Carter Hart didn’t see many shots in his first start as a professional goaltender in almost two years, but said he was glad to be back in a competitive environment.

Hart, in his return to professional hockey, made 12 saves on 14 shots in the Silver Knights’ 5-2 win over the Calgary Wranglers at Lee’s Family Forum on Sunday.

“It felt great just to be playing a competitive game of hockey again,” Hart said. “It’s been a long time. I just felt good to be back out there competing.”

Hart started a game for the first time since he and four members of Canada’s World Juniors team were acquitted of sexual assault charges in connection to a case from 2018. His last start came in January 2024 as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The five players — Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, Dillon Dube and Alex Formenton — took leaves of absence from their respective teams at the time. They were found not guilty in July.

Hart joined the Knights on Oct. 16, one day after the players were eligible to sign contracts per the NHL’s ruling. He signed a two-year, $4 million deal with the Knights on Oct. 24.

Hart is ineligible to suit up for the Knights until Dec. 1. He was loaned to Henderson on a conditioning assignment on Saturday, where he served as the backup to Jesper Vikman against Calgary.

The 27-year-old has spent the past month practicing as the Knights’ third goalie, spending most time before and after practice working with director of goaltending Sean Burke.

“I think coming down (to Henderson), I’m looking forward to getting a lot of practice time here with the guys and having my own net, competing alongside them,” Hart said. “Playing a few games here and just getting back to playing hockey and having fun.”

Hart didn’t see much action with nine saves through two periods. He took a shutout deep into the third until Calgary left wing Matvei Gridin scored with 5:02 remaining.

Former Knights defenseman Daniil Miromanov added another goal 49 seconds later.

“I think more so in the third, there was more net traffic, they were throwing more pucks to the net,” Hart said. “I haven’t seen any game action for a long time, so that’s what I need — plays like that to get back into just playing hockey again.”

But the game was well in hand by then with the Silver Knights jumping out to a 4-0 lead through two periods. Three of the goals came from defensemen Jeremy Davies, Lukas Cormier and Lucas Johansen.

Top prospect forward Trevor Connelly had a goal and an assist in his second game of the season after missing all of Knights training camp and the first 13 games with a knee injury he suffered during the World Junior Summer Showcase in July.

Captain Jaycob Megna, another defenseman, scored into an empty net at the buzzer for the final score.

The Silver Knights (8-5-1) snapped a four-game losing streak.

“I thought Carter played a good game,” Silver Knights coach Ryan Craig said. “The team in front of him played good. That was just important for our overall team. That’s how we want to build our game here, no matter who’s in there.”

Hart is expected to get at least two more starts before reporting to the NHL club. The Silver Knights host the Milwaukee Admirals for a two-game series starting Friday, then close November at the Ontario Reign on Nov. 28 and at the Bakersfield Condors on Nov. 29.

“Probably more so excited than anything,” Hart said. “I haven’t played a game in a long time, so everything felt different but once I started going a little bit. Once I started getting back into certain routines that I haven’t done in a long time, it’s just like riding a bike.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.