The Tahoe Knight Monsters took on the Maine Mariners on Friday. Puck drop was at 4:00 PM. The game was at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine. It was the thirtieth game of the season. The Tahoe Knight Monsters were coming off of a 4-3 overtime victory over the Tulsa Oilers. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had a record of 18-8-3. 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 Maine Mariners are the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins. The Mariners played twenty seven games. The Mariners were coming off of a 4-3 overtime win over the Trois-Rivières Lions. The Mariners had a record of 11-14-2. The Mariners were in 25th place in the ECHL. The Mariners were in last place in the ECHL Eastern Conference. The Mariners were in last place in the ECHL Eastern Conference North division.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters played three more games. The Knight Monsters had seven more wins. The Knight Monsters had the better points percentage. The Knight Monsters had scored fifty one more goals. The Knight Monsters had allowed seven more goals. The Knight Monsters had the better goal differential. The Knight Monsters had fifteen more points. The Tahoe Knight Monsters had 277 penalty minutes. The Maine Mariners had 352 penalty minutes.
#30 Jordan Papirny was in net for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It was his twelfth start of the season. On Wednesday, forward Jett Jones was recalled from the Tahoe Knight Monsters to the Henderson Silver Knights. Forward Blake Christensen was activated from reserve by the Knight Monsters. On Thursday, the Tahoe Knight Monsters signed forward Isaac Johnson who was immediately placed on reserve. On Friday, the Tahoe Knight Monsters Signed defender Dominic Vidoli who was placed on reserve. Forward Blake Christensen was traded from the Knight Monsters to the Kalamazoo Wings. Forward Logan Nelson was activated from reserve by the Knight Monsters. #30 Ryan Bischel got the start in net for the Maine Mariners. It was his fourteenth start this season. On Wednesday, the Maine Mariners signed defender Tristan Thompson. On Thursday, defender Trevor Thurston was released by the Mariners. Forward Lynden McCallum was acquired by the Maine Mariners from the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Forward Owen Pederson and forward Jimmy Lambert were activated from reserve by the Mariners. Defender Corey Dennis and forward Christian Sarlo were placed on reserve by the Mariners.
With six minutes left in the first period, Adam Robbins of the Tahoe Knight Monsters received a penalty for holding. With under two minutes left in the first period, the Maine Mariners took the lead. The goal was scored by #23 Jimmy Lamert. It was assisted by #25 Christian Berger and #19 Xander Lamppa.
With under a minute left in the first period, Jacob Hudson of the Mariners received a penalty for high-sticking. On the powerplay, the Knight Monsters tied the game. #13 Simon Pinard got the goal. His goal was assisted by #12 Bear Hughes and #15 Jake McGrew.
The score was tied at 1-1 after the first period.
Eight minutes into the second period, the Maine Mariners took the lead. #11 Lynden McCallum scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #15 Tristan Thompson and #8 Jacob Hudson.
With seven minutes left in the second period, the Knight Monsters tied the game. #15 Jake McGrew scored the goal. His goal was assisted by #14 Patrick Newell and #16 Nate Kallen.
With three minutes left in the second period, Sebastian Vidmar of the Mariners received a penalty for interference. The score was tied up at 2-2 heading into the third period.
There was a delay to start the third period. #3 Adam Pitters of the Tahoe Knight Monsters was taken to the hospital after taking s puck to the head. There was delay while they waited for another ambulance to arrive at the arena. With under seven minutes left in the game, Bear Hughes of the Knight Monsters received a penalty for holding. Neither team scored in the third period. The score was still tied at 2-2 after the third period. The game would go into overtime.
Forty two seconds into overtime, #96 Brennan Kapcheck scored to win the game for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. His goal was assisted by #13 Simon Pinard and #12 Bear Hughes.
The final score was 3-2 Tahoe Knight Monsters.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters never took the lead in this game until overtime. They were chasing the game. They stayed in it. They didn’t give up. They found a way to win. This was back to back overtime games for the Knight Monsters. Three of their last four games have gone to overtime. Simon Pinard is also now the top powerplay goal scorer in the ECHL. Hopefully this is just first game bugs and the Knight Monsters will come out stringer in their second game against the Maine Mariners.
The Maine Mariners had five more shots. The Knight Monsters had the better shot percentage. Both teams had four penalty minutes. #30 Jordan Papirny saved 34 shots for a 94% save percentage for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. #30 Ryan Bischel saved 28 shots for a 90% save percentage for the Maine Mariners.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters have a record of 19-8-3 with 41 points in 30 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 six 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 one on Saturday, January 4th. It will be an away game. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 PM. This will be a none conference game.
Zac Electrifly 
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