LAKE TAHOE, Nev. – The Tahoe Knight Monsters ended their final road trip of the season with a shutout in Utah after dropping the first game on Friday. They return home for the final week of the regular season with a four-game series against Wichita starting Wednesday. The Knight Monsters currently sit in third place in the Western Division of the ECHL with a 41-23 record after scoring 247 goals this season.
Friday – Tahoe Drops Game One Against Utah
The Tahoe Knight Monsters dropped the first game of the series against the Utah Grizzlies, extending their losing streak to three games. Isaac Johnson recorded two points with seven other players registering a point, but special teams’ issues plagued Tahoe for the third straight game.
Things started off in the right direction for Tahoe as Patrick Newell scored off a two-on-one rush with Logan Nelson just 44 seconds in. However, woes on the power play began as they concluded the first period with zero goals on two attempts.
Tahoe started the second period with another missed powerplay opportunity which led to Luke Manning scoring for the Grizzlies moments after. But 13 seconds later Luke Adam put Tahoe back on top off of a rebounded shot from Anthony Collins.
Halfway through the second, while Tahoe was on the penalty kill, Derek Daschke put one past Jesper Vikman marking the beginning of Utah’s deadly powerplay.
That trend carried over into the third as the next two goals by the Grizzlies were on the man advantage despite only having four shots in the final 20 minutes.
Tahoe attempted a late comeback with a Sloan Stanick goal that came with an extra attacker, but by then it was too little, too late. The buzzer sounded on another disappointing game for the Knight Monsters, who have now allowed nine power play goals in their last five games.
Saturday – Knight Monsters Close Down Road Slate in Style with 7-0 Win
The Tahoe Knight Monsters finished off their final road series with a dominant seven-goal victory against the Utah Grizzlies. Jordan Papirny earned a shutout, Joe Fleming and Kaelan Taylor scored milestone goals, and 10 other skaters registered a point in the crushing win.
In the opening 32 seconds, Simon Pinard scored his 32nd goal of the season off a slick pass from Bear Hughes, who wasted no time to get on the scoreboard in his return from suspension.
Tahoe outshot Utah 16-9 in the first period and notched more high-danger chances, but Grizzlies netminder Vinny Duplessis turned them all away. The Knight Monsters also killed off a penalty to close down the first, part of a 3/3 night on the PK.
Hughes doubled Tahoe’s lead under four minutes into the second, rocketing a wrister past Duplessis for his second point of the game and 20th goal of the season. He now has 50 points on the campaign and is Tahoe’s fourth 20-goal scorer.
As the frame continued, Joe Fleming and Kaelan Taylor scored within 30 seconds of each other to double Tahoe’s lead to 4-0. Each strike carried extra importance, as it was Fleming’s first of the season and Taylor’s first of his pro career.
But the party was just getting started as Tahoe added three more goals in the final 20 minutes.
Logan Nelson, Troy Loggins, and Brennan Kapcheck all scored in the first ten minutes of the frame, with Patrick Newell notching the primary helper on the first two goals. And Loggins’ goal broke him out of an 11-game drought.
Jordan Papirny stopped all 36 shots for his fourth shutout this season and was a massive part of Tahoe’s perfection on the penalty kill.