The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Tulsa Oilers on Sunday. Puck drop was at 3:00 PM. The game was at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. It was the twenty ninth game of the season. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were coming off of a 5-3 victory over the Tulsa Oilers. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 17-8-3. The Knight Monsters were in 7th place in the ECHL. The Knight Monsters were 3rd in the Western Conference and 2nd in the Mountain Division. The Tulsa Oilers are the ECHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. The Oilers played twenty eight games. The Oilers were coming off of a 3-5 loss to the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The Oilers had a record of 17-9-2. The Oilers were in 9th place in the ECHL. The Oilers were in 4th place in the Western Conference and 3rd place in the Mountain Division.
Both teams played twenty eight games. Both teams had seventeen wins. The Knight Monsters had the better points percentage. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had scored fifteen more goals. The Knight Monsters had allowed eleven more goals. The Knight Monsters had the better goal differential. The Knight Monsters had one more point. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 273 penalty minutes. The Tulsa Oilers had 300 penalty minutes.
#1 Jesper Vikman was in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. This was his fifteenth start for the Tahoe Knight Monsters this season. On Sunday, forward Adam Robbins was activated from reserve by the Knight Monsters. Forward Logan Nelson was placed on reserve by the Knight Monsters. #35 Talyn Boyko got the start in net for the Tulsa Oilers. It was his fourteenth start of the season for the Oilers. On Sunday, defender Shane Kuzmeski and forward PArker AuCoin were activated from reserve by the Oilers. Defender Jack Clement and forward Paxton Leroux were placed on reserve by the Oilers.
Five minutes into the fist period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took the lead. #13 Simon Pinard got the goal. #12 Bear Hughes got the assist. Pinard got the puck behind the goal line. He wrapped it around and scored.
With under two minutes left in the first period, #26 Michael Farren of the Tulsa Oilers received a penalty for cross-checking. The score was 1-0 Tahoe Knight Monsters after the first period.
Just over a minute into the second period, the Tahoe Knight Monsters took a two goal lead. The goal was scored by #29 Matt Murphy. His goal was assisted by #21 Sloan Stanick and #12 Bear Hughes. The Knight Monsters carried the puck into the offensive zone. Stanick got the puck in the faceoff circle. Under no pressure he took a shot from the left of the goalie. His shot trickled in.
With ten minutes left in the second period, #17 Adam Robbins of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for tripping. On the powerplay, the Oilers scored to bring the lead down to one goal. #21 Jeremie Biakabutuka scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #13 Alec Butcher and #26 Michael Farren. Biakabutuka took a shot from the point through traffic that found the back of the net.
With five minutes left in the second period, #29 Matt Murphy of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for closing hand on puck. Just over a minute later, # Ruslan Gazizov of the Oilers received a penalty for hooking. The score was 2-1 Knight Monsters going into the third period.
Under a minute into the third period, the Tulsa Oilers tied the game. #11 Tyler Poulsen scored the goal. #13 Alec Butche and #24 Mike McKee got the assists. The Oilers caught the Tahoe Knight Monsters slow to get back to their own zone. The Oilers created a 2-on-1 breakaway. Poulsen was able to find the back of the net. On this play the Knight Monsters couldn’t stop a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and this caused the defender to be held up in the neutral zone causing the breakaway.
Less than minute after tying the game, the Oilers took the lead. #22 Kishaun Gervais scored the goal. #19 Josh Nelson and #10 Anthony Costantini got the assists. The Knight Monsters lost a puck battle in their own zone. The Oilers got a quick pass to Gervais. Gervais took a one timer shot from the roulette wheel. His shot from the right of the goalie found the back of the net.
Three minutes into the third period, #24 Mike McKee of the Oilers took a penalty for delay of game. On the powerplay, the Knight Monsters tied the game. The tying goal was scored by #13 Simon Pinard. The tying goal was assisted by #21 Sloan Stanick and #96 Brennan Kapcheck. The Knight Monsters took a shot from the roulette wheel. The initial shot was stopped. The goaltender did not have control of the puck. The puck was loose in the crease. Pinard poked the puck in.
With seven minutes left in the game, #19 Josh Nelson of the Oilers received a penalty for high-sticking. The score remained tied at 3-3 after the third period. The game went into overtime.
With two minutes left in overtime, #10 Jett Jones scored to win the game for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The game winning goal was assisted by #21 Sloan Stanick and #96 Brennan Kapcheck. Stanick got the puck at the point. He got around his defender and another Tulsa Oilers defender. Then the third Oilers player went to challenge him for the puck. This left Jones open near the net. Stanick was able to get Jones the puck. the goaltender was out of position expecting a shot. Jones was open enough to not be challenged by the Oilers defenders. He was easily able to get around the goalie and score with the goalie out of position.
The final score was 4-3 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
This game should not have gone to overtime. The Tahoe Knight Monsters still came out on top. Allowing the Oilers to score three goals and take the lead is not good. They ended up winning but they allowed the Oilers to come back into the game and take the lead. The Knight Monsters had a two goal lead and ended up having to fight their way back into the game which they shouldn’t have had to do. They need to start building leads more consistently and figure out how to shut teams down. The Knight Monsters did good on shot blocking. They were doing good on putting pressure on the Oilers zone exits. That was creating good turn overs for the Knight Monsters. They did good on the penalty kill in the second period. The Knight Monsters had a few solid scoring chances on the penalty kill and then they drew a penalty. The third period is what hurt them the most. They had a poor start to the third and allowed two goals in under a minute. The Oilers goalie played really well in overtime. He had an unreal save at one point in overtime on a 2-on-0. One thing the Knight Monsters have done well all season is not giving up. Even if they have stints where they are not playing their best, this team has not given up. This game was a good example of that. This game was also a sellout making it the third in a row and I think the fourth this season.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters had three more shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. The Tulsa Oilers had four more penalty minutes. #1 Jesper Vikman saved 28 shots for a 90% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #35 Talyn Boyko saved 30 shots for a 88% save percentage for the Tulsa Oilers.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 18-8-3 with 39 points in 29 games. The Knight Monsters are in 7th place in ECHL. They are in 3rd 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 four points into a playoff spot. They are three points away from the top spot in the division. They have the second highest points percentage in the division.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters take on the Maine Mariners for game thirty on Friday, January 3rd. It will be an away game. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:15 PM. This will be a none conference game.
Zac Electrifly 
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