STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters tried for the second consecutive weekend to take a three-game series against their opponents in the ECHL, but Sundays proved to be the tough day in both cases to seal the deal. Two of the games went into overtime, and the Tahoe fans did not disappoint with two games in front of sell-out crowds.
Friday – Vikman Leads Tahoe to Thrilling Win Over Rapid City
Jesper Vikman is on another level right now.
The Tahoe netminder made a season-high 42 saves, including 19 in the third period, to lead the Knight Monsters to a 5-4 victory over the Rapid City Rush. His dominance, and a four-goal explosion in the second period, was enough for Tahoe to take game one of the series.
Rapid City scored the opening goal in the first period 12 minutes in on a lucky bounce that shattered Jake McGrew’s stick. Chase Pauls took the initial shot, and the puck was redirected in the low slot and found its way into the back of the net.
Jett Jones wasted no time notching the equalizer though, as he took a great feed from McGrew and slid it through the five-hole of RC netminder Connor Murphy. The goal exemplified the plan working for Tahoe, as they entered the game with the goal of attacking the netfront more.
Both teams traded chances in the remainder of the frame, but the buzzer sounded on a 1-1 first period.
And then things really got fun in the second.
Tahoe scored three goals in the first four minutes on efforts from Sloan Stanick, Jake McGrew, and Troy Loggins. McGrew’s goal was a dazzling one, as he fired in a shot while falling down to the ice first after a neutral zone faceoff.
RC made things interesting by scoring two in quick succession after that explosion, but Luke Adam closed down the period with a wraparound strike to make it 5-3 entering the third period.
While Ryan Wagner scored a power play goal five minutes into the frame to make it 5-4, Vikman took over from there. He dominated the rest of the period, including making several sprawling saves during an RC 6-on-5 sequence.
Vikman was tested 46 times in the contest, the most shots he’s seen all season long. And he stood tall to the task, consistently keeping Tahoe’s lead intact and leveling play in their favor. He is now 3-2 in his last five games with a .918 save percentage in that span.
Saturday – Knight Monsters Strike Down RC in Dominant Win
The Knight Monsters took game two of their series against the Rapid City Rush, riding excellent special teams and top-to-bottom scoring to a dominant 7-1 victory. Sloan Stanick carded four points, the penalty kill went 8/8, and Jordan Papirny made 35 saves to lead Tahoe to victory.
RC started the scoring early in the first with a wrist shot goal by Luke Mylymok just over a minute in. But after that, the rest of the game belonged to the Knight Monsters.
They scored four goals in response, with Stanick starting the fun about five minutes later on a fantastic play where he took his own rebound and fired it past RC netminder Matt Radomsky. Then just a minute later Jake Johnson snuck in a shot from distance to give Tahoe the lead.
And they didn’t look back from there.
After killing off a Rush power play, Slava Demin exited the penalty box and was immediately sprung on a breakaway from a great feed from Logan Nelson. He finished the chance through the five-hole of Radomsky to extend Tahoe’s lead to 3-1.
And to close down the frame, it was Adam Robbins who roofed a shot from in tight to give Tahoe a 4-1 lead heading into the second.
Jett Jones opened the second period with a power-play goal, his second tally of the series. And Bear Hughes tacked on another with Radomsky out of position to put Tahoe ahead by five goals going into the third.
The Knight Monsters added another in the third on an Isaac Johnson power-play goal, and cruised to victory after that.
Overall, this was one of the best and most complete efforts by Tahoe all season long. They got scoring from their blueliners and from across all forward lines, they dominated the special teams battle, and Jordan Papirny put in another fantastic start.
And with both Wichita and Idaho losing tonight, the two points Tahoe earned were all the more important. The Knight Monsters will now look to get their first series sweep since early February in game three against RC.
Sunday – Knight Monsters Lose a Stunner in OT to Rapid City
The Knight Monsters were unable to secure a series sweep in game three against Rapid City, falling 5-4 in overtime. They entered the third with a 3-0 lead, but allowed four third period goals and the clincher just six seconds into the extra frame.
Tahoe wasted no time continuing their special teams dominance in the first, scoring a shorthanded goal off the stick of Sloan Stanick 12 minutes in. And early the second, Simon Pinard tacked on another shorty to make it 2-0.
Jake McGrew added to the tally with his 17th goal of the season off the rush, and the Knight Monsters cruised into the third period with a three-goal lead.
And then things started to fall apart.
RC scored two goals within 30 seconds of each other early in the third, and even after a Jett Jones goal that made it 4-2, kept the pressure on Tahoe. They scored four minutes after the Jones strike, and then tied things up with an extra-attacker goal with 29 seconds to go in regulation.
Then, they finished the job just six seconds into overtime, as Trevor Janicke took the opening faceoff down the wing and fired in a shot past Tahoe netminder Jordan Papirny.
While it was a brutal result, Tahoe did still win the series and take five of a potential six points against one of the hottest teams in the ECHL. They will look to regroup in a two-game set in Idaho against the Steelheads, with game one scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday.
Postgame recap presented by AleWorX Stateline. After every Knight Monsters home game, check out a postgame party at AleWorX Stateline for wood-fired pizza, self-serve beer, and great scenery.