By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Vegas Golden Knights games without fans at high-powered T-Mobile Arena had some of the fan trappings of an NHL game — Carnell Johnson’s national anthem, Lee Orchard the knight character bashing his sword against his shield, Bruce Cusick’s voice on the PA system and Mark Shunock doing his arena emcee duties to urge the Knights to score a goal.
But when you hold a minor league hockey game without fans during these difficult pandemic times, there’s just so much you can do — even if the venue is as pleasant as the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — games without fans look like glorified pick-up games featuring terrific athletes in nice uniforms in nice buildings. It’s a sports entertainment product without the entertainment when fans are missing from these near-empty buildings. It’s TV programming fulfilling broadcast rights agreements and giving fans something to watch in their living rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Golden Knights’ minor league team, the Henderson Silver Knights, played an exhibition game Friday evening against fellow American Hockey League club, the San Jose Barracuda. It was the first game played by the new minor league team, a former San Antonio AHL club purchased by VGK majority owner Bill Foley and re-branded into the Silver Knights.
The Silver Knights players scored a bunch of goals, especially in the second period, and two things are for sure — the arena’s goal horn that is blasted when the Silver Knights score a tally will be well heard throughout Orleans Arena. And the horse’s “nay” special effect sound on the public address system is unique and reminds me of the Coyotes’ howl sound at the Arizona Coyotes’ Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
For the record, the Silver Knights scored a 7-3 win over the Barracuda club.
It’s minor league hockey, so it is what it is — a no-frills hockey game featuring players who are trying to impress their coaches so that they get a call to the major-league team. Special note about tonight’s Silver Knights debut: former VGK defenseman and recently-retired Deryk Engelland was behind the HSK bench tonight.
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This season, the Henderson Silver Knights will play their games in the Orleans Arena, former home of the Las Vegas Wranglers of the East Coast Hockey League. Its capacity for hockey is 7,773.
But it’s a temporary home. The Golden Knights and the city of Henderson are collaborating on an $84 million arena project that will convert the old Henderson Pavilion into the Henderson Event Center.
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