LAKE TAHOE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight monsters have now 7-1-1 in their last night games, setting them up for a solid finish before heading into the post season. They had a two-game sweep in Idaho where they outscored the Steelheads 6-1.
Friday – Newell’s Heroics Lead Tahoe to 2-1 Victory in Idaho
Patrick Newell must have a flair for the dramatic.
With 39 seconds to go in a 1-1 game, Newell silenced the crowd at the Idaho Central arena, one-timing the puck into the back of the net for the game-winning goal. It gave Tahoe a 2-1 victory, and a perfect start to their four-game road swing.
Bear Hughes scored in the second period, and Jordan Papirny made 26 saves to help lead the Knight Monsters to victory. But it was Newell’s strike from Logan Nelson and Troy Loggins that was the highlight.
The game was a defensive affair through and through, with both netminders carding fantastic efforts. Each team traded chances in the first period, but neither were able to find the back of the net. Papirny finished the frame with eight saves, four of which coming in a heroic sequence with Tahoe on the penalty kill.
Offensively, the Knight Monsters fired ten shots on goal and consistently generated opportunities in transition. They just weren’t able to connect the dots against Idaho netminder Ben Kraws. They also had chances on an early power play, but Kraws sealed off each bid.
However, Bear Hughes changed that in the second.
Just four minutes into the frame, he took a feed from former Steelhead Slava Demin and raced down the length of the ice with Sloan Stanick to his left. With Kraws shading in Stanicks direction, Hughes dragged the puck and ripped it in for his 17th goal of the season, and the first of the game.
Tahoe generated a few solid shifts after that goal, but it was Idaho who would score next for the equalizer. Ty Pelton-Byce, who had six points in the season series up to this point, placed a perfect pass off the stick of Wade Murphy who redirected it past Papirny.
While Papirny got beat on that play, he was still sharp in the frame with eight saves, including denying Mason McCarty on a breakaway a few minutes later. Tahoe got another key penalty kill late in the second, and the period ended with the score knotted up at one.
In the third, Tahoe outshot Idaho 15-10 and had some grade-A looks in transition, but once again Kraws stayed sharp. It looked like the contest was destined for overtime. Enter Patrick Newell, who finished a beautiful rush with his backdoor goal to seal the game in regulation.
Denying the Steelheads overtime (and the guaranteed point it provides) pays massive dividends for Tahoe. With Wichita winning tonight, Idaho is now six points out of a playoff spot, and eight points behind the Knight Monsters.
Saturday – Tahoe Brings out the Brooms in Idaho for Series Sweep
When the clock ticked down on Tahoe’s 4-0 win in Boise against the Steelheads, there was no stunned silence at the Idaho Central Arena.
Instead, cheers rained down from the Knight Monsters faithful that made the trip, celebrating a massive two-game sweep for Tahoe. Those fans in the stands were given a treat, watching an excellent top-to-bottom effort that featured a 39-save shutout from Jesper Vikman and clutch goals in all three periods.
The win catapulted Tahoe past the Tulsa Oilers for second in the division, and they are 10 points ahead of Idaho after taking both games of this set.
They carried over their momentum from game one of the series into game two with two goals scored in the first period. Sloan Stanick started the action with a sharp angle missile just over nine minutes in past Idaho netminder Ben Kraws, and Simon Pinard deflected in a Bear Hughes shot with under a minute to go.
Pinard’s primary helper on the Stanick goal was his 100th career point in the ECHL, and he added his 101st with the goal late in the frame. It was a high-flying period with 27 total shots taken (15 by Tahoe), and Vikman set the tone for his game with some fantastic saves while on the penalty kill.
In the second, Luke Adam added to the fun with a wrist shot goal off of a perfect feed from Jake McGrew to make it 3-0. That was the only goal in a tight-checking period that had many high-danger sequences against Vikman, all of which were turned away.
And Vikman took things to another level in the third.
He made 15 stops in the frame to complete the shutout, as Idaho continued to tilt the ice in their favor throughout the frame. While Tahoe only mustered six shots, it was Anthony Collins that sealed the deal with five minutes to go.
Slava Demin banked the puck 150 feet down the ice to spring Collins on a breakaway, and he pulled off a nifty move to slide the puck past Kraws and put the nail in the coffin of the series.
Vikman finished the contest with 39 saves, marking his first shutout of the season and one of his best performances of the year.
Tahoe is now 7-1-1 in their past nine games going back to late February, and are allowing just 2.22 goals per game in that span. They have sprung themselves into a solid position in the final stretch of the season.
Now they turn their attention to a road set against Tulsa, who they are 5-1-1-1 against this season, and 2-0 on the road. It’s another two huge divisional matchups before they welcome Idaho to the Tahoe Blue Event Center in late March.
Game one against the Oilers is on Friday, March 21, with puck drop scheduled for 5:05 pm. Khalin Kapoor will be on the call. And, after every Knight Monsters home game make sure to check out AleWorX Stateline for a postgame party.