Raphaël Lavoie, Tanner Laczynski and Ben Hemmerling wore a large part of the collection Henderson Silver Knights offensive production over the past few weeks and Saturday night was no exception.
The trio generated the Silver Knights’ best scoring opportunities and were responsible for all of the team’s goals, but it wasn’t enough as Henderson lost 4–3 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime at Lee’s Family Forum.
“I liked our intentions,” head coach Ryan Craig said. “I thought Riley (McKay)’s intentions were good early on. Our team’s intentions were good. It took us a while to get there, but we had some guys that played really good hockey.”
Related: Henderson falls for fourth straight, falls 4-3 to Coachella Valley despite veteran production, special teams success
The loss pushes Henderson’s losing streak to five games heading into the American hockey league All-Star break.
Lavoie, Laczynski and Hemmerinling remain warm despite sweep
Despite the loss, it’s easy to see why Laczynski deserved the honor of representing Henderson at the 2026 AHL All-Star Game after a game like tonight.
“Tanner has been an integral part of the Silver Knights and the Golden Knights over the past two seasons,” Craig said. “He has been a leader for our team, both with his on-ice production and his work ethic, and we are very pleased to see him recognized for that. It is an honor that is well deserved.”
The connection between Laczynski and Hemmerling was spotted early Saturday. The duo generated several high-risk scoring opportunities and consistently created space in the offensive zone.
On Henderson’s first goal, Laczynski drew several Firebirds defenders towards him before delivering a pass to Hemmerling, leaving the 21-year-old with an open net and plenty of time to finish the play.
“It’s quite easy to play with Laczynski and Lavoie just has to get into the right areas,” Hemmerling said. “They’ll notice that you find soft areas like that in the middle of the ice.”
The line is completed by Lavoie. The 25-year-old scored with 36 seconds left in the third period and again after a Silver Knights timeout, tying the game at 18 seconds.
“I thought Lavoie was good,” Craig said. “I think he’s working his way back again. You can see the pop. And now it’s hard to come back after playing three and four games, but to his credit he dug in there at the end and got us two big goals.”
Together, the trio has become Henderson’s most reliable offensive spark, but it wasn’t nearly enough to take down the Firebirds, losing 4-3 in overtime.
They will look to continue that production after the AHL All-Star break. The Silver Knights will now enter a 13-day break and next play the Abbotsford Canucks on February 20.
“We’re definitely catching our breath,” Craig said. “We’re going to take a few days off. We’re happy to have Laczynski representing us at the All Star game, but we have to push here to make it to the last 29 games.”
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