LAKE TAHOE, Nev. – Even though the Knight Monsters fell 6-5 in a shootout to Wichita, a Steelheads loss to KC was enough for them to earn a playoff spot in their inaugural season, providing a bright silver lining to what was a tough defeat.
They were down 5-4 with 4.6 seconds to go in regulation, but Nate Kallen fired a slap shot through layers of traffic that found the back of the net with merely one second to go, and pandemonium ensued at the Tahoe Blue Event Center.
Before that, it was a tightly played game through and through, with both squads trading chances and goals throughout each period. In the first, it was Kobe Walker who struck first to give Wichita a 1-0 lead. But Sloan Stanick would tie things up with a backdoor strike off a pass from Bear Hughes.
The second period featured ferocious action with five total goals scored, four of those coming in the final eight minutes. Nolan Burke gave Wichita the lead back just over 90 seconds in with a deflection goal off a shot from Nolan Kneen.
Tahoe scored twice after that to make it 3-2, as Jett Jones and Jake McGrew struck on crash plays in the blue paint. McGrew’s goal was his 19th of the season, and first in his past six games. After Wichita tied the game up at three 22 seconds later, Bear Hughes roofed a rebound past Gorsuch with five seconds to go to make it 4-3 heading into the third.
The Thunder scored two deflection goals in a row to make it 5-4, and things stayed quiet until Kallen’s strike evened the score and electrified the crowd.
Overtime then ensued, with Jesper Vikman making two excellent saves to keep Tahoe in the game. The Knight Monsters went scoreless on a power play in the final two minutes. Michal Stinil scored the lone goal in the shootout to put Wichita over the top.
Tahoe has now officially clinched a playoff spot and needs just one point in their next two games to secure the No.2 seed in the Mountain Division and home ice in the first playoff series. The regular season’s penultimate game is on Friday, April 11, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 pm. Khalin Kapoor will be on the call. And remember, after every home game check out a postgame party at AleWorX Stateline.
The first home playoff game will benefit the Soroptimist of Tahoe Sierra club. For tickets purchased at this link (only) https://www.gofevo.com/event/Laketahoe6, 25 percent of proceeds go to support the club with their goals of supporting women and youth in South Lake Tahoe. The date of the game will be determined when the playoff order is set.
