Golden Knights show fight in loss to Arizona at Rookie Faceoff
IRVINE, Calif. — The Golden Knights fell to 0-2 in the Anaheim Rookie Faceoff. But they went down swinging Sunday.
Brayden Pachal, Mason Primeau and Xavier Bouchard all were involved in fights during a 3-2 loss to Arizona at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena.
”A lot of it was because they were trying to take advantage of certain individuals and guys were standing up for each other, which is important,” said Chicago Wolves coach Rocky Thompson, who is in charge of the rookie team. “Guys knew that they were having each other’s back and they were starting to grow together, which is nice.”
Pachal and Arizona’s Kelly Klima dropped the gloves at 11:04 of the first period, and Bouchard had a third-period bout with Klima.
The 6-foot-5-inch Primeau slugged it out in the second period with Arizona’s Connor Hall, as both players landed punches that echoed throughout the rink.
The Knights were outshot 17-4 in the first period and trailed 3-0. Nate Schnarr notched two goals and 2018 first-round pick Barrett Hayton also tallied for the Coyotes.
Nic Hague scored on the power play in the second period, and Charles-Antoine Roy brought the Knights within a goal with 53 seconds remaining in the third.
Knights goaltender Jordan Kooy finished with 34 saves.
“It was a slow start for the whole team, I guess,” Kooy said. “After the first period we all came in the room and just said we’ve got to pick it up, and we did.”
Lineup changes
The Knights rotated players for the second game of the tournament, with Paul Cotter moving up to left wing on the first line alongside Cody Glass and Jonas Rondbjerg. Cotter centered the third line in the opener.
Also on defense, 2018 draft picks Bouchard and Connor Corcoran were paired together, while Jimmy Schuldt was among the scratches.
“The guys were trying their best out there. They were doing their best to follow a game plan that would help them have success,” Thompson said. “It was a step in the right direction, but I thought our compete level, which I was really disappointed in in game one, really changed in game two.”
Up next
The Knights are scheduled to practice Monday at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena before concluding the tournament at 3 p.m. Tuesday against the host Anaheim Ducks.
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.