until that stoppage.
After lengthy discussions, the officials added the third goal for Stockton and put four extra minutes on the game clock. Byron Froese scored 44 seconds into the extra frame to win it for the road team.
According to Henderson coach Manny Viveiros, this is a common occurrence, though rarely to this extreme.
"That can happen," Viveiros said. "Once there's a stoppage in play, they'll go back and review it. They want to get the call right. It was a goal, so they'll put the time back. It doesn't happen often, but it's the right thing to do."
Goals are reviewed on a normal basis in the NHL, but the pause in play happens immediately for officials to go to video review. That will prompt an official announcement from the head linesman on the ruling.
The AHL officials on Wednesday were not wearing microphones and did not make an official announcement to the crowd, nor did the PA announcer declare the tying goal until 16 seconds remained in regulation.
"We've gone through this before," Viveiros said. "We knew that exactly was going to happen. For us, it was not something we've never seen before."
Fortunately for the Silver Knights, getting just one point does not alter their position in the standings. Henderson has already clinched a playoff spot and holds a five-point lead on the San Diego Gulls for the sixth seed in the Pacific Division.
The Silver Knights will play a best-of-3 series in the first round with the opponent yet to be determined.
Amid the confusion, Henderson held a two-goal lead for more than 50 minutes despite committing seven penalties. Goalie prospect Jiri Patera racked up 41 saves, five shy of his season-high he set in Jan. 21 against Stockton.
"It's the way the game goes sometimes," Silver Knights defenseman Ian McCoshen said. "You can't really control the outcomes. We battled hard. Jiri was our best player, but we left him out to dry."
The night also spoiled top prospect Brendan Brisson's professional debut. The University of Michigan sophomore scored his first goal, on the power play with a one-timer from the right circle, a place he's been comfortable scoring from dating back to his college days.
On the list of accomplishments Brisson had for turning pro, playing a 64-minute regulation game wasn't one of them.
"I've never seen that happen before," he said. "That was a first."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
