The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Tulsa Oilers on Sunday. Puck drop was at 7:00 PM. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center. It was the eighth game of the season. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are the Vegas Golden Knights ECHL affiliate. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 6-2 victory over the Utah Grizzlies. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 4-2-1. The Knight Monsters were in 20th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters were 9th in the Western Conference and 5th in the Mountain Division. The Tulsa Oilers are the ECHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. The Oilers had played nine games. The Oilers were coming off of a 5-3 win over the Wichita Thunder. The Oilers had a record of 6-2-0. The Oilers were in 9th place in the ECHL. The Oilers were in 4th place in the Western Conference and 2nd place in the Mountain Division.
The Tulsa Oilers played two more games. The Oilers had two more wins. The Oilers had the better win percentage. The Oilers had scored fifteen more goals. The Oilers had allowed one more goal. The Oilers had the better goal differential. The Oilers had four more points. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 83 penalty minutes. The Tulsa Oilers had 111 penalty minutes. Penalties were going to be a factor in this gsme. Powerplay goals won the game for the Tahoe Knight Monsters on Sunday. The Tulsa Oilers had a lot of penalty minutes. This was another divisional game. This was another big test early in the season for the Knight Monsters. The Oilers were a top team in the division. The Oilers have a lot of scoring power. It was going to be interesting to see how this game played out and the adjustments both teams make as this home stand continued. Goaltending remained a big factor for the Knight Monsters. The Henderson Silver Knights sent Jordan Papirny to the Knight Monsters on the day of the game.
#30 Jordan Papirny was in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was his first start in net for the Knight Monsters. He did play two games with the Henderson Silver Knights this season. Defender Daniil Chayka was assigned to the Tahoe Knight Monsters from the Henderson Silver Knights as well. Forward Chris Dodero was placed on injured reserve. Defender Ryan Orgel was placed on reserve. Defender Samuel Mayer was placed on injured reserve. Forward Adam Pitters was also been placed on injured reserve. #30 Vyacheslav Buteyets got the start in net for the Tulsa Oilers. It was his sixth start for the Oilers this season. Defender Andrew Lucas was called up from the Oilers by the San Diego Gulls on Monday.
Two minutes into the game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. #13 Simon Pinard scored the goal. It was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes. Pinard got the puck near the Knight Monsters blue line. He out skated both defenders to create a breakaway. He put the puck right between the goalies legs.
Six minutes into the game, #18 Daniil Chayka of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for high-sticking. Twelve minutes into the game, #26 Michael Farren of the Tulsa Oilers received a penalty for tripping. On the powerplay, #13 Simon Pinard scored again to give the Knight Monsters a two goal lead. His second goal was assisted by #21 Sloan Stanick and #12 Bear Hughes. The Knight Monsters were cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Pinard passed the puck across the offensive zone to Stanick. That created space for Pinard. Stanick passed it back to Pinard who was wide open. Pinard took a one timer that went in.
Sixteen minutes into the game, #13 Simon Pinard scored again to complete the hat trick. His goal was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes and #26 Nate Kallen. Hughes was under presure behind the net in the offensive zone. He was able to get the puck into the slot. Pinard got the puck in the slot and scored. This was the first ever hat trick in Knight Monsters history. Pinards third goal of the game the Knight Monsters a three goal lead.
With under two minutes left in the first period, #26 Michael Farren of the Tulsa Oilers received another penalty for tripping. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a 3-0 lead after the first period.
Seven minutes into the second period, #55 Chris Dodero of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for high-sticking and #48 Anthony Collins of the Knight Monsters received a prnalty for hooking. This gave the Tulsa Oilers a five-on-three powerplay. The Oilers did not score on the powerplay. With under two minutes left in the period, #19 Luke Adam pf the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. With under a minutes left in the second period, #13 Alec Butcher of the Tulsa Oilers received a penalty for slashing. Neither team scored in the second period. The Knight Monsters were still leading the game 3-0 going into the third period.
One minute into the third period, #9 Troy Loggins of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for hooking. Thirteen minutes into the third period, #13 Simon Pinard extended the Tahoe Knight Monsters lead to four goals. His goal was unassisted. Pinard stole the puck from the Tulsa Oilers player behind the Oilers net. He took the puck in front of the net and was able to score.
With under five minutes left in the game, #96 Brennan Kapcheck of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for delay of game. Less than a minute later, #11 Tyler Poulsen of the Tulsa Oilers received a penalty for slashing. The final score was 3-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
With under five minutes left in the game, #96 Brennan Kapcheck of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for roughing and #42 Nick Pasyorious of the Utah Grizzlies received a penalty for roughing. The final score was 6-2 Knight Monsters. #30 Jordan Papirny was able to secure the first ever Tahoe Knight Monsters shutout.
This was the best win of the season so far for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Goaltending was a big factor as the Tulsa Oilers could not find a way to score. The powerplay was a factor as the Knight Monsters took a two goal lead on the powerplay. There is not much to critique on the Knight Monsters side for this game. They executed the game play pretty well. The penalties they were taking could have been a problem. They killed them off. The Knight Monsters played like a top division team on Wednesday. It is still early in the season. I don’t know how long #30 Jordan Papirny will be with the Knight Monsters. If he keeps playing the way he did on Wednesday he will be back in the AHL soon. I also do not know when Jasper Vikman will be sent back down. Likely when Papirny gets called back to Henderson, Vikman will come back to Tahoe.
The Tulsa Oilers had nine more shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. The Tulsa Oilers had two more penalty minutes. #30 Jordan Papirny saved 36 shots for a 100% save percentage for the Knight Monsters. #30 Vyacheslav Buteyets saved 21 shots for a 84% save percentage for the Oilers.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters now have a record of 5-2-1 with 11 points in 8 games. The Knight Monsters are now in 15th place in ECHL. They are in 7th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are still in 5th place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are one point away from the last playoff spot. They are still four points away from the top spot in the division. They have the 2nd highest points percentage in the division.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters will take on the Tulsa Oilers for game nine on Friday, November 15th. It will be a home game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM. This is another divisional game.
Zac Electrifly 
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