The Vegas Golden Knights prospects fell to the San Jose Sharks prospects, 5-1, on Saturday night at The Dollar Loan Center in the second game of the Vegas Rookie Faceoff presented by Martin-Harris Construction. Mason Primeau, assisted by Sapovaliv and Fabrizi, scored the lone goal for Vegas in the third period.
BATTLING ON
Primeau was the focal point of the evening for the Golden Knights’ prospects. In addition to putting Vegas on the scoreboard, he was also a physical presence and instigator against San Jose throughout the game.
“Just trying to get the boys going, drag them into the fight,” he said. “It’s what I try to do. Unfortunately we came up short, but, like I said, we’ll be back Monday and hopefully have a better game. I also want to show them I’m an all-around player. I want to make [that physicality] part of my game, as well as finishing if I get a chance in front of the net…with the new coaching staff that they brought into Henderson, it’s a good opportunity for me to show what I have.”
COACH’S CORNER
Despite Saturday evening’s tough score, Henderson Silver Knights head coach Ryan Craig has plenty of optimism heading into Monday’s afternoon game. Prospects enter rookie tournament with very little time to practice and gel as a team before they hit the ice for real. With that context, Craig was pleased with some of the solid shifts that the team generated and is looking to build on that throughout the remainder of the weekend.
“We did some good things tonight, we did,” he said. “We now know through two games what it feels like when we’re playing well. There have been spurts – 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there – where we’re making good decisions. It changes the momentum for us. But there’s stuff where we have to focus [on correcting stuff]. So we’ll focus on our start, on Monday.”
Craig also acknowledged that these games are a time to review more than individual plays. Teams are also looking at their prospects’ intangibles, on and off the ice, throughout the tournament.
“There’s certain things that they can control, like effort, attitude, all those kinds of things,” he added. “And then there’s things that happen just with the way that the game’s going. There’s guys where expectations are higher because this is their second time through, and there’s guys where this is their first taste of [the pro game]. They’ve played back to back nights here, and maybe they know what it’s about now.”
MONDAY’S MATCHUP
Vegas prospects will return to the ice on Monday, September 18, to take on the Colorado Avalanche’s prospects at City National Arena. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
- Sam Malinski secured an overtime victory for the Avalanche in their first game of the Faceoff against the Arizona Coyotes’ prospects. In addition to the game-winning goal, he also collected two assists that evening. Malinski joined Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the Eagles, at the end of his 2022-23 season with Cornell University. He recorded five points (3G, 2A) in seven games with the Eagles and 26 points (8G, 18A) in 34 games with Cornell.
- Ivan Ivan tallied a power-play goal and an assist on Malinski’s game-winning goal during Saturday’s game. He finished his 2022-23 season with the Cape Breton Eagles, scoring 90 points (33G, 57A) in 64 games. He also recorded four points (3G, 1A) in four games during the QMJHL playoffs.
