The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Idaho Steelheads on Wednesday. Puck drop was at 6:10 PM. The game was at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise Idaho. It was the fourteenth game of the season. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were coming off of a tough 1-2 defeat to the Kansas City Mavericks. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 7-4-2. The Knight Monsters were in 17th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters are 8th in the Western Conference and 5th in the Mountain Division. The Idaho Steelheads are the ECHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. The Steelheads played fifteen games. The Steelheads were coming off of a 4-1 win over the Rapid City Rush. The Steelheads had a record of 8-6-1. The Steelheads were in 15th place in the ECHL. The Mavericks were in 6th place in the Western Conference and 4th place in the Mountain Division.
The Idaho Steelheads played two more games. The Steelheads had one more win. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had the better points percentage. The Steelheads scored twelve more goals. The Steelheads allowed seven more goals. The Steelheads had the better goal differential. The Steelheads had one more point. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 144 penalty minutes. The Idaho Steelheads had 210 penalty minutes. The main thing with this game was that it was the start of a long road trip. The Knight Monsters were looking to start this road trip off right.
#1 Jasper Vikman was in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was his fifth start for the Tahoe Knight Monsters this season. He had just been sent back down by the Henderson Silver Knights. On Monday, goaltender Justin Robbins was released by the Knight Monsters. That was the same day goaltender Jesper Vikman came back. On Wednesday, forward Sloan Stanick was assigned by the Henderson Silver Knights to the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Defender Jake Johnson was activated from reserve for the Knight Monsters. Defender Elijah Vilio and forward Blake Christensen were both placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. #30 Bryan Thomson got the start in net for the Idaho Steelheads. It was his eighth start of the season for the Steelheads. On Tuesday, goaltender Tomas Sholl, and forward Blake Swetlikoff were activated by the Steelheads. Forward Mark Olver was placed on reserve by the Steelheads. Goaltender Ben Kraws was recalled by the Texas Stars. On Wednesday, Forward Mark Olver was activated and forward Jade Miller was placed on reserve by the Steelheads.
Two minutes into the game, #44 C.J. Hayes of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for holding. Eleven minutes into the game, #17 Ty Pelton-Bryce of the Idaho Steelheads received a penalty for tripping. With under four minutes left in the first period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. The go ahead goal was scored by #21 Sloan Stanick. The goal was assisted by #96 Brennan Kapcheck. Stanick got a break away and was able to score on the backhand.
The Knight Monsters were able to hold onto their lead for the rest of the period. The score was 1-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters after the first period.
Nine minutes into the second period, the Idaho Steelheads tied the game on a goal from #15 C.J. Walker. His goal was assisted by #9 Brendan Hoffmann and #74 Connor Punnett. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were having trouble clearing the puck out of their zone. Hoffmann got the puck from behind the net. He passed the puck to Walker who was just on the outside of the slot. Walker took a one timer that went in.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters retook the lead less than thirty seconds later. #55 Chris Dodero scored an unassisted goal. He powered through his defender behind the net in the offensive zone. He was able to create some space in front of the net to score.
Forty four seconds after the Knight Monsters took the lead, #19 Lynden McCallum of the Steelheads received a penalty for slashing. On the powerplay, #55 Chris Dodero of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for interference. With just over seven minutes left in the second period, #21 Sloan Stanick scored on the penalty kill to give the Tahoe Knight Monsters a two goal lead. His goal was assisted by #26 Nate Kallen and #22 Cal Kiefiuk. Stanick went one-on-one with his defender in the offensive zone. He was able to get around his defender. He took a shot as his defender was falling down to the ice. His shot went right past the goalie.
With under six minutes left in the second period, Brennan Kapcheck of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for holding. With under a minutes left in the period, the Steelheads brought the lead back down to one goal. #18 A.J. White scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #11 Thomas Caron and #36 Blake Swetlikoff. It is hard to tell on the replay what happened. Again the Knight Monsters were trapped in their own zone. The Steelheads got the puck on net. It was redirect, saved loose, and then poked in.
The score was 3-1 Knight Monsters going into the third period.
Thirty six seconds into the period, the #19 Luke Adam scored for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. His goal was assisted by #28 Logan Nelson and #96 Brennan Kapcheck. On the rush, Nelson left the puck in the crease. The goalie didn’t know where the puck was. Adam poked it into the net.
A minute later, #3 Adam Pitters scored to give the Knight Monsters a three goal lead. Pitters went one-on-one with his defender. He took a shot that was saved. He then was able to get around his defender. The goalie couldn’t control the puck. As the goalie tried to get the puck out of danger, Pitters got the puck. At that point the goalie was out of position and it was an easy goal for Pitters.
Seven minutes into the third period, #9 Brendan Hoffmann of the Idaho Steelheads received a penalty for tripping. On the powerplay, #55 Chris Dodero scored to give the Knight Monsters a four goal lead. His goal was assisted by #14 Patrick Newell and #4 Brandon Tabakin. The Knight Monsters were cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Newell put the puck in the slot. Dodero redirected it in.
With just over five minutes left in the game, #29 Connor MacEachern scored for the Idaho Steelheads. His goal was assysted by #18 A.J. White and #17 Ty Pelton-Byce. On a 2-on-1 rush, MacEachern got the puck and scored. The Knight Monsters still had a three goal lead.
With under three minutes left in the game, #21 Sloan Stanick of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and #74 Connor Punnett received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. With a minute left in the game, #55 Chris Dodero scored to give the Knight Monsters a four goal lead. This goal also completed his hat trick. His goal was assisted by #3 Adam Pitters. On another one-on-one with the defender, he took a backhand shot that found its way in.
The final score was 7-3 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
https://echl.com/videos/tahoe-knight-monsters-vs-idaho-steelheads-nov-27-2024
After a lack of scoring in their last game, the Tahoe Knight Monsters brought the scoring in this one. There were a lot of changes for both teams on the roster end of things leading into this game. I am sure that did have a big impact. I am going to miss Adam Robbins. This was a spectacular offensive display by the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This is a game they needed to win to stay in the playoff hunt. They did that. This is the most goals the Knight Monsters have scored in a game. This is the most goals overall in any game that the Knight Monsters have played in. It is also the most goals in a single game that the Steelheads have allowed all season. Overall it was a good gift for Knight Monsters fans heading into Thanksgiving.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had four more shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. Both teams had eight penalty minutes. #1 Jasper Vikman saved 24 shots for a 89% save percentage in his return for the Knight Monsters. #30 Bryan Thomson saved 24 shots for a 77% save percentage for the Idaho Steelheads.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters now have a record of 8-4-2 with 18 points in 14 games. The Knight Monsters are in 13th place in ECHL. They are in 5th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are in 4th place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are in a playoff spot. By one point. They are five 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 Idaho Steelheads for game fifteen on Friday, November 29th. It will be an away game. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:10 PM. This is another divisional game.
Zac Electrifly 
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