The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Tulsa Oilers on Sunday. Puck drop was at 1:05 PM. The game was at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the twentieth game of the season. The Knight Monsters were coming off of a 7-2 victory over the Tulsa Oilers. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 11-6-2. The Knight Monsters were in 11th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters were 5th in the Western Conference and 3rd in the Mountain Division. The Tulsa Oilers are the ECHL affiliate of Anaheim Ducks. The Oilers played nineteen games. The Oilers were coming off of a 2-7 loss to the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The Oilers had a record of 12-6-1. 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.
Both teams played nineteen games. The Tulsa Oilers had one more win. The Oilers had the better points percentage. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had scored two more goals. The Knight Monsters had allowed seven more goals. The Oilers had the better goal differential. The Oilers had one more point. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 192 penalty minutes. The Tulsa Oilers had 213 penalty minutes. This was the last game of a seven game road trip for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was also their second of back to back games in Tulsa. The Knight Monsters were looking to extend their winning streak to four games. Second place in the division was on the line in this game. Would the Tahoe Knight Monsters continue their winning streak? Could this be another blowout? Would the Knight Monsters offense continue to be on fire? How would the Tulsa Oilers respond after losing? Could goaltending be an issue again for the Oilers? Would the Oilers get their offense going? Would the Knight Monsters take second place in the division? Would the Oilers keep second place in the division?
#1 Jesper Vikman was in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was his ninth start for the Tahoe Knight Monsters this season. #30 Vyacheslav Buteyets got the start in net for the Tulsa Oilers. It was his thirteenth start in net for the Oilers this season.
Two minutes into the game, The Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. #81 Blake Christensen scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #7 Elijah Vilio. Christensen shot the puck from along the boards to the left of the goalie. His shot was blocked by a defender. He was able to get the puck and score.
Six minutes into the game, the Tulsa Oilers tied the game. #29 Sean Olson scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #32 Ruslan Gazizov and #40 Olivier Dame-Malka. The Knight Monsters turned the puck over in their own zone. There was a quick pass to the slot. Olson took a shot from the lot that went in.
Nine minutes into the game, the Tulsa Oilers took the lead. #2 Kylor Wall scored the go ahead go. His goal was assisted y #29 Seaon Olson and #34 Conner Roulette. The Knight Monsters could not clear the puck out of their defensive zone again. Wall got open on the far side to the left of the goalie. With space he took a shot that went in.
Thirty seconds after the Oilers took the lead, #2 Kyler Wall of the Oilers received a penalty for tripping. The score was 2-1 Tulsa Oilers after the first period.
Thirty six seconds into the second period, #9 Troy Loggins of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for tripping. Nine minutes into the second period, #28 Logan Nelson of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for interference. On the powerplay, #5 Duggie Lagrone scored to give the Tulsa Oilers a two goal lead. His goal was assisted by #8 Reid Petryk. On the rush, Lagrone was able to get behind two Knight Monsters defenders. Petryk was able to pass the puck around two defenders. Lagrone had all the time and space he needed after the pass. He was able to score on a shot from the left of the goalie.
Twelve minutes into the second period, #28 Paxton Leroux of the Oilers received a penalty for high-sticking. Thirteen minutes into the second period, #10 Jett Jones of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, #24 Mike McKee of the Tulsa Oilers also received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, and #13 Simon Pinard of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for slashing. With under five minutes left in the second period, #32 Ruslan Gazizov of the Oilers received a penalty for slashing. On the powerplay, #19 Luke Adam scored for the Knight Monsters. His goal was assisted by #14 Patrick Newell and #28 Logan Nelson. Nelson got the puck behind the net. He passed it in the crease. The goalie couldn’t get to it. Adam was able to get the puck and score. Adam’s goal cut the Oilers lead down to one goal.
The score was 3-2 Tulsa Oilers heading into the third period.
Three minutes into the third period, Justin Michaelian of the Tulsa Oilers received a penalty for hooking. On the powerplay, #14 Patrick Newell scored for the Tahoe Knight Monsters to tie the game. His goal was assisted by #19 Luke Adam and #96 Brennan Kapcheck. On the rush, Adam carried the puck along the boards to the right of the goalie. He passed the puck to Newell who was wide open in the slot. Newell was able to take a shot unchallenged and scored.
Seven minutes into the third period, the Knight Monsters took the lead. Sloan Stanick scored the go ahead goal. His goal was unassisted. Stanick got the puck in the neutral zone on a bad turn over by the Oilers. The play quickly turned into a 3-on-1 rush. Stanick decided to shoot the puck. His shot found the back of the net.
With under six minutes left in the game, #19 Luke Adam of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for tripping. With under two minutes left in the game, the Oilers pulled their goalie. With under ten seconds left in the game, #10 Jett Jones scored an empty net goal to give the Knight Monsters a two goal lead. His goal was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes. Jones cleared the puck from the Knight Monsters defensive zone. The puck went all the way down and in the net.
The final score was 5-3 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
https://echl.com/videos/tahoe-knight-monsters-vs-tulsa-oilers-dec-8-2024
The Tahoe Knight Monsters got off to a good start. They could not maintain or build on their lead. They let the Tulsa Oilers score three goals and had to dig themselves out of a hole. Most of that comes down to failing to clear the puck out of defensive zone. The Knight Monsters turned over the puck in their own end a lot in this game. The Oilers took advantage of that. The Knight Monsters did turn the game around. They were able to close the gap a little bit in the second period. Then they had a great third period. The Knight Monsters were able to score four unanswered goals leading to the victory. The Oilers just fell apart after the Knight Monsters brought the lead down to one goal. Overall I love to see the comeback. I love to see the effort. I love that the Knight Monsters stayed in it. This is just a game where after an early goal they should have been in control and been able to build up a lead instead of going down two goals and having to come back. The Knight Monsters winning streak is now at four games. This game was not another blow out but four unanswered goals is a really strong effort. The Knight Monsters offense is still on fire. The Tulsa Oilers did come out with a strong response after their loss but it was not enough. Goaltending was not the issue for the Oilers in this game although their goalie did not come up big when they needed it. The Oilers offense did get going a little bit but again it was not enough. The Knight Monsters did move up in the standings. The Oilers could not hold on to second place in the division.
How did the Tahoe Knight Monsters do on this seven game road trip? They started off string by winning the first game in Idaho. Then they lost back to back in Idaho. They turned it around in Allen with back to back wins. They finished the road trip with back to back wins in Tulsa. Overall they won five out of seven games. That is a 71% win percentage. Overall I think the road trip was a success.
The Knight Monsters had more seven more shots. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. Both teams had ten penalty minutes. #1 Jesper Vikman saved 29 shots for a 91% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #30 Vyacheslav Buteyets saved 24 shots for a 87% save percentage for the Oilers.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters now have a record of 12-6-2 with 26 points in 20 games. The Knight Monsters are in 9th place in ECHL. They are in 4th place in the ECHL Western Conference. They are in 2nd place in the ECHL Western Conference Mountain Division. They are in a playoff spot. They are only three points into a playoff spot. They are four points away from the top spot in the division. They have the 2nd highest points percentage in the division. This four game winning is the longest winning streak ever in Knight Monsters history. Right now the Knight Monsters are tied with the Toledo Walleye and the Kansas City Mavericks for the fifth longest winning streak in the ECHL right now. The Tahoe Knight Monsters and Kansas City Mavericks are tied for the longest current winning streaks right now in the division.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Utah Grizzlies for game twenty one on Thursday, December 12th. It will be a home game. The Tahoe Knight Monsters and Utah Grizzlies will be playing six straight games against each other. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. This is another divisional game.
Zac Electrifly 
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