STATELINE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters hosted the Rapid City Rush over the weekend for a three-game series. They lost on Friday 5-3, followed by a Saturday loss 5-4 and a win on Sunday in overtime, 5-4. The Knight Monsters wrap up their regular home season with three games on April 1, 3, and 4, with their final games on the road, meeting up against the Rapid City Rush again. Tahoe is in seventh place in the ECHL Western Conference with a record of 32-28.
Saturday – Rapid City Earns 5-4 Win on Opening Night of First Responders Weekend
The Tahoe Knight Monsters were defeated by the Rapid City Rush by a score of 5-4.
In the first period, it was Tahoe who got off to a hot start, as Sloan Stanick scored just 14 seconds into the game to give the Knight Monsters a 1-0 lead. Adam Pitters would make it a multi-goal period for Tahoe with his fifth of the season to go up 2. However, in the final seven minutes of the period, Mitchell Smith and Brett Davis found the back of the net to tie the game at 2 heading into the first intermission.
In the second, the Rush continued their scoring as Seth Fyten scored his fifth of the year, and Ryan Chyzowski added on with his team-leading 27th goal of the year to put Rapid City up 4-2. In the final minute of the middle period, Jake McGrew became the fifth Knight Monster this season to reach 20 goals as he scored with just 18 seconds left to cut the lead to 4-3 for the Rush.
In the final 20 minutes, Rapid City would push their lead back to 2 with a goal by Bobby Russell to make it 5-3. Although Luke Adam would score his 17th of the season on the power play, it wasn’t enough to earn the victory as Rapid City earned a 5-4 victory.
Sunday – O’Leary Plays Hero with Overtime-Winning Goal to End Losing Streak Against Rush
The Tahoe Knight Monsters knocked off the Rapid City Rush in overtime by a final score of 5-4.
In the first period, Rapid City scored in the opening minute of the contest, as Hunter Donohoe scored his first professional goal to make it 1-0. The Knight Monsters would respond just five minutes later as Devon Paliani extended his team-leading goal marker with his 29th of the season to tie it up at 1. After Tahoe tied it up, Rapid City went back out in front as Ryan Wagner scored in his first game of the weekend to go up 2-1. In the back half of the period, Trent Swick would tie the game once more off a beautiful feed from Linden Alger to make it 2-2 going into the locker room.
In the middle frame, Rapid City would break out in front thanks to a power play goal from Ryan Chyzowski and another tally from Seth Fyten to make it 4-2 Rush going into the final period.
In the third period, it was Tahoe who would respond as Luke Adam scored his 18th of the year on the power play to make it a 4-3 game. Then, with just 3:10 left in regulation, Casey Bailey scored his 25th of the year on a diving shot to tie the game at 4. After no other goals in the third, the game headed to overtime.
In OT, it took just two minutes for Mike O’Leary to send the puck past Rapid City goaltender Connor Murphy, giving Tahoe a 5-4 win, their second consecutive OT win on a Sunday. Tahoe goaltender Dominic Basse picked up his second win in just his second start with the Knight Monsters.
The Knight Monsters return home on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, to take on the Cincinnati Cyclones at Tahoe Blue Event Center for What If? Night as the Knight Monsters become the Tahoe Powder Hounds. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm, with pregame coverage on the Knight Monsters broadcast network beginning at 6:50 pm. Tickets are available at www.knightmonstershockey.com. The regular season wraps up next weekend at the Tahoe Blue Event Center.